At headquarters in Tirol today we were informed about 6 avalanches in which people were involved: Glorer Refuge and Marchkinkelle in East Tirol; Rettenbachferner Glacier, Serleskamm, Giggijoch and Hohe Mut in North Tirol. The last of these took human life. According to initial information of the Alpine Police, it was a large-scale release below the Hohe Mut in open ski terrain. This suggests a marked old-snow problem. Tomorrow, 26.12, we will investigate the incident together with the Alpine Police. For initial details, please click here:
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| Avalanche Hohe Mut on 25.12.2018. The ellipse shows the slope where the accident took place below the Hohe Mut in Obergurgl in open skiing terrain. |
Strong-to-stormy wind influence in the mountains was striking on 25.12. In many places, snow plumes were observed in the vicinity of ridgelines. According to ZAMG weather headquarters, the winds are expected to slacken off.
The main danger in the coming days will stem from freshly generated snowdrifts which need to be assessed critically in steep terrain. Particular caution is essential at altitudes between about 2200 and 2700 m, since long-persistent weak layers are evident inside the snowpack near crusts there. Special attention is also called to the terrain adjacent to ridgelines, in gullies and bowls, where unbonded powder snow or fresh snow harbors deposited graupel which can serve as a (short-lived) weak layer for slab avalanches.
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| Snow transport on Hohe Tor above Kals (photo: 25.12.2018) |
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| Cornices on the Navis Kreuzjöchl in the Tux Alps (photo: 25.12.2018) |
