Turnagain Pass

The last couple days have brought steady stiff wind, and combined with light snowfall it has created a subtle stiffer layer of snow on multiple aspects.  Yesterday we took a closer look at a couple small windslabs on the south side of Tincan.  The small, isolated windslabs were becoming less likely to trigger.  There is no persistent weak layer associated, but the subtle structure differences in the layering are just enough to make it break at an interface 1 foot deep.

This kind of windslab is manageable in the right terrain.  It should be expected near ridges, under cornices, and may be easy to trigger the small low volume pockets.  The manageability of this problem is directly related to the terrain.  If you get surprised in steep, high commitment terrain it could very well be dangerous. 

Cornices are building and may be unstable.  One of the small slabs at Tincan was triggered by a naturally failing cornice.  We can expect other cornices around the region to be large and easy to collapse under the weight of a person, snowmachine, or dog. 

The deep slab is getting to be less of a problem.  However, the high consequence of a large deep slab avalanche is still affecting my own travel decisions despite the low probability of triggering one at this time.  Causing one today will require the right combination of a steep slope and shallow trigger point.