Category: Current situation

Alarm bells of nature: naturally triggered slab avalanches, settling noises, fracture cracks, remote triggerings! From all corners of Tirol, a great many reports of an unusually trigger-sensitive snowpack came in today, 14 January. Settling noises, fracture cracks and (remote) triggerings of slab avalanches unrolled regularly in flat-to-moderately steep terrain. Artificial triggerings with explosives succeeded over…

Highly trigger-sensitive snowpack. Danger conditions for winter sports enthusiasts, with high risk of accidents. For that reason, please: exercise high restraint in the next few days!!! The swift rise in avalanche danger referred to in the last blog  has now occurred. Reports from our observers and from winter sports enthusiasts confirm the very high trigger-sensitivity of…

An abrupt end to a highly favourable avalanche situation  Right at the start an important message for all winter sports enthusiasts: as a result of the forecast snowfall between today, 12 January and Thursday, 14 January, including wind impact, avalanche danger levels will increase very swiftly. This is especially because of the effects the long period…

 Most of the current avalanche prone locations: in East Tirol and south of Gurgler Group Snowpack analysis and reports from observers confirm that slab avalanches can currently be triggered by winter sports enthusiasts in near-surface layers above all else. Near-surface weak layer, east-facing slope at 2450 m in Villgratental. Avalanche accident Pürglers Kunke on 06.02.2021…

Treacherous situation for winter sports enthusiasts in East Tirol. Snowpack is highly prone to triggering! In East Tirol there is a situation similar to that of 28 December when snowfall and strong winds were forecast to strike the southern regions. Accordingly, an avalanche situation which is already delicate is being ratcheted up another degree. It’s clear…

Avalanche releases, fractures, settling noises: clear signals of alarm. Fresh snowdrifts in steep terrain need to be circumvented. Our prior assessment of a delicate situation regionally for winter sports enthusiasts was confirmed today, 29.12. We received repeated reports of mostly medium-sized, in isolated cases also large-sized naturally triggered avalanches. In addition, slab avalanches were triggered…

Cold, loose powder generating highly trigger-sensitive weak layer for fresh snowdrifts. As a supplement to our last blog, a short notice to all winter sports enthusiasts: the Christmas holidays were marked by high quality powder. That is now over. In the interim, winds have increased in general, including distant from high peaks and distant from typical…

Intensifying snowdrift problem at higher altitudes Since Monday (21.12), quite strong westerly winds have been blowing at high altitudes, generating new snow transport. The fresh snowdrift accumulations are currently (23.12) prone to triggering particularly above about 2400 m. This borderline will descend when a cold front strikes on 24-25 December. Snow plumes at about 2900…

In North Tirol, a treacherous old-snow problem regionally, particularly on north-facing slopes above approximately 2200 m Avalanches in the last few days involving people, together with our own snowpack analysis, confirm a quite treacherous old-snow problem in some regions. It is most pronounced in the northwestern regions of North Tirol where there has been little…

 Rigorously circumvent fresh drifts in steep terrain During a night of clear skies on Thursday/Friday (10-11 December) surface hoar formed on the snowpack in widespread areas of Tirol. This now lurks atop an already cold, loosely-packed snow surface, at least in the major areas of precipitation, since wind impact terminated during the last phase of…