Border Graie Alps

Fresh wind slabs at intermediate and high altitudes.

Fresh wind slabs at intermediate and high altitudes.

The sometimes new snow-covered wind slabs must be evaluated with care and prudence. Dry avalanches can be released, even by a single winter sport participant and reach medium size, caution is to be exercised in gullies and bowls, and behind abrupt changes in the terrain, as well as adjacent to ridgelines and in pass areas above approximately 2200 m. Avalanches can penetrate deep layers and reach quite a large size. Whumpfing sounds and the formation of shooting cracks when stepping on the snowpack serve as an alarm indicating the danger. The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

20 to 40 cm of snow, and even more in some localities, has fallen since Sunday. As a consequence of the sometimes strong wind the wind slabs will increase in size once again. Faceted weak layers exist deeper in the old snowpack in particular on shady slopes.