- Credit
- Jonathan Reich
Open trees describes forested areas where the tree canopy is open, or where the forest cover is uneven or patchy. These areas don’t receive the same protection from sun and wind as densely treed areas, snow shedding from branches in these areas has a minimal impact on snowpack structure, and they can be a ‘hot spot’ for the growth of surface hoar crystals.
Open trees do not anchor the snowpack in place in the same way that dense trees do. Instead, their perforation of the snowpack forms a network of weak points that are more likely to aid the propagation of a fracture line than to hold a slab in place. Open trees in avalanche terrain may also be indicative of historical avalanche activity.