Avalanche.report

Sunday 16.01.2022

Published 15 01 2022, 17:00


Danger level



A generally favourable avalanche situation will prevail.

The avalanche prone locations are to be found on very steep shady slopes above approximately 2400 m and in gullies and bowls, and behind abrupt changes in the terrain. In very isolated cases avalanches can be triggered in the faceted old snow and reach medium size. Caution is to be exercised in areas where the snow cover is rather shallow. Older wind slabs are to be evaluated with care and prudence in extremely steep terrain.
Apart from the danger of being buried, restraint should be exercised as well in view of the danger of avalanches sweeping people along and giving rise to falls.

Snowpack

dp.7: snow-poor zones in snow-rich surrounding
dp.4: cold following warm / warm following cold

The spring-like weather conditions gave rise to increasing consolidation of the snowpack. Field observations and stability tests confirm good snowpack stability.
The old wind slabs have bonded well with the old snowpack. They are in individual cases still prone to triggering. In very isolated cases weak layers exist in the centre of the snowpack. This applies in particular on very steep shady slopes above approximately 2400 m.
At elevated altitudes snow depths vary greatly, depending on the infuence of the wind. On sunny slopes below approximately 2200 m only a little snow is lying.

Tendency

As a consequence of a sometimes strong wind from northerly directions, mostly small wind slabs will form on Monday at elevated altitudes. In the north and in the regions with a lot of snow the wind slabs are larger.