Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Unlikely
- Size
- 2
Be on the lookout for localized hard slabs of wind drifted snow scattered across the landscape. They'll be in unusual areas and pockety (ie: not well connected) in nature.
Still, hard slabs pose problems of their own:
- they often allow one or two riders to traverse over them before the third (fourth? fifth?) rider collapses the thinner part of the teardrop, shattering it like a pane of glass
- hard slabs commonly fracture after you're well on to the slab
- lots of spatial variability: welded in and stable here...or initially stubborn only to fracture there
- cracking and collapsing may not be present
- hard slabs may pull back onto lower angle slopes
(national avalanche center encyclopedia)
Remember: with soft slabs, you're generally riding "in" the snow; with hard slabs, you're generally riding "on top of" the hard snow. Ask any ski patroller what they think of hard slabs, and you'll get an earful that's not fit to print.
*Lastly, Cornices may be particularly tender today and in the coming days: please give them a wide berth. They too can act like hard slabs, breaking back further than you think.