Lechquellen Mountains

Heed fresh snowdrift accumulations at increasing altitudes

Heed fresh snowdrift accumulations at increasing altitudes

At high altitudes avalanche danger is considerable. Fresh snowdrift accumulations lie deposited mostly on steep shady slopes and are easy to trigger. Danger zones occur behind abrupt discontinuities in the terrain and in wind-loaded gullies and bowls, they tend to increase in frequency with ascending altitude. Glide-cracks and whumpf noises are indicatorsr of imminent danger. Activities in backcountry require experience in assessing avalanche danger and the terrain on-site. At low altitudes the danger is mostly moderate, below the treeline danger is often low.

The latest round of fresh snow and drifts is bonding poorly with the old snowpack, particularly on shady slopes. On shady slopes at high altitudes there is still powder or surface hoar. On south-facing slopes at high altitudes there is a melt-freeze crust or wind-pressed surfaces. On very steep shady slopes in particular, unfavourable intermediate layers are evident. Glide-cracks and whumpf noises are indicators of imminent danger. Artificial triggerings have shown much success, triggering medium-to-large size avalanche releases. Small natural triggerings and some slab avalanche triggerings by skiers confirm how trigger-sensitive the snowpack really is.

Nocturnal hours: in the early part of the night it will be dry, skies will be clear with scattered clouds. In early morning cloud cover will move in. Friday: after clouds withdraw and a few snow showers come to an end there will be a morning phase of dry weather with brisk SW winds. Later in the day, visibility will deteriorate, snowfall will set in, winds will intensify. At 2000 m: +1 degree. Brisk winds to start with, later on intensifying further, from W/SW.

Saturday will start with some snowfall and limited visibility. Temperatures will drop, strong-to-stormy NW winds will be blowing. Avalanche danger levels at high altitudes can increase.