Allgäu Alps Central

Snowdrifts extremely prone to triggering. Acute glide-snow activity.

Snowdrifts extremely prone to triggering. Acute glide-snow activity.

The main problem: snowdrifts. Trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations are found in all aspects, near to and distant from ridgelines, in gullies, bowls and behind protruberances in the landscape. Slab avalanches can be triggered naturally or by minimum additional loading, and grow to large size, especially when more deeply embedded layers of the snowpack are triggered above the treeline. Apart from that, an acute gliding snow problem threatens on steep grass-covered slopes and in forest clearances in all aspects up to high altitudes. Glide-snow avalanches can grow to large size in isolated cases. Glide cracks (“wishbones”) are red flags!

Deep, freshly generated snowdrifts have been deposited in wind-protected terrain atop surface hoar at intermediate altitudes, elsewhere often atop a loose old snowpack surface. Inside the snow cover are trigger-sensitive intermediate layers. The old snowpack also has layers of large, faceted snow crystals. At intermediate altitudes these are found near melt-freeze crusts, at high altitudes at the bottom of the snowpack fundament. On steep grass-covered slopes and in mountain forests the snowpack at ground level is moist, furthering gliding movements.

With a forecast warm front moving in (on Sunday) the danger levels could increase further.