Risk management
Avalanche conditions are especially dangerous or difficult to predict and anticipate. Manage the risk by making conservative terrain choices avoiding steep slopes.
Characteristics
- Slabs resting on top of persistent weak layers can produce large avalanches.
- They stabilize slowly, tending to persist for several weeks or longer and often have dormant periods, becoming active again when the weather changes.
- Persistent slabs can often be triggered by light loads and tend to release above the trigger making it difficult to escape.
- Avalanches are often triggered remotely from a long distance away and slabs often propagate wide in surprising and unpredictable ways.
- There are often no visible signs of persistent slab instability. Lack of avalanche activity and lack of danger signs are NOT reliable indicators of stability.