Werdenfels Alps

Fresh trigger-sensitive snowdrifts at summit levels

Fresh trigger-sensitive snowdrifts at summit levels

Avalanche danger above 2000m is considerable; below that altitude it is moderate. The main problem are fresh snowdrifts which can be triggered as slab avalanches by low additional loading such as by a single skier. Avalanche prone locations are found in steep terrain adjacent to ridgelines in N/E/SW aspects, behind protuberances as well as in gullies and bowls. Size and frequency of avalanche prone locations increase with ascending altitude. Above the treeline, slab avalanches can reach medium size. Isolated wet glide snow avalanches can still glide over the ground on steep smooth grass-covered slopes that have not yet discharged. Glide cracks are indicators of danger. At higher altitudes possibility of isolated medium-sized avalanches.

Temperature is decreasing and the snowfall level continues to drop. At intermediate altitudes the snowpack is completely soaked down to the ground and the snowpack surface freezes as a consequence of the dropping temperatures. New snow is deposited atop the melt-freeze crust that forms. At higher altitudes, bonding of new and old snow is not ideal. Here, the snowfall is also accompanied by strong northwesterly winds; fresh snowdrift accumulations are generated in leeward areas. At high altitudes, locally weak layers are embedded in the uppermost part of the snowpack. Where there is still sufficient snow, further gliding movements over the wet ground are possible.

Depending on the amount of new snow, avalanche danger can rise slightly over the course of the next days, also at lower altitudes.