East Slopes North

Problèmes avalancheux

• 

  Wind Slabs

  N

  NE

  E

  SE

  S

  SW

  W

  NW

  • Alpin
  • Limite forestière
  • Sous la limite forestière

  Probabilité

  Possible

  Taille

  1–1.5

  You'll be able to find reactive wind slabs with the uptick in wind on Tuesday. Low density snow present on upper elevations on the northern half of the compass will likely get redistributed into wind slabs, where you could trigger an avalanche. Search for actively blowing snow, noting where it's landing. Drifts are most likely to form around rocky outcroppings, in gullies, below ridgelines, and on steep rollovers. Visual clues like textured surfaces or pillowlike drifts are helpful for identifying slabs. Pay attention to long shooting cracks running from your feet or sled. There's a small chance enough snow could rapidly drift onto a weak area that a natural avalanche could even occur. Use all of these identifying factors and red flags as indicators that you should stick to slopes less than 35° where you find any of these factors. Even if a slope is small and it avalanches, if a terrain trap is present it could still be harmful. Read the forecast discussion to hear more about this. 

  Slabs may be more or less reactive depending on where you encounter them. Upper elevation northerly aspects may have weaker snow beneath the new drifts, which could mean you find more reactive wind slabs. Surface hoar also may have formed Sunday night, and it may get buried in some places. You'll probably see an irregular patchwork of more and less reactive pockets, and it will probably be difficult to identify which ones will be more reactive.