Suprise slab bonanza
Quick reportBabarides · Feb 21, 2026 · Glacier
Quick report
- Weather
- sunny
- Ride Type
- alpineSlopes, convexSlopes, mellowSlopes
- Stayed Away
- steepSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- crusty, powder, windAffected
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSlab
As you can also read in TLABERGE's MIN, lots of activity was witnessed that day. Very variable wind load conditions (0-40cm), just fresh from the night before, created very unstable wind slabs. One was triggered on the way up on the preestablished skintrack, carying 2 skiers for 5m, but with a crack propagating 30m each way, on a convex break. The other ones that my friend and I trigerred that day were on the slopes climber's right of the lateral moraine, above the Hermit slidepath. There, every terrain feature was reactive, and any slope close or above to 25° released directly or remotely. The biggest had a crown extending 50m, a thickness of 30cm and ran for 100m to stop in a depression. All that to say that westerly slopes, between 2100-2600m under the Swiss glacier have considerable wind slab problem, to be mindful of for the upcoming days with the fresh snow on top. Be safe o7
Weather
- Avg Temp
- -10
- Max Temp
- -12
- Min Temp
- -17
- Wind Speed
- windSpeedModerate
- Blowing Snow
- moderate
- Sky Condition
- clear
- Wind Direction
- W
- New Snow24 Hours
- 5
- Storm Start Date
- 2026-02-20
- Storm Snow Amount
- 5
- Temperature Trend
- rising
- Precipitation Type
- none
Sustained winds (30kmh+) thoughout the valley. All of the climb up to Hermit Meadows was sheltered. Westerly gusts picked up as we were at the toe of the slope leading to Swiss Glacier. Lots of snow displacement, reaching 40cm depth in some places, all new snow.
Snowpack
- Depth
- 250
- Obs Type
- summary
- Site Aspect
- W
- Test Fracture
- sudden
- Site Elevation
- 2300
- Ski Penetration
- 6
- Test Initiation
- moderate
- Foot Penetration
- 40
- Cracking Observed
- 1
- Test Failure Depth
- 26
- Site Elevation Band
- alp
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow, variable
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- other
Decently consolidated column, no crust/weak layer at 2500m on W aspect. Wind load on W/SW aspects, especially on any terrain features prone to loading (convexities). Very reactive, propagating (50m+ obsserved), prone to remote trigers.
Avalanche
- Run Length
- 100
- Slab Width
- 50
- Trigger Type
- skier
- Wind Exposure
- downFlow
- Avalanche Size
- 1
- Slab Thickness
- 30
- Trigger Sub Type
- accidental
- Start Zone Aspect
- SW
- Vegetation Cover
- openSlope
- Start Zone Incline
- 23
- Avalanche Character
- windSlab
- Number Of Avalanches
- 2-5
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2300
- Runout Zone Elevation
- 2200
- Avalanche Observation
- 24to48hrsAgo
- Weak Layer Crystal Type
- stormSnow
- Start Zone Elevation Band
- alp
- Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
- 2026-02-21T18:24:00.000Z
Throughout the day, we realeased 5 wind slabs in different configurations, but around the same altitude (2500-2100m). Report for the biggest one released that partially buried a skier + ate a ski. :/
Incident
- Group Size
- 2
- Terrain Trap
- gullyDepression
- Group Activity
- skiing
- Number Injured
- 0
- Number Involved
- 2
- Number Caught Only
- 2
- Number Fully Buried
- 0
- Snow Depth Trigger Point
- average
- Terrain Shape Trigger Point
- convex
- Number Partly Buried Able Breathing
- 0
- Number Partly Buried Impaired Breathing
- 0
During the ski down from the top of Swiss Glacier moraines, several wind slabs released, some remotely, some under the skiers. Most were small enough (10cm thick) not to gain much momentum, but one got sizeable enough to run ~100m (30cm thick), carrying a skier and burying a ski, still out there. Lots of heat, on very suprisingly reactive conditions. Good reminder to always keep an eye out. The devil is in the details.