Chiemgau Alps East

Slab avalanches at higher altitudes; glide snow and loose snow avalanches in lower lying areas.

Slab avalanches at higher altitudes; glide snow and loose snow avalanches in lower lying areas.

Avalanche danger above 1600 m is moderate; below that altitude it rises from low to moderate during the course of the day. The main problem are snowdrifts. On some very steep slopes, in particular adjacent to ridgelines in N/W/SW aspects as well as in wind-loaded gullies and bowls, slab avalanches of medium size can be triggered by minimum additional loading such as by the weight of a single skier. In addition, wet loose snow avalanches can release naturally on extremely steep sun-exposed rocky slopes. The highest avalanche activity is expected in the afternoon. This is when isolated glide snow avalanches will also start sliding over steep meadows. Avalanches tend to be small.

The snow of the weekend has settled considerably and has stabilized especially at lower altitudes. Where the snow was transported by wind snowdrifts accumulated which were locally deposited atop soft layers consisting of graupel or decomposing and fragmented precipitation particles. Spatially-limited these can be prone to triggering. At intermediate altitude the snowpack base is frequently wet and thus promotes gliding movements of the snow masses over smooth surfaces. In south-facing terrain a thin melt-freeze crust forms during the night which melts again during the course of the day. The snow will then become superficially wet on sunny slopes and will loose its firmness.

As a consequence of stable high pressure weather and milder temperatures the snowpack will continue to settle and the danger of dry slab avalanches will decrease.