During the last few days, numerous avalanches in Tirol have been registered. These were naturally triggered releases in the regions where snowfall has been heaviest, on the one hand; on the other, avalanches triggered by skiers and freeriders. To date, no one has suffered injuries.
In the interim, the phase of naturally triggered slab avalanches has more or less passed. And precisely for that reason, it is important to remind skiers and freeriders that the situation is still quite dangerous, particularly in the central and southern parts of East Tirol, where a striking old-snow problem threatens.
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| Avalanche danger map in Avalanche Bulletin of 05.02.2019: high danger for skiers in furthermost south |
Due to the old-snow problem, slab avalanches can fracture across wide areas and grow to dangerously large size around all those engaged in winter sports. Near the Bösen Weibeles in East Tirol, one group of skiers had incredible luck. By a hair, they missed being swept along. Good luck and perfectly functioning rescue action of group members also led to a fortunate conclusion in Hochfügen in the Tux Alps when someone was completely buried in snow masses.
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| Photo of an avalanche below the Pfaffenbichl in Hochfügen, made available to us be the Alpine Police: north, about 2300 m, 35-40 degrees. The slab released when two persons were traversing the slope. A person who was totally buried in snow masses was found and rescued. (photo: 02.02.2019) |
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| Avalanche triggered on Hohe Mut South, in rear Ötztal (photo: 02.02.2019) |
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| Slab avalanches on Vennspitze in the Zillertal Alps. North, about 35 degrees, about 2300 m, no one buried. (photo: 04.02.2019) |
In North Tirol, additional avalanches released today, 04.02.2019, in the uppermost snowdrift layers. The avalanches were generally small-to-medium sized, frequently triggering on south-facing slopes at 2100-2600 m. This can probably be attributed to the superficial weak layer of faceted crystals beneath a melt-freeze crust described in the last blog entry.
Furthermore, numerous reports of shooting cracks and settling noises have been reported over the last few days, in North Tirol their frequency is decreasing.
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| Shooting cracks near Salfeins in the northern Stubai Alps (photo: 02.02.2019) |
The loosely-bonded upper snow layer frequently proves to be treacherous, since there was no wind in many places as the last phase of snowfall came to an end. Thus, the previously accumulated snowdrifts couldn’t be recognized (as easily).
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| Loosely-bonded snowpack surface (starting today, more loose-snow avalanches) atop a harshly wind-impacted snowpack surface near Schartenkogel in the Tux Alps (photo: 04.02.2019) |
For a better grasp of the critical situation prevailing in far-reaching parts of East Tirol, here is a...
Short review
The forecasts of ZAMG Weather Service were perfect once again. The southern part of East Tirol got most of the precipitation. Porzehütte station at 1935 m won the prize, with about 150 mm of precipitation.
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| Heavy snowfall in southern East Tirol |
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| Southern East Tirol in winter garb: view of Lienz (photo: 03.02.2019) |
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| A decisive factor apart from fresh snow: fluctuating temperatures, plus storm-strength winds from varying directions. |
Naturally triggered avalanches started to trigger rather quickly after precipitation set in. This was primarily due to the poor snowpack layering. Strong winds and rising temperatures during the snowfall also reinforced the dangerous situation.
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| Wide-area avalanches were frequent in southern East Tirol. (photo: 02.02.2019) |
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| Wide-area avalanches were frequent in southern East Tirol. (photo: 04.02.2019) |
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| A similar picture: Schleinitz near the Lienz Basin (photo: 04.02.2019) |
When winds shifted to northerly, the next climax of avalanche activity was reached, namely, in the afternoon on 02.02.2019 and during the night.
What remains of this naturally triggered avalanche activity are the glide-snow avalanches on grass-covered slope. These are utterly unpredictable and will assuredly increase in the coming days as temperatures rise, particularly in North Tirol and East Tirol.
Much experience, much restraint called for in outlying terrain, especially in East Tirol
For backcountry skiing and freeriding tours, extensive experience in assessing avalanche risks on-site is called for...and a high degree of restraint, particularly in East Tirol. We exhort all skiers and freeriders to control their urges, restrain themselves! Caution is also urged due to possible remote triggerings in flattish terrain.
In North Tirol, the focus should be placed first and foremost on the recently generated snowdrift accumulations. Avalanche prone locations are found increasingly in terrain adjacent to ridgelines in all aspects, but also on very steep to extremely steep south-facing slopes at 2100-2600 m.
