Persistent Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 3
The chances for triggering an avalanche that breaks into the November Persistent Weak Layer (DETAILS HERE) are becoming less as time goes on. The tricky thing is that the layer is still down there but it has gained some strength. There are places that a person could still trigger an avalanche. The most likely places are steep mid and upper elevation slopes that face northwest through east. Today's wind could drift and deposit enough snow onto some slopes and make them more sensitive to triggering an avalanche.
There are two ways that I could see things playing out with this weak layer:
- A large storm or series of large storms brings lots of snow and wind. This would most likely rapidly overload the weak layer and make it active again.
- Smaller storms keep coming and gradually stacking up snow, never rapidly overloading the weak layer. This slow addition of weight could gradually compress the weak layer into a stronger layer.
I'm hoping for the second solution. It all depends on weather. In the meantime, I continue to avoid the steep slopes. I've learned over the years not to mess around with steep slopes if there is a buried layer of sugary faceted snow.