Snow report Oberstdorf, 02/18/2017

Snow condition

On the north side you can ski down to approx. 1000 m, but the snow conditions are already quite thin. You don't need much snow for alpine meadows, so it's still fine. When the forest gets a bit thicker, you sometimes wonder whether you should unbuckle. On the south side, we only skied down to around 1600 m. Places exposed to the sun and wind are petering out. The snow conditions on the north side look quite inhomogeneous. The wind has been working hard here.

Snow quality

Today we had everything. In wind-protected areas there was still settled powder, and on the south side there was a layer of harsh snow that was quite solid around midday. In the lee we also skied on quite a lot of drift snow today. At lower altitudes there was some wet powder in the afternoon, which wasn't too bad.

The wind from the west and southwest picked up considerably over the course of the day. It was quite unpleasant in places exposed to the wind and you could clearly see snow plumes in the summit areas. We actually wanted to ski down a cirque today. However, it was already well blown in and after a short consultation we gave it a miss. You should watch out for drift snow! The last snowfall lies partly on a hard base and the connection is anything but good.

Overall impression

I came back to the Allgäu after a long time due to a wedding on Saturday. When you're already there, you have to plan a ski tour, of course.