Skiers ride a scooter in Špindlerův Mlýn, February 25, 2023, Trutnovsko. Winter has returned to the Krkonoše Mountains after the frost, with snowfall and temperatures below freezing.
Špindlerův Mlýn (Trutnovsko) – The avalanche danger in the Krkonoše Mountains has risen from the second to the third level on a five-point scale today after heavy snowfall. At the third stage, the avalanche danger is considerable and hiking in the terrain requires great caution. The situation in the mountains at the third stage is described as very treacherous. The Krkonoše mountain service stated it on the website.
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Almost 30 centimeters of snow fell on the Krkonoše ridges in the last 48 hours, 20 centimeters in the last day. The total snow cover on the ridges reached 80 to 130 centimeters. Meteorologists expect heavy snowfall on the windward Krkonoše Mountains today as well.
The third avalanche stage was announced for the second time in the current winter season in the Krkonoše Mountains. It was paid for the first time after heavy snowfall from February 1 to 9. At that time, three large avalanches with lengths of 700 to 1000 meters came down in the Small and Large Boiler Pit and in the Giant Mine. No one was hurt.
“Snow profiles show low stability. Avalanche release is possible even with a small additional load, especially on steep slopes. In some cases, there is a possibility of spontaneous release of large and, in exceptional cases, even very large avalanches, which usually stop only at the bottom of the slope ,” Robert Dlouhý, avalanche specialist of the Krkonoše Mountain Service, said about the current situation. There is no danger of avalanches to the slopes and houses.
With the arrival of frost, a crust formed on the old snow cover, on which new snow fell. “Under the crust, the snow cover is moist to wet, above the crust, snow sheets form on the leeward slopes. Avalanches from blown snow can occur here,” said Dlouhý. He added that more snow lies on the leeward slopes in the breakaway zones and in the troughs.
On the Polish side of the Krkonoše, there is less snow and the second level of avalanche danger still applies there, but it has an increasing tendency, said the Polish mountain service.
Avalanche sites on the Czech side of the Giant Mountains are Kotelní jámy, the Bílěh Labe valley from Bouda u Bílěh Labe, Kozí hřbety and Labský, Obří , Dlouhý and Blue mine. On the Polish side, these are Sněžné jámy, Kociol Lomniczki or Bialy Jar.
The last avalanche death in the Krkonoše Mountains occurred in 2021. In February 2021, a 17-year-old ski alpinist died in an avalanche that he swept from the Silesian House into the Úpička gully in Giant below. A month later, a thirty-five-year-old ski alpinist from Mělník ended up in an avalanche in the area of Mužské kamené on the Polish side of the mountains. She died after being transported to the hospital.
The biggest avalanche disaster in the modern history of the Giant Mountains happened in the Biały Jar locality on March 20, 1968, when an avalanche claimed 19 lives there.
