Pongau Grass Mountains

Snowdrifts in gullies, gliding snow on steep grass-covered slopes.

Snowdrifts in gullies, gliding snow on steep grass-covered slopes.

Dangers focus on very steep grass-covered slopes, where small-to-medium sized glide-snow avalanches can release. Caution urged also in gullies and steep bowls where slabs can be triggered, particularly by additional loading.

On Wednesday the snowfall from the final days of November settled intensely due to higher temperatures, the surface is now encrusted. On Thursday, an additional 5-10 cm of cold fresh snow will be deposited. There are no strikingly weak layers evident. Exposed zones are utterly windblown, snowdrifts have been deposited mostly on north-facing and east-facing slopes in gullies and bowls. Over warm and smooth ground surfaces, the snowpack is gliding.

On Thursday, visibility will frequently be impaired by clouds and residual fog. Repeated snowfall is possible from the heavy cloud cover, with interims, possible 5-10 cm by evening. Sunshine is not in the cards. Winds will be blowing at moderate to strong velocity from westerly directions. At 1500 m, temperatures will drop to -2 to -4 degrees. On Friday, cold, often limited visibility to begin with, with a small amount of snowfall. Conditions will improve during the course of the day.

Little change is expected. The moderate gliding snow activity will continue.