Totes Gebirge South

Snowdrift problem at high altitude

Snowdrift problem at high altitude

Above the timberline, avalanche danger is considerable. New snow and frequently strong winds have generated fresh, trigger-sensitive snowdrift accumulations. Small-to-medium slab avalanches can be triggered even by the weight of one sole skier. Avalanche prone locations increase with ascending altitude, are found particularly in NE/E/SW facing gullies and bowls and behind protruberances, depending on wind impact also in forest clearances. Exposed zones are often utterly windblown, hard and icy.

In the Dachstein region and Totes Gebirge to the northern Schladminger Tauern, up to 30 cm of fresh snow has been registered which fell amid strong wind impact. At higher altitudes the fresh snow and drifts were often deposited atop a smooth, melt-freeze encrusted old snowpack surface, initially with little wind influence. Both the smooth surface and the soft snowpack layers constitute a weak layer for the bonded snowdrifts. From place to place also faceted weak layers are found beneath the melt-freeze crust and can be triggered. At lower altitudes, bonding of the fresh snow to the shallow snowpack is often better. In zones without wind the snowpack is loose.

Intermediate impact of a high-pressure front: superb sunny weather awaits us on Friday. Dry cold will provide excellent visibility. After sunset in NW regions, cloudbanks will move in. Winds will shift to westerly, be blowing at moderate strength to begin with, later only at light strength. At 2000 m: -8 degrees at midday; at 1500 m: -4 degrees. On Saturday a mild perturbance, lots of cloud, minor snowfall on the northern flank of the Alps, more pleasant conditions in the southern regions. Temperatures will remain wintery.

The dry cold preserves the snowpack, trigger-sensitive snowdrifts cannot settle, the main problem persists.