Monregalese Valleys

New snow and wind slabs represent the main danger.

New snow and wind slabs represent the main danger.

During the night soft wind slabs will form especially adjacent to ridgelines and in gullies and bowls as well as at high altitude. As a consequence of new snow and strong wind they will increase in size as the day progresses. These can sometimes be released by a single winter sport participant and reach medium size, especially on wind-loaded slopes. Such avalanche prone locations are sometimes covered with new snow and are barely recognisable because of the poor visibility. Even a small avalanche can sweep people along and give rise to falls. As a consequence of new snow and wind more dry avalanches are possible by the evening, even large ones in isolated cases.

In some regions 30 to 60 cm of snow, and even more in some localities, has fallen since Sunday above approximately 2000 m. The sometimes strong wind will transport the new snow significantly. In some cases the wind slabs have bonded poorly with each other and the old snowpack. The old snowpack is well consolidated and its surface consists of loosely bonded snow lying on a resilient melt-freeze crust. Above approximately 2100 m a lot of snow is lying.