Avalanche bulletin and weather forecast Haute Savoie

This avalanche translation of the Meteo France avalanche bulletin is produced mainly through an automated translation tool.  Please use it in conjunction with the French bulletin found at the above link.

N74040211
SNOW AND AVALANCHE BULLETIN FOR HAUTE SAVOIE
(VALID OUT OF OPEN AND MARKED RUNS)
PREPARED ON MONDAY FEBRUARY 4
FOR TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5

ESTIMATE OF RISK UNTIL TUESDAY EVENING:

All massive Haute-Savoie: marked risk (level 3).

WEATHER OVERVIEW UNTIL TUESDAY EVENING:
Dry weather Tuesday, quite sunny in the morning, clouds return of the afternoon hanging gradually peaks in the Mont Blanc massif.
Isothermal 0 1200 2000 m.
Isothermal -10 DG: 3600 m.
Wind at 2000 m: Southwest 15/30 km/h, gusting to 40 km/h on Aravis/Chablais in the afternoon.
Wind at 4000 m: West 70 km/h.

SNOW CONDITIONS:
Correct for early February. Conditions are improving.
Thickness 1500 m: 20/50 cm in South 80/100 cm in the North.

Quality of snow Tuesday: you ski on a good layer of snow, cold and light in the morning in mid mountain. Winds from the Southwest blew hard Monday morning at the start of the snowfall. On the peaks, the layer of powder is finer and quickly found the sub-hard layer. In the high mountains, the snow is often more compact, sometimes in cardboard slopes subject to the winds.

STABILITY OF SNOW COVER:

Some fragile slabs and places piégeuses

Likelihood of spontaneous avalanche departures few surface flows in the sun, occasionally rare purges slightly larger in steep oriented towards South 1800/2400 m, especially in the late morning.

The risk of an avalanche:
-- Brittle slabs were formed in the powdery snow, especially in guidance Northwest, North and East. One skier can cause a fracture engaging in the top of a steep slope and / or convex. Beware of the long slopes and fair traveled little in recent times.
-- Slabs formed tougher this weekend by winds from the South and Southwest persist, sometimes disguised as powder. They are mainly found near the ridge behind the edges or big bosses. Around Mont Blanc, Fœhn blew strong and the slabs are probably thicker (about 60 cm), it is better to keep a safe distance off.

TREND FOR WEDNESDAY:
Risk stationary or slightly decreasing.

Meteo-France updates this newsletter everyday at 16h or sooner if conditions warrant.