Hochschwab Mountains

Moderate avalanche danger due to snowdrift problem/persistent weak layer at high altitude

Moderate avalanche danger due to snowdrift problem/persistent weak layer at high altitude

At high altitude moderate avalanche danger prevails. Older snowdrifts are found in all aspects. A slab avalanche can trigger from them with large additional loading, in isolated cases from the weight of one single skier, particularly on shady high altitude slopes and there, in transitions from shallow to deep snow - avoid these zones! On sunny slopes and at lower altitudes, conditions are relatively stable due to daytime warming on Thursday and the subsequent drop in temperatures, but the risk of glide-snow avalanches still requires caution. Zones below glide cracks should be avoided.

The rounds of precipitation of recent days have left up to 50 cm of fresh snow in the Northern Alps at high altitudes. The fresh snow fell on a melt-freeze encrusted old snowpack surface, often blanketed by a thin layer of unbonded snowdrifts. Due to stormy NW, and later southerly winds there was massive snow transport and the freshly generated snowdrift accumulations are poorly bonded with the old snow. At low altitudes a melt-freeze crust has formed, in isolated cases the snowpack glides over steep grass-covered slopes.

On Thursday night, minor snowfall on the northern flank of the Alps accompanied by strong-to-stormy NW winds, the snowfall level at about 700m. During the course of the day on Friday clouds between Dachstein and Mürzsteger Alps will disperse, it will turn increasingly sunny. Temperature at 2000 m: dropping to -7 degrees.

A northerly air current will make the variable conditions and relatively cold mountain weather continue also on Saturday. In the northern barrier cloud regions, a bit of snowfall, the snowdrift problem will intensify slightly.