Glockner Group Pasterze

Circumvent fresh snowdrifts. Caution: persistent weak layer.

Circumvent fresh snowdrifts. Caution: persistent weak layer.

Snowdrift accumulations which are prone to triggering will be generated particularly in gullies, bowls and behind protruberances in the landscape due to fresh snow and strong to storm-velocity winds. Snowdrifts can be triggered by one single skier and are expected to remain trigger-sensitive. Avalanches can in isolated cases trigger naturally at the foot of rock cliffs and grow to medium size. They can also trigger in the weak layers in isolated cases and grow to medium size. Particularly unfavorable are shady slopes. Size and frequency of danger zones will tend to increase with ascending altitude.

Up to 10 cm of fresh snow was registered regionally, locally more. The often storm-strength winds will transport the fresh and also the old snow. The varied snowdrift accumulations are often poorly bonded with each other and with the old snowpack surface, they lie particularly on NW/N/SE facing slopes above 2400m atop a weak old snowpack. The fresh drifts also lie on top of weak layers. The snowpack is highly diverse even over small areas. There is too little snow on the ground for this juncture of the season.

On Saturday, radiantly beautiful and sunny mountain weather, but bitter cold. At 2000m: -12 degrees at midday. Moderate (stronger in exposed terrain) NW winds will be it seem even colder. Source: GeoSphere Austria

Circumvent fresh snowdrifts