Border Graie Alps

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger. Natural moist avalanches are possible from the morning.

Wind slabs and wet snow represent the main danger. Natural moist avalanches are possible from the morning.

The wind was moderate to strong adjacent to ridgelines in the regions that are exposed to the foehn wind. In gullies and bowls and behind abrupt changes in the terrain as well as in high Alpine regions large wind slabs formed. The fresh and somewhat older wind slabs can be released even by a single winter sport participant and generally above the tree line. As a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation medium-sized to large gliding avalanches and moist snow slides are to be expected below approximately 2500 m. In the regions with a lot of snow and on wind-loaded slopes more large avalanches are possible, in particular in case of releases originating from starting zones that still retain some snow, caution is to be exercised in particular at the base of rock walls, as well as on extremely steep sunny slopes. The current avalanche situation calls for careful route selection.

At intermediate and high altitudes a very large amount of snow is lying. In isolated cases new snow and wind slabs are lying on a hard crust. The high temperatures in the late morning will give rise to rapid moistening of the snowpack in particular at low and intermediate altitudes. In the last few days large and very large avalanches were observed.

The weather conditions will facilitate a gradual strengthening of the near-surface layers during the night. From the late morning as the moisture increases there will be a gradual increase in the avalanche danger, caution is to be exercised in particular below very steep east, south and west facing starting zones.