Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 1–4
Wind slabs exist in many alpine and open treeline areas. These may be difficult to spot because they have been buried by light new snow.
Avalanche forecast
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Dec 27 – 28, 2012Avalanche Canada
Archived · expired 14 years ago
Avalanche danger
Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
Avalanche problems
Confidence
Good
Weather Forecast
Friday: Light SW winds. Freezing level near 600 m. Light snow.Saturday: Light NW winds. Freezing level near 600 m. Light snow.Sunday: Light winds. Freezing level at valley bottom. Cloudy.
Avalanche Summary
Small loose dry avalanches and wind slabs have been triggered naturally, by explosives and by skiers recently. Some large cornice chunks have been failing naturally.
Snowpack Summary
New and buried wind slabs may be found in alpine and open treeline terrain. Fragile cornices exist. A couple of storm snow weaknesses have been observed, but these are likely to be short-lived. In sheltered areas below treeline, loose snow is slowly becoming more consolidated. In general, the mid-pack is strong.Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer is now unlikely to be triggered. However, professionals are still mindful of thin snowpack trigger areas or large loads which could wake it up again, leading to a very large avalanche.