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Goggle Tan for days – Snow Report 20th April

Goggle Tan for days - Snow Report 20th April

Is summer already here?

So we have been, patiently we might add, waiting for the annual April Dump. Where is it? Usually around this time a year, between 16th and 25th, a 40/50cm of powder fluff normally appears out of nowhere. But now it’s not really looking so good for us. The temperature in the village is around 20 degrees Celsius and the mountain is about half of that. The goggle tan is here, and it’s legendary, but what need is it for that without the powder?

We are getting some snow on the high altitudes on Monday, that’s something at least. Before we start changing the wardrobe into summer mode…

Hard Facts:

Snow depth Mountain (slope, 3.020m): 700 cm
Snow depth Location (1.050m): 0 cm
Snow condition: Hard, Partially Spring Snow.
Latest snowfall: 16.04.18
Avalanche alert level: Wet Avalanches: Considerable, Dry Avalanches: Low

Wet avalanches as the day progresses

In the late morning as a consequence of warming during the day and solar radiation, there will be a rapid increase in the danger of wet and full-depth avalanches. Full-depth and wet avalanches are to be expected. The avalanche prone locations are to be found in particular in the east to south to west facing aspects below approximately 3000 m and on north-facing slopes below approximately 2400 m. Large avalanches are possible in starting zones where no previous releases have taken place. In avalanche paths that are already filled with snow, in particular, these can in some cases reach intermediate altitudes. Exposed parts of transportation routes can be endangered. Backcountry tours, off-piste skiing, and ascents to alpine cabins should be started early and concluded timely. Areas with glide cracks are to be avoided as far as possible.

 

Sunday
Following a night of clear skies, it will be sunny for the most part, in spite of some high-altitude clouds, and ongoingly quite mild. During the afternoon, some convective cloud build-up is possible, consequently, some local showers are possible in the evening. In the early morning hours, the avalanche situation is favorable. However, the snowpack below approximately 2000 m is barely able to freeze at night due to the heightened temperatures. During the course of the day, the danger of wet-snow and gliding-snow avalanches is expected to increase significantly. In isolated cases, gliding-snow avalanches are even possible during the night. Backcountry skiing and freeriding tours, as well as ascents to mountain refuges and descents to the valleys, should be brought to a close early in the day.
Monday
On Sunday night, the cloud cover will become denser and will thereby impede nocturnal outgoing radiation in the snowpack. During the daytime on Monday in northern regions, skies will be variably cloudy, and during the daytime, there will be some showers from the west. In southern regions, conditions will be more pleasant. Due to the reduced nocturnal outgoing radiation, the snowpack is hardly able to freeze at night, including at high altitudes. The major peril thus stems from wet-snow and gliding-snow avalanches all day long.

 

 Weather and conditions:
http://www.bergfex.com/engelberg/schneebericht/
https://www.meteoblue.com/de/wetter/vorhersage/woche/engelberg_schweiz_2660902
http://www.slf.ch/schneeinfo/index_EN
http://www.titlis.ch/de/titlis-gebiet/wetter

// Ski Lodge Team

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