Looking For Slabs In All The Right Places

Today's avalanche hazard was specific to wind loaded slopes. We went for a quick tour near Big Mountain and found the wind slabs we were looking for.

• Small, soft wind slabs were easy to trigger on test slopes. They grew from very small and more isolated at middle elevations to a little larger and a little more widespread at upper elevations. The largest avalanche we triggered was about a foot thick and cracked 15-20' wide. Slabs failed on lower density snow or grauple and the bed surfaces were hard crusts and wind board.
• Slabs were easy to spot because they were rounded and the snow on top was rippled or scalloped by the wind. They were waiting on the down-wind side of trees, rollovers, and below cornices on ridgelines.
• Not every leeward slope was ready to slide. On some we got short, localized cracking. On some we got shooting cracks up to 10' long.
• Cornices were also tender and took very little stomping to break. Some chunks we kicked off were 2 feet thick.
• It was an easy decision to make: we didn't go looking for more dangerous wind slabs in bigger, steeper terrain. We skied lower angled, sheltered slopes without any instability to manage.