Wind Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 2
Westerly winds are currently blowing across the Wasatch Range creating new slabs of wind blown snow. Even though there is not a lot of snow to blow around the wind speeds are so strong that it will grab and strip away anything it can and deposit it on the lee side of ridges and terrain features. I would expect hard and soft slabs of snow scattered around the range in a very random order. Some dirfts will be soft and fresh and others will be compressed into shallow hard slabs of wind drifted snow.
There are two things I would be looking for today:
1. Any snow that is stiff and hard under my skis, board, or sled. This type of hard wind slab usually sounds hollow (like a drum) looks wind rippled and pressed into the terrain.
2. Fresh or old soft drifts of wind blown snow. These will feel dense, thick or cakey. They will look rounded and pillowy. Any cracking is a sign of instability.
Unfortunately, the winds are so strong that the location of these soft and hard slabs of wind blown snow will NOT only be limited to the ridgelines. They could also be found in cross-loaded open terrain, mid-slope breakovers, or any other terrain feature that has channeled the wind. As seen from the recent activity there remains a chance that any shallow slab triggered could step down into weaker layers in the snowpack.
