Wind Slabs
- Alpin
- Limite forestière
- Sous la limite forestière
- Probabilité
- Possible
- Taille
- 2
Wednesday's strong winds out of the west were more than strong enough to drift existing powder and new snow into soft and harder wind slabs. Significant drifting occurred and it elevated avalanche danger in exposed terrain at all elevations, especially up high. In some areas, recent winds built stiffer slabs on weak surface snow consisting of small-grained faceted snow and perhaps surface hoar. These wind slabs are fairly shallow but remain sensitive, with shooting cracks observed, and numerous small human triggered avalanches of wind drifted snow reported in the last couple days.
- Fresh wind slabs having formed on weak surface snow might still be sensitive to human triggers, and some still could potentially be remotely triggered, from a distance. Shooting cracks in drifted snow are a sure sign of instability.
- Avoid corniced slopes and stiffer drifts on steep slopes near ridges and in and around terrain features like cliff bands, sub-ridges, mid-slope break-overs, and gully walls.
- The good news is that shallow powder riding conditions remain pretty good in lower angled, lower elevation, and sheltered terrain.