Border Pennine Alps

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger. Natural moist avalanches are still possible.

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger. Natural moist avalanches are still possible.

In gullies and bowls and behind abrupt changes in the terrain as well as in high Alpine regions large wind slabs formed. The fresh and somewhat older wind slabs can be released even by a single winter sport participant and generally above the tree line. As a consequence of warming during the day more medium-sized to large gliding avalanches and moist snow slides are possible below approximately 2500 m, in particular in case of releases originating from starting zones that still retain some snow, caution is to be exercised in particular at the base of rock walls, as well as on extremely steep sunny slopes. The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

At intermediate and high altitudes a very large amount of snow is lying. In isolated cases new snow and wind slabs are lying on a hard crust. The high temperatures in the late morning will give rise to increasing moistening of the snowpack in particular at low and intermediate altitudes. In the last two days further medium-sized and, in isolated cases, large avalanches were observed.