Avalanche Awareness 2 Day Training Courses

As far as I know this is a very unusual year in that there was absolutely no snow until 3 weeks ago and now there is a huge amount.

Does this mean that the snow will be even more unstable than normal? Are there any additional precautions that I should be taking. Generally I stick to marked pistes or recognised routes so nothing too adventurous.

I am off on Saturday and a bit concerned that it may be considerably more dangerous than usual :(

Actually the snowpack has settled down massively in the Alps now. A week ago it was Category 5 avalanche risk, but now it's down to 2.

Recent fluctuations in temperature have bonded the snow together pretty well. The risk of depth hoar (the cause of many avalanches) is also very low - normally early season the snowpack is shallow, so the steep temperature gradient (from ground to air) causes depth hoar to form. A deeper pack lessens the risk by reducing the temperature gradient.

So, overall I would say that while there is ALWAYS risk, the risk at the moment is no worse than a normal year. Enjoy your skiing....

Avalanche Academy wrote:Actually the snowpack has settled down massively in the Alps now. A week ago it was Category 5 avalanche risk, but now it's down to 2.

Not everywhere in the European Alps is at Level 2. The places where I hang out are at 3 Considerable today. The notice covers steep slopes on all aspects above 2200m.

Nice photo's Bandit, thanks for posting! Hope the skiings good in your neck of the woods! I'll have to come over some time soon so you can show me around!

Chamfreerider wrote:Nice photo's Bandit, thanks for posting! Hope the skiings good in your neck of the woods! I'll have to come over some time soon so you can show me around!

I would be delighted to show you around, especially now the snow is nice and deep :D Mid Jan?

Some of my photos were less successful than others...



:D

bandit wrote:

Avalanche Academy wrote:Actually the snowpack has settled down massively in the Alps now. A week ago it was Category 5 avalanche risk, but now it's down to 2.

Not everywhere in the European Alps is at Level 2. The places where I hang out are at 3 Considerable today. The notice covers steep slopes on all aspects above 2200m.

Thanks for pointing that out Bandit. Perhaps I should have been more specific. I don't think anyone thought I was stating the risk for the whole of the Alps. Just to put the record straight, it's Cat 2 in Chamonix, where I live. Tomorrow it's going up again to 3/5, and it wouldn't surprise me if it's back up to 4/5 by Saturday as we are expecting a huge amount of snow to arrive on a pretty strong wind.

If anyone's blowing the dust of their transceiver at the moment, then this may be a good time to brush up on your skills. So far it's looking like a BIG snow year !

Stay safe folks

Grrrr the Black flag is flying. From the top of my head it would seem!

Chamfreerider wrote:Grrrr the Black flag is flying. From the top of my head it would seem!

Has to be better than a Bobble :lol: