Werdenfels Alps

Old snow problem at highest altitudes in the Bavarian Alps

Despite small quantities of new snow in the eastern region the avalanche danger will continue to recede further in the next few days.

Old snow problem at highest altitudes in the Bavarian Alps

Moderate avalanche danger above 2200m. Main problem: trigger-sensitive intermediate layers in the old snowpack. At high altitudes slab avalanches can be triggered on steep shady slopes in particular by large additional loading, especially in places where the snow depth is shallow, e.g., at the entry points to gullies and bowls. Triggered avalanches can grow to medium size. At intermediate altitudes it is still possible that isolated glide snow avalanches release naturally on steep, smooth grass-covered slopes. The glide snow avalanches tend to be small but can still attain medium size in the Allgäu.

In general, the snowpack has settled and consolidated well over the last few days due to mild temperatures. Up to high altitudes the snowpack is covered by melt-freeze crusts of varying depths. Trigger-sensitive layers consisting of expansively metamorphosed (faceted) crystals exist at high altitude at the snowpack base and near older snowdrift accumulations. These layers are more pronounced at the shady side where it is also more likely that fractures propagate. At low and intermediate altitudes, the snowpack is moist down to the ground but compact. Gliding movements can still not be excluded.