Rhemes Valley

The deep wind slabs of Friday remain in some cases prone to triggering.

The deep wind slabs of Friday remain in some cases prone to triggering.

The wind slabs of Friday represent the main danger. They can be released by a single winter sport participant in some cases. Mostly they are shallow, caution is to be exercised in particular adjacent to ridgelines and in gullies and bowls, and on steep slopes in particular above the tree line. On very steep shady slopes the avalanches can be triggered in deep layers of the snowpack. Slopes that have been little used this winter thus far are especially unfavourable. Maintaining distances between individuals and one-at-a-time descents are recommended. More natural avalanches are possible, even medium-sized ones.

Friday: 10 to 30 cm of snow, and up to 40 cm in some localities, has fallen above approximately 1200 m. The fresh snow and especially the wind-blown snow drifts, both soft and hard, cover a thin layer of old snow and partly also surface hoar. In some cases the wind slabs have bonded poorly with the old snowpack. Faceted weak layers exist in the old snowpack in particular on west, north and east facing slopes.

The weather conditions will facilitate a slow strengthening of the snowpack. Little snow will fall until Monday.