Wind Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 1–2
Sunday night's snow fell with wind speeds that were lighter than we are used to. Nonetheless, some weather stations recorded average wind speeds that reached Moderate values. Wind direction was all over the place based upon terrain, and often from the East, so I'm continuing to put our Wind Slab problem on all aspects.
If you are choosing to ride in avalanche terrain at upper elevations, then evaluation will be the name of the game on Tuesday. Look for signs of wind scouring as a first clue that winds were strong enough to move snow. Evaluate potentially wind loaded terrain safely on slopes that are less than 30 degrees or small enough not to bury you. I use pole probing, hand shears, and when possible ski cuts to evaluate a potential Wind Slab problem.
I expect that near treeline, older Wind Slabs could remain reactive on Tuesday as the Wind Slab avalanche character sometimes takes a matter of days to resolve. At the highest elevations the wind has continued to move snow, and new Wind Slabs have been building.