Avalanche forecast

Small fresh and blanketed snowdrifts are main danger - Still glide-snow avalanches

Small fresh and blanketed snowdrifts are main danger - Still glide-snow avalanches

Small fresh and frequently covered snowdrifts are prone to triggering in places. Avalanche prone locations are found especially in steep ridgeline terrain and in wind-loaded gullies and bowls. They increase with altitude in spread and frequency. Small-to-medium slabs can be triggered even by the weight of one sole skier. In steep terrain, snowdrift accumulations should be avoided. Whumpf noises and cracks in the surface are red flags. At intermediate and low altitudes, glide-snow avalanches are still possible: caution below glide cracks.

The most recent round of fresh snow lies deposited atop loose, soft and also bonded layers. Exposed zones are often windblown down to the ground or to a wind-freeze crust, gullies and bowls filled to the brim with drifts. Older drifts often cover older snowdrift accumulations of recent days or soft layers. In some places, graupel and surface hoar have been covered. Bonding to this (as well as in deeper layers) worsens with altitude. The old snowpack is generally well consolidated and stable, but there are faceted crystals at mid-level of the snowpack, triggerable by large additional loading.

It will be very sunny, temperatures will rise further. At 2000m: -10 to -6 degrees. Brisk NE winds at high altitude.

The next few days will be very sunny and increasingly mild. Avalanche danger will continue to decrease.