- Credit
- Raven Eye Photography
Wet slab avalanches are caused by a thick cohesive slab of snow losing its bond to a weaker layer after becoming damp, moist, or saturated with water. The slab that initially fails can be very firm or even hard, but once moving the debris generally becomes a dense, mushy mass. Wet slab avalanches are generally slower moving than dry slab types, but are often highly destructive due to their greater mass.