T-shirts and shorts in the valley – but higher up in the mountains, winter conditions still prevail in places. “There is still a lot of snow at higher altitudes in the Bavarian Alpine region in May,” said the avalanche warning center at the Bavarian State Office for the Environment on Friday. “Therefore, wet avalanches must continue to be expected, especially in cases of strong sunlight, rain and warming.”
The avalanche experts warn you to pay attention to snowfields above your own route. There is also a risk of falling for mountain hikers on crusty and hard snow surfaces. Mountain accidents occur again and again in spring because people are inadequately equipped when traveling in wintery terrain.
The winter had shown itself to be unsettled. It started with massive snowfalls at the end of November, then in midwinter there were record-breakingly mild temperatures – before another meter of fresh snow fell at least further up at the end of April. At the beginning of December and the end of April, several measuring stations recorded long-term maximum snow depths, the avalanche warning center reported in its winter balance.
“In the high altitudes, the snow depths remained above average throughout the winter. On the other hand, the winter had little snow at low and medium altitudes.” Therefore, there was rarely a danger of avalanches in valley areas. The winter was comparatively calm for avalanche commissions and safety authorities, who, among other things, assess the situation and close traffic routes if there is a risk of avalanches. Nevertheless, there were ten avalanche accidents in Bavaria.
An accident on January 14th at Linkerskopf in the Allgäu was fatal. There, a slab of snow swept away a ski tourer, who then fell on the rocky steep terrain. On Wednesday, the Zugspitze and Nebelhorn were the last ski areas in Germany to end the ski season.