Západné Tatry

Beware of wind-blown snow at high altitudes above 1800 m above sea level.

Beware of wind-blown snow at high altitudes above 1800 m above sea level.

The main avalanche problem at high altitudes is wind-drifted snow deposited on the leeward sides in the form of snow slabs and pillows. Avalanche release is possible here with higher additional loads. Danger spots in the terrain are relatively easy to see for experienced ski mountaineers and climbers, they are located under saddles, ridges, rock walls and in places where the slope changes. During the day, small sluffs of wet snow may occur on sunlit /southern/ slopes. At lower and middle altitudes and in places where newer snow is absent, the snow cover is hard to icy after previous temperature changes.

The snow cover is frozen and stabilized due to the previous significant temperature change. Newer snow is generally found above the forest belt and even here it is very irregularly distributed. Strong winds, which changed direction, transported it to leeward places and created snow slabs and pillows. On the sunlit southern slopes, the surface of the snow cover softens briefly. The snow cover is well below average at altitudes up to 1200 m above sea level. The highest snow cover in the Slovak mountains is in the Western Tatras above the forest zone.

Constant avalanche danger Compiled by Filip Kyzek