Wind Loading

The wind from the west seemed strongest in the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon as well as along the ridges but the east facing slopes in Mineral Fork were mostly in the lea of the wind. In the wind loaded terrain, I found a few areas that cracked out in soft, shallow slabs. I was a quite cautious of the trail into Mineral Fork because the winds were blowing quite strong from the west and swirling around all over the place. The trail was mostly blown over by wind pillows so I picked my way around them, walking on the scoured areas. If those wind slabs broke out, they could easily knock you off you feet and dump you down in the creek bottom below. The non-wind affected snow was quite well bonded to the underlying snow. Once up into the the drainage, it was out of the wind, with 8 inches of delightful, soft powder. I broke trail up towards the ridge until I started getting into windier areas near the upper ridge, whereupon I turned around and skied down in wonderful snow. The advantage of dealing with wind slabs is that they are so easy to see and feel. Just avoid them.