Are you Avalanche Aware?

On average 30cm of snow fell in resorts across the Alps on Tuesday, pushing the avalanche risk up to level 3 on the five point scale. As anyone who has made fresh tracks this week knows, the fresh snow was light and powdery; it has remained so thanks to the negative temperatures. The snow pack has since stabilised and the risk of avalanche has now dropped to level 2, but the north wind has caused localised wind slabs to form. The slabs are not thick but are fragile and could be dislodged by a single skier. So anyone venturing off-piste, particularly at high altitude, should keep their eyes open for wind blown snow.