Wind Slabs
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 1–2
Strong winds on Saturday redistributed 11-12" of snow that fell Friday into Saturday morning. This produced Wind Slabs up to size 2.5 (large-very large), with crowns 1-3 ft deep that Mt. Hood Meadows Pro Patrol triggered via large explosives. Some broke within the storm snow while others stepped down new/old snow interface. The likelihood of triggering such a slab continues to trend downward, but don't let your guard down some of these avalanches will bring low chances of survival. Firm and textured snow, cornices, and collapsing or "whumphing" sounds in the snow are evidence that you could trigger a wind slab on similar aspects. Navigate around places where you are most likely to trigger an avalanche, such as where a steep slope further stepens (rolls over). Human-triggered wind slabs running down to the crust in adjacent zones (see photo), remind us that humans are triggering avalanches and we think that is still possible tomorrow.
(12/27/2020) This large avalanche in the Crystal Backcountry was 2-3 feet deep and 200+ feet wide. It ran across 3 cross-loaded gullies and had an unknown trigger. [NE side of Crown Point ~6460']