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What an amazing day we had on March 24th!
But clouds are now rolling back in again bringing in some light precipitation and warm air temps.
Graupel layer now rests 25 cm deep in the snowpack just below the recent storm's snow and is able to produce slab avalanches higher up. Weak facetted base layer deep in the snowpack is still there on shaded aspects - both of these can produce quite large avalanches as it was proven by March 24th events (see avalanches section).
Wet avalanches on steeper aspects are also a reality now because air temperatures are now staying at around 0C throughout the day.
Bad visibility in the upcoming days makes navigatiion difficult so plan ahead!
Size 3 avalanche down Bidara main peak slope - triggered by a cornice fall:
3100 m., N aspect
Size 2 natural slide down "Kobi light" slope:
3000 m., NW aspect
Multiple - A widespread avalanche cycle occurred during and after the previous storm, with storm slab, wind slab, and loose wet slides, size 1 - 2 seen in many areas. A couple were human-triggered, some were triggered by explosives, and some were natural.
Riders dropping into steep avalanche terrain outside the ski area boundary off the top of Kudebi triggered a wide windslab avalanche. Luckily nobody was harmed.
On March 22-23 significant amount of graupel was deposited across various elevations and aspects (at least 8-10 cm at 2000 m. with more higher up).
A few cm of new snow has previously arrived up high with rain in the sub-alpine. The 30 - 40 cm of new snow of March 15th and 16th was shifted by strong N and NW winds and caused a lot of avalanche activity. Deeper in the pack, hard old wind slabs and thin facet layers sit above a sugary base layer, found in isolated areas. The snow depth is often over 200 cm. In shallow areas, weaker snow can be seen in shady high elevation locations.
Thick cloud cover, fog and light precipitation starting from March 25th afternoon.
Temperatures at around 0C at the resort level.
The freezing level will remain at around 2300-2500 m.
Moderate E/SE winds in the high alpine until March 25 afternoon. No significant winds in the Alpine and High alpine.
Bad visibility (fog) starting from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday evening.
Glide cracks and glide avalanches are likely and can produce large avalanches - don't stop underneath cracks, or just avoid these areas completely!