Persistent Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 2
A persistent weak layer - or PWL - of faceted snow exists on northerly-facing slopes at the mid and upper-level elevations where it is possible to trigger an avalanche up to 2 feet deep and over 100 feet wide. Avalanche activity and field work this week inform us that the slopes that are most prone to slide are recently wind-loaded and have a slab of stronger snow on top of the buried PWL. If you choose to venture onto steep, northerly-facing slopes, you'll have to dig down and look for this structure of strong (firmer/denser) snow over weak (softer/loose) snow.
It has been a lean start to our winter, and Trent was working with the Sundance Ski Patrol on Wednesday and documented the thin coverage and weak existing snow on northerly slopes. With such a weak snowpack, once winter does begin, we can expect an increasing avalanche danger.