Nock Mountains

Danger of taking a fall outweighs that of being buried in snow

Danger of taking a fall outweighs that of being buried in snow

Avalanche danger is low, the major danger stems from snowdrifts. Particularly on very steep shady slopes above the treeline, slab avalanches can be triggered in isolated cases by minimum additional loading. Releases are mostly small-sized. Apart from th danger of being buried in snow masses, the risks of being swept along and forced to take a fall need to be taken into consideration.

The few cm of fresh fallen snow is being transported, then deposited on shady slopes atop an expansively metamorphosed snowpack surface. Apart from that the snowpack in wind-protected shady terrain is rewarding for skiers and boarders: expansively metamorphosed powder. From places to place there is surface hoar. In wind-exposed terrain the snowpack surface is highly varied.

On Monday, a strong-to-storm strength southerly foehn wind will be blowing: 50 km/hr in Northern Alps, 90 km/hr in Tauern. On the Main Alpine Ridge, the peaks will be shrouded from the south in clouds. Elsewhere the summits will be in the clear. In the morning hours, sunshine; in the afternoon, high-altitude clouds will pass through. At 2000m. +1 degree; at 3000m. -2 degrees.

Increasing snowdrift problem due to fresh snow and wind