Persistent Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 2–3
You can easily trigger a dangerous and destructive avalanche that breaks much wider and runs further than you might expect. You can trigger these avalanches from below a slope or from long distances away. Winds are drifting snow at higher elevations. You may be able to trigger avalanches that break just within the drifted snow. Or the slides may start there and then break to deeper weak layers.
Cautious route-finding and conservative decision-making are essential if you want to avoid avalanches. Avoid traveling across or below slopes steeper than about 30 degrees that face west to north through southeast. You may be able to find safer travel options on lower-elevation south and southwest-facing slopes that were bare ground in late November.