Glossaire

A hard slab consists of dense wind-packed snow or old snow that has hardened after a long period of settlement. Hard slabs are usually more than a few days old and can support the weight of a person or machine. Hard slabs are more difficult to trigger than soft slabs, but they tend to propagate much farther and therefore have greater destructive potential. Hard slabs are also more likely to fracture above a person or machine, rather than below, making the likelihood of becoming involved in the resulting avalanche much higher.