Monregalese Valleys

The new snow and wind slabs must be evaluated with care and prudence. Backcountry touring and other off-piste activities call for careful route selection.

The new snow and wind slabs must be evaluated with care and prudence. Backcountry touring and other off-piste activities call for careful route selection.

The southerly wind has transported the new snow significantly. In gullies and bowls, and behind abrupt changes in the terrain the wind slabs have increased in size additionally. The large wind slabs of Monday are covered with new snow and therefore barely recognisable. On wind-loaded slopes and in the regions exposed to precipitation large and, in isolated cases, very large avalanches are possible in starting zones where no previous releases have taken place. On steep shady slopes the avalanches can be released in deep layers of the snowpack. The new snow and wind slabs can be released easily, even by a single winter sport participant,. Ski touring and other off-piste activities, including snowshoe hiking, call for experience in the assessment of avalanche danger and careful route selection. Whumpfing sounds and the formation of shooting cracks when stepping on the snowpack serve as an alarm sign.

Over a wide area 40 to 60 cm of snow fell on Monday. Over a wide area 15 to 20 cm of snow, and even more in some localities, fell on Tuesday. Fresh snow and large quantities of wind-drifted snow are poorly bonded with the old snowpack in many places. Naturally triggered avalanches and whumpfing sounds and the formation of shooting cracks when stepping on the snowpack have confirmed a dangerous avalanche situation on steep slopes. Large-grained weak layers exist in the snowpack on shady slopes.