Yesterday was an interesting one with warm temperatures and clear skies East of the Alps and snow falling slowly at the top of the resorts. Snow was a mix bag with some pockets of heavy powder, some slush down below and some alright groomed runs with a little bit of fresh on top.
Some of the lower runs were looking pretty patchy but luckily the snow came down into the village as forecast and was falling fairy decently by late afternoon. It petered out a bit later in the night leaving about 20-30 cms in Echoland this morning.
Goryu are reporting a 5 cm base increase from yesterday and only 15 cm of fresh snow…winds are strong from the North-East and may cause some lift/gondola upsets…check with resorts for operation details. Lift/Gondola lines will be long this morning.
All snowmen on the Weather forecast!
TEMPERATURE IN THE VILLAGE:
-4 degrees C.
TEMPERATURE AT TOP OF MOUNTAIN:
-7 degrees C.
WIND:
Strong North-Westerlies
VISIBILITY:
Poor to Average
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Goryu:
BASE DEPTH: 185 cm (at 1500m)
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LIFT OPERATION:
All resorts are open weather dependent…check with resorts for details.
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SNOW STABILITY AND BACK COUNTRY BULLETIN:
There may be the chance of larger slides releasing from the melt freeze crust of Dec 23rd today with the addition of the new snow.
Surface slufs as well as slab avalanches with in the new snow are probable. South slopes that were affedted by strong radiation yesterday morning will find the new snow riding over a thin melt freeze layer and may have high instability.
Strong winds up top mean increased size of cornices and deep wind deposits on South Easterly slopes.
Extreme caution around cornices and below cornices on steep convex terrain.
-Increase in loose snow avalanches and suffs
-Falling tree bombs (Possible triggers and cause of avalanches as well as overhead hazards)
-Increased instability of solar aspect start zones especially under cornices and very steep slopes.
-Increased caution advised around rocky outcroppings‚ cliffs and well spaced trees in start zones.
-Development of cornices in lee slopes
-Lee side loading
-Windward scouring of ridges and rock out-crops creating uneven loading of slopes
-Due caution on cross loaded slopes
-Poor bonding at or around buried crust
-Stay away from steep and convex terrain