The atmospheric dynamism continues. One front passes, it’s a nice day, and then another passes! There are no signs of a clearly anticyclonic situation arriving. We will continue to see this variability in the weather, combined with a few days of calm conditions.
Summary of weather data at 2.000 meters:
Forecast: (meteomuntanya.cat and @meteocattv)
Saturday is expected to be a snowy day, and Sunday will improve without clearing up completely.
Snowpack:
We continue to have above-average snowfall for this time of year. Snow starts at 1,700 meters on the north side and around 1,900 meters on the south side. There is 1 meter of snow at 2,000 meters and over 1.5 meters at higher altitudes.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, it rained up to 2,400 m, heavily dampening the snowpack, and then on Thursday it froze, leaving everything hard as glass. The situation was really complicated due to the danger of all the slopes being frozen. The strong wind on Thursday and the blizzard expected for tomorrow, Saturday, will form new snowdrifts and the terrain will be very uneven. There will be areas of strong winds where hard snow and ice will form at low altitudes, with areas of wind-blown snow forming slabs.
Once again, we must be cautious this year. On Saturday, it will be impossible to engage in high-mountain activities, and on Sunday, we will have to be very cautious and choose safe routes that do not go through complex terrain. We must mention bringing safety equipment for progression on hard snow or ice, such as ice axes, helmets, and crampons, which until now we had at the bottom of our backpacks and will surely be needed now.
Check the BPA (Be Aware of the Weather); currently, the risk is 3 out of 5 above 2,300 m, with an upward trend due to wind action. Plan according to the information, review safety progression protocols, and practice searching with avalanche transceivers, shovels, and probes.
On the Camí vell, we find snow starting at 1,700 m, shortly after the Cremal bridge. The current accumulation of snow at the top of the trail makes it suitable for mountaineering, where the trail is buried by snow, the snow is frozen, and a small slip can send us plummeting into the void with fatal consequences. On the other hand, depending on the snowfall, preventive avalanche triggering tasks are carried out, affecting the passage through the Fontalba and Camí vell paths.
Fontalba cannot be reached by car due to snow accumulation on the last 2-3 km. The road leading to Núria is in mountaineering conditions, so it is essential to carry safety equipment such as an ice axe, crampons, and a helmet. NOT RECOMMENDED for people who are not familiar with avalanches and do not have the appropriate equipment. This road is exposed to natural and preventive avalanches depending on snowfall.
The Enginyers trail is covered in snow and is not recommended throughout the winter season for areas where a slip could have fatal consequences.
