Ybbstaler Alpen

Beware of prone to triggering wind slabs! Avalanche prone locations are sometimes difficult to recognise due to new fallen snow!

Beware of prone to triggering wind slabs! Avalanche prone locations are sometimes difficult to recognise due to new fallen snow!

Above 1200 metres there is a considerable avalanche risk (level 3). The stormy winds have created prone-to-triggering snowdrift accumulations in almost all aspects, which can be triggered by individual winter sports enthusiasts in some places as medium-sized, occasionally also as large slab avalanches. The avalanche prone locations are mainly in gullies, bowls and behind terrain edges. Take particular care in the transition from a little to a lot of snow. A few centimetres of new fallen snow and fresh pillows of wind drifted snow can cover the avalanche prone locations and make them difficult to see. Defensive behaviour is recommended for winter sports in open terrain.

From Wednesday evening to Saturday morning, 30 to 70 cm of new fallen snow fell under the influence of strong winds, resulting in large differences in snow depth. Weak layers can be found within the drift snow packs and in the transition to the mostly hardness of the old snowpack. In deep layers in northern aspects, there are still faceted crystals or floating snow in the old snowpack, but these are already interspersed with melt-freeze crusts and can hardly be disturbed. There is a little less snow at low altitudes, especially on sunny slopes. In the lower layers, the snow is moist due to the warm ground and can start to glide on very steep grass mats.

A disturbance zone will approach from the west during the night. As a result, the cloud cover will increase again. In the Ybbstal Alps it will start to snow lightly in the early hours of the morning. On Sunday, the mountains will be shrouded in thick clouds all day and it will snow at times. Clear spells remain the exception. Between the Hochkar and the Ötscher, up to 10 cm of snow may accumulate in the accumulation areas. Otherwise, the snow will hardly be measurable. At higher altitudes, the wind will again be gale-force from west to north with wind speeds of between 50 and 90 km/h.

The risk of avalanches remains considerable at higher altitudes. With a northerly high-altitude current, dense clouds will accumulate along the northern side of the Alps for almost the entire Holy Week, with frequent snowfall. Most new fallen snow is expected in the Ybbstal Alps. The north to north-westerly wind will also remain brisk to stormy, leading to the formation of new snow packs.