Altschneeproblem

There are repeated reports of an old snow problem, but exactly what this means can be confusing. First of all, you should know that an avalanche problem (old, new, drifting, wet and sliding snow problem) is not a hazard pattern, but can consist of different hazard patterns. An avalanche problem describes the type of avalanche and its mechanisms, whereas a hazard pattern describes the responsible weak layers and their processes.

What avalanche problem is there, at what altitude and exposure is it present, how can I recognize it, can I recognize it at all, what do I have to watch out for, why are the others going further - is it safe, have I made the right decision? The snow is great, should I take the risk.....?

Avalanche warning services, the media, numerous avalanche accidents and the first avalanche victims of the season in Salzburg have all issued impressive warnings about the current snowpack build-up over the last few days. We take a look at a current snow profile from Sölden in Ötztal.

A recent find on the Internet: "No winter without old snow problems - that's annoying!" We take a more nuanced view of this statement and put it into perspective: How is an old snow problem defined, what exactly does it look like at the moment and are all old snow problems a big problem for us?

The WeatherBlog kicks off the season and gets in the mood for the approaching winter in the autumn sunshine. Initially, there will be little change to the established general weather situation. The forecast becomes uncertain at the weekend. A cold front is likely to bring cooling. There are moderate precipitation options for the Alpine region, but they are on shaky ground.

The new onset of winter, which began on 14.3.21, brought a lot of fresh snow along with huge powder turns. However, this increased the risk of avalanches again. The biggest problems here were the freshly formed drift snow and the sometimes heavy amounts of fresh snow. Drift snow can usually be easily recognized in the terrain, but this problem can also prove to be treacherous, as has been the case recently.

In today's SnowFlurry we discuss a profile in which you can see that the susceptibility of the weak layer to disturbance has improved. In the last flurry, the same weak layer was even easier to disturb.

In today's Gestöber we discuss a snow profile from January 24, 2021. The profile was dug and recorded in the Mieming, on the Simmering, on a 34° steep, SE-facing and rather snow-poor slope.

After the interesting contrast of Sahara feeling in the Alps and snow chaos in the northern German lowlands, the cold is now making its way south. The coming weekend will be very cold with lots of sunshine. There will still be a little snow here and there today and tomorrow, but the coming cold phase will be mostly dry.

No video can replace practical, real-life courses. But Xavier and all sorts of other institutions invite us to expand and refresh our knowledge. There's a bit of contest content to go with it!

In view of the northern congestion and the associated avalanche situation, we are also watching videos about avalanches here today. We cover a wide spectrum: from scientific-educational to case studies and VLOGs to music and film. The quality of the videos presented starts at educationally valuable, but steadily declines towards the end until it becomes unbearable. But the selection is large and you have been warned. So, despite all the fun in the powder, watch out!

Everyone rubs their eyes in amazement - what is this? Bright colors on the north side of the Alps? Is it a UFO, is it a Marvel superhero? No, it's a northern traffic jam!