Soldier & Wood River Valley Mtns

Problèmes avalancheux

• 

  Wind Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpin
  • Limite forestière
  • Sous la limite forestière

  Probabilité

  Unlikely

  Taille

  1–1.5

  You're most likely to encounter a wind slab in the western half of this zone from Dollarhide Summit to the Soldier Mountains. Look for drifts of windblown snow near ridgelines and on the sides of cross-loaded gullies and chutes. These will be most common at upper elevations but you may find some slabs at middle elevations as well.

  These slabs are likely to be less than a foot thick. Some of them formed on slick, icy crusts and small facets. This means they may be easy to trigger, break wider than expected, and could pick up speed quickly as they travel downslope. They probably won't be large enough to bury you but they could knock you off your feet or your sled and carry you downslope.

  This slab avalanche (observation) was triggered by a skier yesterday in the W. Smokys. It's a good reminder that even small slides can be consequential if they drag you through trees or push you into a creek bottom. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION:Wet loose avalanches are possible today where the snowpack turns to mush. These are most likely on very steep slopes that face the sun, especially where the snowpack is less than about 2' thick. Even small wet avalanches are much more powerful than you'd expect (see videos here and here). Pay attention to the terrain above you. Large slopes can produce slides big enough to knock you off your feet and carry you places you don't want to go.