The Location and Timing of Deep Slab Avalanches

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Abstract
Winter observations in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana show two periods during which one may expect a collapsing snowpack and accompanying avalanches: (1) shaded and sheltered areas: December-February; (2) sunny and exposed areas: March-May. These periods appear to be linked in part to the cyclic rise and fall of strength in the basal snow layer. It is suggested that sheltered slopes are often about a half-cycle ahead of sunny slopes because sheltered slopes tend to retain the early snows which later become the critically weak basal layer on these slopes.

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