Werdenfels Alps

Slab avalanches easily triggerable!

Slab avalanches easily triggerable!

Avalanche danger above the timberline is considerable, below that altitude danger is moderate. Main problem: fresh snow which is triggerable by a single person engaged in winter sports as slab avalanches or can release spontaneously as loose snow avalanches in steep rocky terrain. Frequency and size of avalanche prone locations increase with ascending altitude. Slab avalanches can be triggered adjacent to ridgelines behind abrupt changes in terrain and in gullies and bowls in all aspect. They can attain medium size.

Up to half a meter of new snow will fall as temperatures drop rapidly. At higher altitudes it will be deposited atop older snowdrift accumulations. Significant temperature variations within the snowpack promote the formation of weak intermediate layers consisting of faceted crystals. These are trigger-sensitive, in particular at high altitude The snowfall is accompanied by strong westerly winds, meaning that partly extensive snowdrift accumulations are generated. At lower altitudes the fresh snow is deposited atop a thin moist snowpack or directly on the bare ground. At intermediate altitudes the snowpack is frequently wet down to the ground.

As the intensity of the precipitations decreases and the snowpack settles fast the danger of dry avalanches will decrease.