Easter is a holiday for summit tours and activities in the mountains. But people should be especially careful about avalanche danger heading into the quiet week. And especially those in the far north have reason to be careful in the mountains. NVE and Varsom have issued an avalanche warning for large parts of northern Norway. It is worst in Troms and Vest-Finnmark, where the avalanche danger is at level 4 – the second highest level. On Thursday, Tromsø municipality chose to evacuate several villages in exposed areas due to the high risk of landslides. This evacuation continues until further notice. Earlier on Friday, the E6, one and a half kilometers south of Alta, was closed after an avalanche. No people are said to have been taken by the avalanche. – Now you have to choose avalanche-proof terrain. It has gone from relatively stable conditions to very difficult and dangerous conditions. That’s what Audun Hetland says, who is head of the competence center for avalanches at the University of Tromsø. He says many people have taken advantage of the fine weather to be on the mountain with skis on their legs recently. But conditions have changed drastically in recent days. – There is beautiful fresh snow outside, and many people have been skiing a lot lately. Then it is tempting to continue in the same way. But now the conditions are completely different from last weekend, and you have to take that seriously. It’s a good idea to think about it now. Audun Hetland is head of the competence center for avalanches at the University of Tromsø. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen/news / Truls Alnes Antonsen/news Next weekend beautiful weather is expected for large parts of It gives extra reason to be careful, says Hetland. – It will be beautiful weather for the weekend, and then I expect many people will want to be outside. But then it’s a good idea to read the avalanche warning and know that the conditions we have now have changed very quickly, it has become very challenging. – Then you have to be conservative and absorb information. People must think about avalanches, talk about avalanches and take it seriously, Hetland continues. – Very easy to trigger large avalanches So far this winter, 52 people have been caught by avalanches. 11 of these have been injured as a result of landslides, and two people have died. This is shown by figures from Varsom. It is Northern Norway that has the greatest risk of avalanches during the Palm weekend, but large parts of Western Norway also have to reckon with the risk of avalanches. Photo: Skjermdump Varsom.no The avalanche danger is confirmed by Emma Julseth Barfod. She is group leader for the avalanche warnings in NVE. – In Northern Norway there is a great danger of avalanches. There has been a lot of snow and strong winds which have formed large unstable flakes, she says to news. A longer cold period has led to weak layers in the snow cover. And when there is a lot of new snow on top, you get very unstable snow masses. – There were many landslides last night and we keep getting reports that natural landslides are breaking loose. – It is important to be aware that there will be unstable conditions in Northern Norway for quite some time to come. It can be very easy to trigger large landslides in the days ahead. The landslide hazard is more moderate in the easternmost parts of Finnmark and in Nordland. How to avoid avalanches Read the avalanche warning for your area. Familiarize yourself with what the different degrees of danger and avalanche problems will mean for your journey in avalanche terrain. Plan your trip at home – prepare for the trip according to weather and snow conditions, and according to the experience and knowledge level of the tour group. Pay attention to the danger signs of avalanches that nature gives you: fresh avalanches, cracks in the snow surface, rumbling from the snow cover when under load. Have good traffic routines. Walk in avalanche-prone areas one at a time or keep a good distance from each other. Stop/wait only at safe stopping points – places where you cannot trigger avalanches and where you cannot be drawn by avalanches from above. Be able to recognize avalanche-prone terrain. Where can landslides occur, and how far can landslides go? Always make well-thought-out road choices – ask yourself the question “why can I travel here”? There is a particular risk of avalanches with: Soft snow and wind in the last two to three days. Cracks and noises in the snow cover (rumble). Fresh landslides nearby. Suddenly mild weather. Cold periods followed by precipitation in the form of snow. Severe cold creates a layer of frost on the surface of the snow, on which even small amounts of snow can slip. Most accidental avalanches in the mountains occur when there is dry snow that has been transported by the wind. Skier Nikolai Schirmer’s tip: Pack an avalanche finder, search stand, shovel and wind bag to avoid hypothermia. Consider driving with an avalanche bag that inflates and makes you float on top of the snow. Have your mobile phone easily accessible to notify the rescue centre. Bring sports tape to treat minor injuries. Source: Red Cross Avalanche danger in large parts of southern Norway But it is not only in the north that the avalanche danger is present. Large areas of Vestafjells have a yellow warning, and in the area from Sunnhordland up to Hardangervidda there is an orange warning. – In southern Norway there is a moderate risk of avalanches. It is important to be aware that it is wintry outside. It is not typical Easter weather with wet snow, it is dry and cold snow. The thing to be observant about is that when fresh flakes form, it takes some time for these to stabilise, continues Julseth Barfod in NVE. She recommends keeping an eye on the wind in the days ahead. – Then it is typically easy to trigger landslides. And when there is cold snow, the avalanche problems will last longer. A good tip is to look for loose snow when you go out for a walk. – Looser snow is typically not bound. Larger flakes cannot then be released either. So loose and fine snow is perfectly fine to ski on. This is what you should do if you see an avalanche If you observe an avalanche moving from a distance, NVE encourages you to report this in the Warning app on your phone. – If you see a landslide, it is super important to get it entered on Varsom. Then we can give even better warnings, people who are outside get updated information and that rescue teams are notified if there are large landslides, says Julseth Barfod. In addition, the app provides avalanche warning, avalanche terrain where you can see where an avalanche may break loose and you can see where the avalanche will end. The risk of landslides is greatest in areas where the terrain is 30 degrees or steeper.
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Warns of major avalanche danger in large parts of the country during Easter – news Nordland
