Rätikon West

Main danger: snowdrift accumulations and weak layers in the old snow

Main danger: snowdrift accumulations and weak layers in the old snow

Fresh (and already blanketed) snowdrifts are prone to triggering particularly in ridgeline zones, but also distant from ridgelines, wind-loaded gullies and bowls and behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain. They tend to increase with ascending altitude. Small to medium slab avalanches can be triggered by one sole winter sports enthusiast. If they fracture to deeper layers they can grow to large size. Above 2400 m on steep shady slopes there are unfavourable layers in the old snowpack. Activities in backcountry demand experience in avalanche danger assessment on-site. In steep rocky terrain the fresh snow can trigger small to medium loose-snow avalanches are possible.

The small amount of fresh snowfall now blankets the snowdrift accumulations of recent days. Exposed zones and knolls are often windblown, gullies and bowls are filled to the brim with drifts. Fresh snow and snowdrifts often lie deposited atop loose and soft layers, on older snowdrifted masses or atop melt-freeze encrusted old snowpack surfaces and are often riddled with graupel. Bonding to the old snowpack deteriorates with ascending altitude. At high altitudes on steep shady slopes in particular, there are still weak layers deeply embedded inside the snowpack which are not visible to the naked eye.

Nighttime hours: On the Arlberg and in the Montafon, clear and ice-cold nocturnal skies. In Vorderwald and Rhine Valley, heavy cloud cover from the north. Friday: compact cloud cover will shroud many peaks from the north, a bit of minor snowfall is possible. In the Rätikon and Silvretta, sunny intervals are possible. Fog, cold, wind will make it inhospitable. At 2000 m: -14 degrees. Moderate northerly winds

Saturday will have heavily clouded skies, hardly any sun, light intermittent snowfall. Southern regions will have somewhat better conditions. It will be very cold and, in the mountains, windy. The settling and consolidating will be slowed by the low temperatures. Thus, avalanche danger will decrease only incrementally.