The deep slab issue continues to be our primary concern today in the backcountry and won’t be going away anytime soon. Terrain management becomes particularly important when dealing with persistent weak layers and also happens to be the toughest skill to master for mountain professionals the World over. Today and for the rest of the season it will be prudent to expose only one person at a time to avalanche terrain and don’t park or hang out in run out zones.
Though the likelihood of triggering a deep slab avalanche is decreasing with time, overlying slabs are still showing the potential to propagate if a fracture is initiated. Likely areas to initiate a fracture may be near trigger points such as rocks or trees mid-slope where the slab is shallow or interrupted. We’ve seen numerous examples since the New Year of the destructive potential these large avalanches can harbor, and in the case of Repeat Offender last week, that particular avalanche was triggered remotely from a shallow trigger point.
The best surface conditions for skiing and riding today will be found above ~1500’ in areas where the snow is deep and consistent. Below 1500’ the surface consists of a few inches of new snow over a stiff crust capable of supporting a snowmachiner. This crust, formed by Sunday’s wet storm and subsequent cold temperatures could prove a future weak layer at lower elevations once overlain by a slab.
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