Persistent Slabs
- Alta montaña
- Límite del bosque
- Bajo el límite del bosque
- Probabilidad
- Very Likely
- Tamaño
- 5
The new snow instabilities and fresh wind drifts will stabilize fairly rapidly. I didn't note any obvious signs of instability within the new snow on Friday. However, with the absurd amount of new snow, I'd give it some time before hitting it hard.
The trickier situation is the persistent weak layer of sugary faceted snow at the base of the snowpack. This will stabilize and strengthen but it takes time. Here is what I'm looking for to show me things have stabilized:
- A large storm with no natural avalanches.
- Snow stability tests cannot be fracturing clean on the weak layer. There can be no propagation through the weak layer.
- A DISTINCT INCREASE in hand hardness of the weak layer. In other words, I need to see the weak layer get stiffer when I press my hand into it.
I'm pretty confident that the weak snow at the base will strengthen fairly soon and we'll have a nice stable snowpack. However, TODAY IS DEFINITELY NOT THE DAY TO START GETTING ONTO STEEP SLOPES.