Rhemes Valley

The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

The new snow and wind slabs are lying on the unfavourable surface of an old snowpack in particular on shady slopes and at high altitude. They remain for the foreseeable future prone to triggering. In particular above approximately 2300 m the avalanche prone locations are more prevalent. Such avalanche prone locations are barely recognisable, even to the trained eye. The avalanches can be released by a single winter sport participant. Whumpfing sounds and field observations confirm an unfavourable avalanche situation on steep slopes. As a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation small and, in isolated cases, medium-sized dry and moist avalanches are possible. This applies especially on very steep sunny slopes.

In particular along the border with France, along the border between Valais and Italy 25 to 40 cm of snow fell on Sunday above approximately 2700 m. On Sunday on very steep shady slopes numerous medium-sized and, in isolated cases, large avalanches were observed. Since Sunday on very steep sunny slopes numerous small and, in isolated cases, medium-sized avalanches occurred naturally. The solar radiation gave rise as the day progresses to moistening of the snowpack below approximately 2500 m. The new snow and wind slabs are lying on a crust on steep sunny slopes. In particular at intermediate altitudes less snow than usual is lying. On sunny slopes below approximately 2200 m hardly any snow is lying.

The danger of moist avalanches will increase.