Avalanche.report

Thursday 23 January 2025

Published 22 Jan 2025, 17:00:00


Danger level

treeline
Avalanche Problem
Wind slab
Treeline


Circumvent small snowdrifts (easily recognized)

Avalanche danger is low. Locally, weak layers in the old snowpack can be problematic. Small slab avalanches can be triggered in isolated cases by large additional loading, which happens more likely in places with little snow. Avalanche prone locations occur in extremely steep ridgeline terrain in W/N/E aspects as well as at entries into gullies and bowls. Dangers of being swept away and of taking a fall outweigh those of being buried in snow masses. In very isolated cases, small slab avalanches can trigger on high-altitudes extremely steep shady slopes, even in the old snow, esp. by large additional loading where the snow is shallow.

Snowpack

On Thursday, minor amounts of fresh snow and stormy winds can generate new small snowdrift accumulations. On shady slopes the old snowpack surface consists of expansively metamorphosed crystals, often covered by a thin melt-freeze-crust. Drifts will be deposited atop of this and be prone to triggering. Elsewhere the snowpack is stable by and large, only isolated intermediate layers of expansively metamorphosed crystals inside the old snowpack are prone to triggering, fracture propagation is unlikely. The snowpack surface is melt-freeze encrusted or hardened in wind-exposed and sunny terrain. On south facing slopes the ground is already bare at intermediate altitudes. All in all, there is little snow on the ground.

Tendency

Avalanche danger levels will remain low.