← All guides
Guide

Reading where the wind moved the snow

Fresh snow doesn't stay where it falls. Wind loads some slopes and scours others — often within a few hundred meters of each other.

Snow DriftWind Field

The problem

It snowed, but the slope doesn't ride like it should have — part of it is wind-packed and heavy, part of it is scoured down to old snow or ice. Wind moved the new snow somewhere else while you were driving up.

Why it happens

Snow Drift combines recent snowfall with wind speed and direction from the weather model, then corrects for terrain: downwind (lee) slopes are flagged as wind-loaded, windward ridges as scoured. Wind Field shows the underlying terrain-adjusted wind exposure with a time scrubber.

How to check it in First Chair

2D map colored by the Snow Drift layer, showing wind-loaded lee slopes and scoured windward ridges

  1. Turn on Snow Drift

    See which slopes likely picked up wind-transported snow (loaded) and which got blown clean (scoured).

  2. Check Wind Field for the raw picture

    Use the time scrubber to see how wind direction and speed built up over the last day.

  3. Point the lens at a lee slope or ridge

    In Shoot/Compass mode, check loading before you commit to a line.

  4. Treat loaded terrain as a reason to look closer

    Not a reason to skip checking the bulletin.

Worth remembering Snow Drift is a terrain-corrected estimate, not an official avalanche forecast, and it doesn't replace the avalanche bulletin. Use it alongside the bulletin, not instead of it — wind loading is one of several factors that shape avalanche risk.

Free to download · iPhone & Apple Watch

Download on the App Store