Border Pennine Alps

The wind slabs are mostly easy to recognise and to be assessed critically.

The wind slabs are mostly easy to recognise and to be assessed critically.

As a consequence of new snow and a moderate to strong wind from northwesterly directions, wind slabs formed. These are to be found especially adjacent to ridgelines and in gullies and bowls and generally at high altitudes. The wind slabs can be released, especially by large additional loads, in particular on north, east and southeast facing slopes. Caution is to be exercised in particular along the border with Switzerland. Avalanches can also be triggered in the old snowpack and reach large size in isolated cases, in particular on shady slopes at elevated altitudes. In steep terrain there is a danger of falling on the hard snow surface.

In some cases the wind slabs have bonded still only poorly with the old snowpack. Large-grained weak layers exist in the bottom section of the snowpack on shady slopes, especially on steep slopes above approximately 2500 m. Adjacent to ridgelines and in pass areas as well as in high Alpine regions snow depths vary greatly, depending on the infuence of the wind. Towards its surface, the snowpack is hard and its surface has a crust, in the regions exposed to a lot of wind especially on very steep slopes.