In the first part: a brief description of the snow and avalanche situation since the end of May. In the second part: a review of the winter through data, facts and graphs.
Snow and avalanche situation between end of May and mid-June 2019
There is still an extraordinary amount of snow at high and high-alpine altitudes for this juncture of the season.
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| In high alpine regions, the overall snow depth is currently over 400 cm. |
Even at the end of last week, skiers were sighted at altitudes above 1700 m....
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| An abrupt end: skiing stops at the grassy meadow. Seebensee (1660 m) in the Mieming Massif (photo: 14.06.2019) |
Let’s look at the situation since the last blog entry on 28 May through these interesting observations:
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| Slab avalanches triggered below Zwieselbacher Rosskogel by loose-snow avalanches. A near-to-surface weak layer briefly formed due to danger pattern cold-on-warm at the end of May. (photo: 03.06.2019) |
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| Similar situation to previous photo near the Reichenspitz in the Zillertal Alps. (photo: 02.06.2019) |
On 1 June there was even a long avalanche emergency rescue near the Kleegrube in the free-riding zone of Hintertux Glacier. In extremely steep terrain, a wet, loose-snow avalanche triggered naturally above two riders who had just entered that slope. Since the number of tracks emerging from the end of the slope deviated from the tracks entering the slope, it was assumed that one person had been buried in snow. The search was terminated when one of the two persons reported in to the police. During the emergency rescue work, additional loose-snow avalanches triggered in the immediate vicinity due to the increasing wetness of the recently fallen fresh snow.
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| Avalanche rescue work: Kleegrube, Hintertux Glacier (photo: 01.06.2019) |
Furthermore, additional isolated glide-snow avalanches were observed, a persistent theme this winter....
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| At photo center, a fresh glide-snow avalanche can be seen below Langen Sattel in the Northern Massif. (photo 01.06.2019) |
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| Still in motion: residual snow in the Karwendel (photo: 02.06.2019) |
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| Debris on Tannauer Alm in the Karwendel, caused by glide-snow avalanches during the intensive period of snowfall in January (photo: 02.06.2019) |
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| Ground erosion caused by gliding snow masses. Bächental (photo: 02.06.2019) |
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| Easily recognized forest damages from mid-January at the Herzwiese, near Arzleralm in the Northern Massif (photo: 01.06.2019) |
Backcountry ski tourers with patience and endurance found their pleasures this winter....
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| In the Arlberg region, it was still possible on 8 June to launch backcountry skiing tours straight from the road. |
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| Superb conditions in high alpine regions of the Zillertal Alps (photo: 04.06.2019) |
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| On the northern flanks of the Mieming Massif, it frequently was (and still is) easier to be on skis than on foot. (photo 14.06.2019) |
The consequence of the unusual amount of snow and, during the last couple of weeks, unusually high temperatures, was the extraordinary highwater level of the Inn, a 30-year record which also brought about flooding in the lowlands.
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| Inn River on 13.06.2019 |
The innkeepers at mountain refuges and shepherds feel the unusual snow situation, too. The refuges are opening up later; and the sheep are being brought with three weeks delay to the high alpine pastures.
Review of season
short and sweet – our take on the winter:
Very heavy snowfall in January,
by and large good backcountry touring conditions,
relatively few avalanches involving persons,
significant forest damage, displaced transportation routes in some areas.
From New Year’s until mid-January in many places in Tirol, danger level 4 (high) prevailed nearly ongoingly due to persistent heavy snowfall. On 14 January, danger levels increased even to level 5 (very high) in the Arlberg and Ausserfern regions, in the Karwendel, in the northern Zillertal Alps and in the Venediger Massif (s. Blog).
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| Percentages of danger levels published daily during the overall season of the Euregio-Avalanche Bulletin (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
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| Frequency of observed avalanches between 31.10.2018 and 20.04.2019, weighted according to size. Easily recognized are the peaks in the early part of January during the period of intense snowfall. (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
A direct consequence of avalanche size was the degree of damage registered to buildings and forests, as well as burying of vehicles in snow masses. During this period, 65 damage-causing avalanches were registered.
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| Recorded avalanche releases during the intense snowfall period in January which reached either settled areas or transportation routes (excluding forest damages). Also depicted are the overall snow depths and air temperatures at Muttekopfhütte weather station. (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
Immediately following this phase, the snowpack rapidly lost its internal tensions, thereby improving the avalanche situation noticeably. A stormy southerly air current at the beginning of February again led to a tense avalanche situation (level 4 - high) particularly in East Tirol, but only for a brief spell. An accompanying factor which persisted throughout the winter was gliding snow. This problem was especially prevalent in the northwestern regions. In the southeastern regions, on the other hand, the old-snow problem was more dominant, having developed due to the long interim between the first couple of bouts of snowfall in early winter.
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| Geograhical distribution of all forecast avalanche problems during the winter 2018/19 (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
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| Sequence and duration of the forecast danger patterns in the Euregio-Avalanche Bulletin in winter 2018/19. Danger pattern dp.2 was a persistent presence. (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
All in all, this winter season - quite like the winter of 2017/18 - can be described as a classic gliding-snow winter. In many communities, repeated burying of transportation routes and forest damages occurred. Some avalanches even penetrated into settled areas. Although releases of glide-snow avalanches are utterly unpredictable at the current level of snow research, the number of persons involved remained very low. Out of 132 glide-snow avalanches, only 6 involved persons (4.5%). Those who were affected were injured only in rare cases, and there were no fatalities. In the settled regions, this can be attributed to the outstanding collaboration and efforts of the local avalanche commissions.
A general overview of the statistics of 2018/19 reveals, once again, the inordinately large role played by snowdrifts as cause of avalanches involving persons. More than 65% of the accidents can be traced back to a snowdrift problem as avalanche cause, followed by an old-snow problem (16%).
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| Locations of avalanches involving persons, sub-divided into the causal avalanche problem. |
In spite of a very exciting and snowy winter, including many highs and lows in all senses of the term, the number of avalanches involving persons (92 events) was slightly below the 10-year median (108 events). This can be attributed to the generally favorable conditions for winter sports activities this season. The sum of avalanche-caused fatalities this winter (5 persons) also lies below the 10-year average (10 persons).
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| Number of avalanche-caused fatalities in Tirol between 2009/10 and 2018/19. Thus, this season saw fewer deaths than average during the last 10 years. (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
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| Avalanche activity involving persons throughout the 2018/19 winter (Source & ©: LWD-Tirol). |
Our work is now complete for the 2018/19 season.
We extend a vote of thanks for the many avalanche reports registered by private persons throughout the winter. And we wish everyone a beautiful and accident-free summer.
