In the Western and High Tatras there is a moderate avalanche danger (2nd degree) above the forest zone. In the last three days 10 to 20 cm, in some places 30 cm of new snow has been added. The snow has been beaten by the wind into slabs and pillows of different hardness, which are deposited on a hard base, while the two layers are weakly interconnected. After a cold spell, the weather warms up and positive temperatures occur even at the highest altitudes, causing the snow to become wet. The cohesion of the individual layers will deteriorate and spontaneous avalanches of wet snow may occur. Due to the overall low snow cover, these may be mostly only small or medium avalanches. The second avalanche problem is the permanently weak layer. Shady orientations and northern slopes are therefore particularly dangerous.
Snowpack
Between 10 and 30 cm of powder snow has been added in recent days. The snow is very unevenly distributed due to strong winds. The ridges are blown onto hard ground. There are a few ice crusts in the snow cover, with square-grained snow underneath. The crusts are not load-bearing, so they break through when moving on foot. Movement off the beaten track is difficult. Warming will cause the snow to set and become soggy. This will undermine its stability. On average, there is between 20 and 50 cm of snow in our mountains. The continuous snow cover is mostly above the forest belt.
Tendency
With warming slightly rising.
Danger level
treeline
Avalanche Problem
Wet snow
Treeline
Persistent weak layer
Treeline
Beware of wet slab avalanches
In Mala, Veľká Fatra and Low Tatras there is a low avalanche danger (1st degree) above the forest zone. About 5 - 15 cm of new snow has fallen in the last few days. Especially the leeward sides of ridges, narrow troughs and places under rock walls, where there is more snow, are dangerous. Here, there may be occasional wind-blown slabs and pillows of different hardness, which are deposited on a hard base, the two layers being weakly bondedd. These places are relatively easy to spot in the field. After a cold spell, the weather warms up and positive temperatures occur even at the highest altitudes, which causes the snow to become wet. The cohesion of the individual layers will deteriorate. The second avalanche problem is a permanently weak layer. Shady orientations and the northern slopes of our mountain ranges are therefore particularly dangerous. Only small avalanches in isolated locations are threatened, which, once released, pose a risk, especially in combination with terrain traps (protruding rocks, terrain depressions or rock precipices).
Snowpack
Between 5 and 15 cm of new snow has been added in recent days. The snow is very unevenly distributed due to strong winds. Locally up to 30 cm of snow may be blown. Windward sides and ridge tops are blown into hard ground, sometimes even into rocks and grass. On the leeward sides the snow is deposited in slabs and pillows. Warming causes the surface of the snow cover to become wetter. On average there is between 15 and 30 cm of snow on the ground. A continuous snow cover is mostly found above the forest belt.
