Snow and Avalanche Report - The Ice Saints Cometh

It seems that the traditional Ice Saints (Les Saints de Glace) period is well named this year.  The best known of the Ice Saints are St Mamertus, St Pancras and St Servatius and their feast days fall on the 11, 12 and 13th of May. The Ice Saints are days after Easter when a sudden cold snap results in a frost. Potentially disastrous for a vineyard and of great interest to backcountry travellers.

After a warm spell between the 20 and 25 of April where temperatures were positive even at 3000 meters a series of depressions over eastern Europe have dragged cold air down from the Artic giving the weather a distinctly icy feel.  The depression has been accompanied by weather fronts that have brought snow down to 800 meters in the Pyrénées, Massif Central and Jura and 1000 meters in the Northern Alps.  A quick tour of the Metéo France automatic monitoring stations gives the following readings

Bellecote (la Plagne – 3000 meters) 230cm snow depth, 40cm new snow accompanied by moderate winds around 40km/h

Ecrins (les Deux Alpes / la Grave – 2940 meters), 160cm snow depth, 20cm new snow with light winds

Restefond (Isola/Auron – 2550 m), 120cm snow depth, 10cm new snow, strong winds (80 km/h)

Pyrénées (Soum Couy – 2150 meters), 240cm snow depth, 20cm of new snow, strong winds (60km/h)

Pyrénées (Canigou - 2160 meters), 180cm snow depth, 40 cm of new snow, light wind

Over the weekend ski mountaineers reported being able to ski to around 1850 meters in the Southern Alps, 1650 meters in the Aravis (Northern Alps), 1800 meters in the Vanoise, between 1700 to 2000 meters in the central Pyrénées and 1600 meters in the Belledonne.  Last Sunday conditions were excellent where there had been an overnight freeze (little or no cloud cover) with some crust at lower altitudes.

The fresh snow should improve conditions, especially at altitude but probably won’t affect the snow line a great deal. There has been a further episode of snow mixed with sand blown from Africa in the south and this may form a sliding surface for fresh snow. Backcountry travellers should take care where there has been substantial new snow (over 20cm) especially when wind speeds are over 40km/h as this can lead to the formation of slabs that can potentially be triggered by the passage of a single skier or snowboarder. As usual backcountry travellers should take care on northern slopes at altitude especially close to ridges and on other lee slopes. Where there is continuing overnight cloud cover the refreezing of the snow pack will be limited to non-existent at lower altitudes which could lead to full depth avalanches especially in view the loading of fresh snow.

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