Border Pennine Alps

The fresh and somewhat older wind slabs must be evaluated with care and prudence.

The fresh and somewhat older wind slabs must be evaluated with care and prudence.

As a consequence of the occasionally strong wind, fresh snow drift accumulations will form in the course of the day. These can be released by a single winter sport participant in particular on north, northeast and east facing slopes above approximately 2200 m. Caution is to be exercised at transitions from a shallow to a deep snowpack. In the regions with a lot of snow and on very steep sunny slopes more small and medium-sized dry and moist avalanches are to be expected as a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation.

In some cases the wind slabs have bonded still only poorly with each other and the old snowpack. Over a wide area new snow and wind slabs are lying on soft layers. Individual weak layers exist in the snowpack on wind-loaded slopes. In particular at elevated altitudes snow depths vary greatly, depending on the infuence of the wind.