Nock Mountains

Weak layers in persistent weak layers are very prone to triggering!

Weak layers in persistent weak layers are very prone to triggering!

The avalanche risk is considerable above around 1800 metres and low below. The situation is precarious for winter sports. Medium-sized slab avalanches can be triggered remotely in some places, especially from west to north to east. This is particularly the case on the borders with neighbouring federal states. Fractures between new and wind slab snow can tear through the persistent weak layer and tend to propagate. Avalanche prone locations in the persistent weak layer are barely recognisable and require a defensive route choice.

New and wind slab snow from the past few days has been partially deposited on surface hoar and a soft snow surface. Areas with little snow alternate with considerable snowdrift accumulations, some of which are as hard as a board and some of which are already being built up. Breaks usually occur between the fresh and slightly older layers of new or drift snow and near the crust that forms the transition to the completely angular old snowpack. Under this crust, the old snowpack consists mainly of deep rime and angular forms, which are interspersed with other crusts in areas with more snow. On the ground, snow from early winter can sometimes be found in the form of a hardness melt-freeze crust.

The night and Saturday will be mostly cloudy, but it will remain mostly free of precipitation. Overnight, the north-westerly wind will reach speeds of between 40 and 50 km/h, but it will ease considerably towards the morning and then only blow weakly. There may be increasing windows of sunshine during the daytime changes on Saturday.

The wind slab problem is slowly improving, but the persistent weak layer problem remains.