Werdenfels Alps

Transitions from shallow to deep snow: judge them carefully

Transitions from shallow to deep snow: judge them carefully

Avalanche danger above 1800 m is moderate, below that altitude danger is low. Main problem: in the old snowpack layers on shady slopes. Slab avalanches can trigger in transitions from shallow to deep snow, e.g. at entries into steep gullies and bowls or behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain by the weight of one sole skier. Elsewhere, older snowdrifts can be triggered mostly by large additional loading. Frequency and spread of danger zones increase with ascending altitude. Avalanche can become large-sized at high altitudes. In addition, on N/W facing ridgeline slopes, shallow drifts can be triggered as small slab avalanches. Elsewhere, isolated small glide-snow avalanches are possible on steep grass-covered slopes.

A few cm of fresh snow blanke older snowdrift masses which were able to settle well on sunny slopes in particular. At higher altitudes the snowpack is still riddled with weak faceted layers. Where snow is shallow, these layers can still be triggered. Near ridgelines snowdrifts have been generated which are prone to triggering.

Avalanche danger is expected to diminish over the next few days due to rising temperatures.