The strong wind from northerly directions has transported large quantities of the loosely bonded snow that was lying in many
locations. At high altitudes in particular, sometimes large snow drift accumulations have formed; these can be released easily.
As the strong wind eases during Monday night, the period of snow transport will end.
Last week’s fresh snow and wind slab layers are lying on a weak layer close to the old snow surface. On the northern flank
of the Alps this weak layer is embedded deep and no longer likely to release avalanches. In Valais and Grisons, it is nearer
the surface and prone to fracturing on north and east facing slopes in particular, but also on west facing slopes in some
instances. In this transitional boundary between layers, several avalanches, in some cases dangerously large ones, have been
triggered by people in recent days. In particular in places with shallow snow cover, individual avalanches have penetrated
near-ground layers of old snow in their track.