Wind Slabs
- Alpin
- Limite forestière
- Sous la limite forestière
- Probabilité
- Possible
- Taille
- 2
Above, a 24 hour data dump from Lofty Lake Peak (11,186') illustrating wind trends near the high peaks.
Storm snow, falling straight out of the sky overnight, camouflages yesterday's wind drifts and that'll add a layer of complexity to the mix as we take the first bite out of today's plant-based, avalanche sausage. Even though my travels yesterday were limited, I did stomp around on some of my favorite test slopes and experienced subtle collapses and whumphs, along with cracks shooting out in front of my skis. And while I didn't trigger any avalanches these red flags are a canary in the coal mine advising me to pump the brakes.
Reflecting on the big picture... while I experienced a few signs of unstable snow, the wheels aren't coming off the bus. However, I'm balancing my observations with reality and remind myself that I saw a postage stamps worth of terrain yesterday. I think, the Uinta's are a huge range and have a way of channeling what little snow there is available for transport and drifting it to the leeward side of ridges and around terrain features like chutes and gullies. So I'm gonna take a step back, read the room, and gather more intel.
In the meantime, I know this is an easy avalanche dragon to deal with and an easy one to avoid. You know the drill... lose the wind and you lose the problem.