Wind Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 1–2
South, southwest wind will blow moderate to extreme today. We're entering a storm cycle that has the potential to bring up to two feet of fresh snow in the next 24 hours. These two factors combined will create wind slabs several feet deep on leeward W-NW-N-NE-E aspects. It will be possible to find this problem near and above the treeline, though there may be a higher likelihood of encountering a wind slab near treeline due to more ideal wind speeds for formation. Avoid wind slabs by travelling in areas that are sheltered or wind-scoured. As always, observe for red flags: cracking, collapsing, blowing snow, recent avalanches, and hollow drum-like sounds.
Visual depiction of wind loading and cross-loading dynamics
Photo: Illustration from Allen & Mike’s Avalanche Book by Allen O’Bannon and Mike Clelland (Falcon Guides).