SLF

You know it from soccer (that's the sport without skis that many people supposedly think is great. I once saw it on TV!), if a team somehow always gets everything right, or you always ski the right line on the same day, then that's a run.

The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is opening its doors in Davos on June 24, 2023. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the researchers will give all interested parties an insight into their diverse activities.

Numerical weather forecasts and snow models are now very good, but there is still room for improvement. In the mountains, the complex topography is one of the biggest challenges for weather models. Every mountain peak and every valley influences the movement of the atmosphere and thus small-scale processes such as snow drifting.

Today with a lot of Schwiizerdütsch in the avalanche expert interview at the SLF, a bit of French in the VLOG of a young freerider and the Far Eastern-Japanese flair of a Hokkaido commercial with extra JaPow. After all that, of course, we'll just share the replay of the FWT in Fieberbrunn, without spoilers.

The series of alerts over the last few days has noticeably improved the previously miserable snow record in the west and brought at least a small refresh in the east. Now the weather is calming down. Over the next few days, the fresh snow can be inspected more closely with high pressure, very mild temperatures and probably plenty of sunshine.

The SLF avalanche warning service regularly explains various aspects of avalanche prevention in the "AvaLounge". Another exciting livestream will take place tomorrow (14 March). Topic: No risk, no fun - is there anything to it?

Since this winter, the SLF has categorised the danger levels with intermediate levels. What do you think? The Swiss Avalanche Warning Service would like to know, and is asking the target group of ski tourers and freeriders to complete a short questionnaire.

The next few days will be relatively sunny in the north with "normal", more or less seasonal temperatures. In the south, it will remain rather mixed with the influence of low pressure. There will also be some snow in the southwest (see current PowderAlert). It will become more uncertain towards the weekend; according to the current model opinion, the current will turn to the north on Saturday.

With double-digit temperatures and plenty of sunshine, February now feels a lot like spring. Only there's usually more snow in spring... The next few days will finally see some movement in the weather. Large amounts of snow are not in sight, but it will at least be wetter again and the chances of a small refresh are increasing.

As every year, the SLF Winter Report provides a comprehensive review of the past snow and avalanche season in the Swiss Alps. The weather conditions and the development of the snow cover are presented in detail. Avalanche accidents in the 21/22 season are listed in tabular form, and some selected accidents are analysed in more detail.

Johan Gaume is a professor at ETH Zurich and the new group leader of snow and avalanche research at the SLF in Davos. He is also a pretty gifted snowboarder! Gaume combines his hobby and profession with avalanche research. His research plays a major role in the development of 3D snowboard simulations and is of great interest to ski tourers and freeriders.

An air mass boundary is keeping us busy today. The cold air of the last few days is slowly giving way to warmer air masses from the south. This will lead to dangerous black ice on the roads on the northern edge of the Alps. Apart from that, the borderline weather situation will initially bring some precipitation in the north and then a change to foehn-like, milder weather.