Snow report Dolomites, 04/06/2018

Snow condition

Good snow conditions can be found in the Dolomites. The warm temperatures and rain (it rained from Tue to Wed and from Wed to Thu at night) did affect the snow cover, but you can still start from around 1500 m without any problems. In the sunny exposures, it is already thinner near the valley.

Snow quality

The last night was finally clear and we were able to go on tour. There was good powder snow in the north-facing saddle, which slowly turned into firn.

Today, from about 2100 m upwards, there was drift snow on top of the harsch. This increased rapidly with increasing altitude. In the saddle it was covered in sleet, which finally brought the whole undertaking to an end about 50 m below the finish. The drift snow was easy to disturb in small areas with the sleet and on the last few meters in the Schattseitige Scharte it became even more. Drifting snow is a serious issue in the high Alps and the warm temperatures mean that the wet snow problem arises from later in the morning at the latest. Start early and finish early. Also pay attention to the drifting snow in the high Alps.

Overall impression

Three days in the Dolomites, unfortunately the weather and conditions only allowed one tour, which was not completed. Nevertheless, it's great to go on tours in this setting.