Glockner Group Pasterze

Weak layers in old snow require attentiveness.

Strong-velocity winds have intensively transported the fresh and old snow. At intermediate levels of the old snowpack on shady, wind-protected slopes there are faceted, metamorphosed weak layers. Weather conditions are reinforcing a gradual consolidation of the snowpack on SE/S/SW facing slopes, particularly above 2600m. At all altitudes there is too little snow on the ground for this juncture of the season. The snowpack is highly irregular over small areas.

On Thursday, winds will shift to southwesterly. Summits will remain mostly in the clear and intermittent sunshine is anticipated. During the afternoon, clouds will move in and during the night snowfall will set in. Snowfall level at 1500m. Temperatures will drop. At midday at 3000m: 0 degrees; at 2000m: +3 degrees; at 1000m: +5 degrees.

Avalanche danger levels are expected to increase.

Weak layers in old snow require attentiveness.

Avalanches can be triggered in the weak old snow even by one single skier, esp. on shady slopes above 2400m in transition zones into gullies and bowls. Avalanches are often medium-sized. Frequency and size of danger zones tend to increase with ascending altitude. In addition, older snowdrift accumulations on NW/N/NE facing slopes are still prone to triggering, particularly on shady, wind-protected slopes and generally by large additional loading in wind-protected zones.