Wind Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 1–2
Winds finally backed off on Sunday after a period of strong to extreme winds for the first half of the weekend. You may find shallow pockets at wind slab further downslope than usual due to strength and direction of the recent winds.
Use extra caution in the canyons where the "lee" or wind-loaded side may not be what you expect. Getting caught and buried in even a small slab avalanche could quickly become dangerous in this textbook terrain trap.
We're moving further away from the loading event and you're unlikely to see natural avalanches or readily observe red flags like shooting cracks as clear indicators of instability. Travel like larger slopes on the upper mountain are still capable of producing large avalanches. Continue to use small test slopes to test the bond of the recent snow to the crust below before stepping out into more consquential terrain.
(1/11/2025)
Crowns of multiple size two (large) natural avalanches that released on the NE-facing terrain around 8200 ft near Pulpit Rock on the N side of Mt Hood.
Photo: Brandon Backman