The avalanche danger in large parts of the French Alps, western Switzerland and in the Italian Aosta region has gone up to HIGH (4 on a scale of 5). A lot of snow came down locally, the snow line rose to high altitude which caused it to rain and there were some heavy winds. And even more snow and heavy winds are expected after a clear night. Because of the large amounst of fresh snow, strong winds, rising temperatures and poor base the snow cover is very unstable. There were already four fatalities because of avalanches this year. Your best option is to stay on the open and marked slopes tomorrow.
You definitely have to be careful in other parts of the French Alps, Switzerland, Italy and western Austria as well. The avalanche danger has gone up to ‘CONSIDERABLE’ (3 on a scale of 5). This means that you need to have the knowledge to make the right choices. If don’t you have this knowledge, stay on the marked slopes or go out with a mountain guide.
You’ll find the correct links to the avalanche forecast per region below. You’ll also find a link to the local avalanche forecast on the resort pages.
Aosta region (click for more information)
- Aosta: Avalanche danger 4 (HIGH) above 1500 meters.
Regio Haute Savoie en Wallis (click for more information)
- Haute Savoie: Avalanche danger 4 (HIGH) above 2200 meters.
- Western Wallis: Avalanche danger 4 (HIGH) above 2200 meters.
Regio Savoie en Isere (click for more information)
Regio Hautes Alpes (click for more information)
- Hautes Alpes: Avalanche danger 3 (CONSIDERABLE) above 2200-2400 meters.
Replies
2 people died in an avalanche at Simplonpass (Switzerland) yesterday. The avalanche released spontaneously and the skiers where below the avalanched and got covered. Another group found them very quick, but it as too late