Chocolate Freeride Off-Piste Report

Sunny weather has settled in and nothing is on the forecast. There are still some north facing wind protected areas that are good but they are off the beaten track and most require a big trek to get to.

Avalanche Danger Scale
High Alpine	1–Low
Mid mountain	1–Low
Treeline	1–Low

Current conditions:

“The midday temperature at 2000 m was about minus 1 degree. The easterly wind was mostly light, but moderate at times. The quality of the near-surface layers of the snowpack depends on the solar radiation. On very steep south facing slopes, a melt-freeze crust has formed in many areas. It is generally strong in the mornings, but prone to melting during the day before refreezing. On the northern flank of the Alps and in the high- altitude regions of the main Alpine ridge in particular, the snowpack has also been significantly influenced by the earlier wind. In places that are protected from the wind and shady, however, powder snow is still to be found in all regions.
Faceted, weakly bonded layers exist in the snowpack in the inneralpine regions of Valais and Grisons in particular. This applies, in particular, in areas with shallow snow cover close to the tree line and in areas above the tree line that are protected from the wind. In these places, skis can often penetrate the snow down to the ground.” SLF.ch

Snow Depth:

Ø 1500m - 25 cm
Ø 2200m - 116 cm
Ø 2950m - 100 cm

Snow Conditions:

Snow conditions are hard but south facing slopes are turning to spring corn in the afternoon.

Off-piste Travel Conditions:

The Avalanche danger is decreasing and getting safer.

"In view of the solar radiation, small wet snow slides are to be expected on very steep sunny slopes, and in particular arising from terrain that is interspersed with rocks, below approximately 2600 m. Isolated full-depth wet snow slides are also possible.” SLF.ch

Forecast:

“ The weather will remain sunny on Wednesday. There will be a light easterly wind. Midday temperatures at 2000 m will be about minus 1 degree.” SLF.ch

It will probably continue to be sunny well into next week...


Important Notice:
Snowpack formation and stability will vary as you travel throughout the mountains. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the backcountry traveler to be self-sufficient in being able to perform self-rescue should you, the traveler, be involved in an accident. Also, backcountry travelers are responsible for obtaining their own information concerning current weather conditions, snow, winds, snowfall, etc. and are responsible for educating themselves to the best possible awareness level.

Condition Key

Extreme: Wide spread areas of unstable snow exist and avalanches are certain on some slopes. Backcountry travel should be avoided.

High: Mostly unstable snow exists on a variety of aspects and slope angles. Natural avalanches are likely. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.

Considerable: Dangerous unstable slabs exist on steep terrain on certain aspects. Human triggered avalanches probable. Natural avalanches possible.

Moderate: Areas of unstable snow exist. Human triggered avalanches are possible. Larger triggers may be necessary as the snowpack becomes more stable. Use caution.

Low: Mostly stable snow exists. Avalanches are unlikely except in isolated pockets.

Useful links

www.slf.ch

www.televerbier.ch