Wind Slabs
- Alpin
- Limite forestière
- Sous la limite forestière
- Probabilité
- Very Likely
- Taille
- 1.5–3
What and where is it:
The day is starting at considerable with existing reactive wind slabs on south and easterly aspects. Look out for newly forming wind slabs on north-facing aspects that are likely to have reactive softer slab characteristics and strong-over-weak structure.
When winds shift west after periods of heavy snowfall, avalanche conditions will become most dangerous in east-facing terrain as yesterday’s reactive wind slabs will have new snow adding to the size and increasing the possibility of naturally occurring avalanches. This is where you could find the largest avalanches, most dangerous conditions, and is when travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
How can you recognize it:
Identify wind slabs as areas of bright white and rounded snow that could be multiple feet thick. Dense snow drifts deeper than your boot tops, shooting cracks from under your feet, and blowing snow from ridgelines are signs of wind slabs. North, east, and south aspects may have strong-over-weak structure from new slabs on top of soft, cohesionless snow, which is on top of a firm refrozen old snow surface, the only way to assess this is by digging into the snow.
How can you manage it:
Today is not a day to try to outsmart the avalanche problem. Reactive snow remains from yesterday’s wind slabs formed on east and south-facing terrain. New snow will build large and reactive slabs on north-facing terrain, and eventually winds shift west which will add to the dangerous conditions that already exist in east-facing terrain. Avalanche paths are large and well connected and have the capacity to produce large and destructive avalanches.