View Single Post

  #4 (permalink)  
Old 05-01-2008, 04:11 PM
poschiavanus's Avatar
poschiavanus poschiavanus is offline
Commander of the Wild Empire
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,236
Re: Avalanche warning in the Lakes!

It's a shame this is not couched in the international standard avalanche warning scale of 1-5 (see for instance the Scottish Avalanche Service site, nor is there an indication of risk anywhere other than on the Helvellyn range in the detailed forecast on the Lake District Park Authority site.

The avalanche hazard appears to be mainly cornice and plaques on the leeward side of the range, rather than a generic risk. I would hope most sensible people would avoid these areas in the current conditions.

The high winds and verglace on the summits are probably a far higher hazard for most walkers. I've seen this sort of thing arise on the Carneddau in North Wales over short intervals of time and distance: from near calm conditions and crisp snow underfoot to ice half-an-inch thick coating everything and a howling wind which made it difficult to stand up. With ice axes, but no crampons, we really had no choice but to retreat. Half a mile back (same altitude) we were back on benign terrain!

poschiavanus
Reply With Quote