Persistent Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 2
Any avalanche that occurs today will have a Persistent Weak Layer of sugary facets. There are areas where the snowpack is shallow and consists entirely of facets. There are areas where the pack is deeper with facets near the ground. And there is a layer near the surface that has turned to facets over the last few weeks. There are two different situations to keep in mind that both involve the faceted snow.
- Recently formed wind drifts may break into the upper layer of facets or possibly break into deeper facets. This situation is most pronounced in the high terrain where the wind drifted snow is more prevelant. Chances for triggering one of these wind slabs is not all that great right now.
- In the low and mid elevation terrain, wet snow avalanches breaking into faceted snow should be considered. Some of the facets are dry but a lot are damp now. I experienced collapsing of the snowpack into wet facets on Tuesday. This is a sure sign of unstable snow. These wet avalanches are the most likely thing we'll see today but that said, they are going to happen in odd locations where most people don't recreate. And they need a very steep slope of at least 35˚ or closer to 40˚. They key is that if you find yourself in wet, sloppy, unsupportable snow where you're sinking deep into a wet mess, avoid being on or below any steep slope.
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