Wind Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 1–2
On Tuesday, a skier triggered a wind slab avalanche in the southern Sawtooths while entering steep, exposed terrain. Today, triggering similar avalanches remains likely.
Recent wind and snowfall formed slabs and drifts up to 2+ feet thick in upper and some middle elevation locations. Some slabs overlie crusts and/or thin layers of weak, faceted snow; the wind slabs could be easy to trigger and break wider than expected on some slopes.
- Look for shooting cracks, smooth dunes, textured snow surfaces, or cornices.
- Feel for changing surface conditions while entering more exposed terrain. Wind slabs will feel firmer than snow in sheltered locations.
If you encounter these signs, reduce your odds of triggering a wind slab by moving to lower-angle terrain sheltered from the wind.
Additional discussion: It is possible trigger 1.5-2’ thick avalanches in terrain sheltered from the wind. These avalanches could fail on a variety of old snow surfaces, such as crust, facets, or a combination of both. Additionally, loose snow avalanches (sluffs) are possible in steep terrain. Sluffs could trigger larger slab avalanches lower on aprons and in alpine bowls.
(1/2/2026) A wind slab avalanche triggered while stomping from low angle terrain above. 9500' NE facing slope near Butterfield.
