OCR Text |
Show The warm months of July and August in 1952 probably made up the slight deficit of September and October, so that even at that time the ground was warmer than normal when the first snows arrived. In all three winters the first snows down to around 1200 meters elevation arrived between the end of October and mid- November - about a half to a whole month earlier than normal. Already by mid- December the snow cover at elevations 1400 to 1500 meters was 0.8 to 1.5 meter, in 1952 1.0 to 1.5 meter. Once an appreciable snow cover has been established, even sub- normal temperatures are not able to impede the gliding, as was the case in the winter of I966/ 67. In the last 60 years there were 12 winters with early and heavy snowfalls. Of these, five were distinct " glide winters", and there was at least one every 15 years. The winter of I965/ 66 was the most extreme since the year 1900, so the probability is great that another like it will not occur again soon. Methods of Investigation, Research Results and Practical Applications As a rule the measurement sites were so chosen that gliding normally would be encountered. In addition to weather and orographic conditions, the character of the ground surface played an important role. Poorly drained slopes with a dense cover of long grass, and slaty or slabbed rock surfaces, lead to the most vigorous gliding. Our investigations were concentrated at relatively low- elevation locations in the northerly fore- Alps. In higher regions of the inner Alps where snow is scarce, gliding presumably is the exception. |