Pitztal on 16.10.2021 | ChevChelios

Snow condition

If you want to ski off-piste at the moment, you have to choose glaciers as the surface, everything else is still far too rocky. Some skiers have already made a few off-piste turns in the ski area, but there are still a few gaps open. Thanks to the rather changeable summer, the snow conditions on the normal route to the Wildspitze look good for the time of year; in many an autumn, it is more like a labyrinth of crevasses. With glacier equipment and knowledge of the terrain, you can currently climb the Wildspitze, but you should be aware of the possible risk of falling through crevasses.

Snow quality

Approx. 20-30cm of fresh snow on the glaciers, still very powdery due to the cold temperatures. At altitudes up to approx. 3300m very nice to ski and without much wind influence. Above that, unfortunately, it changes for the worse, with a lot of wind influence and wind-pressed snow. Sometimes with wind cover, which is not always stable. West-facing slopes are blown away and wind-pressed. Nevertheless, the western flank of the Wildspitze was relatively easy to ski, blown off but grippy snow.

The main danger at the moment is of course still from sharks and crevasses. The fresh snow in combination with the wind has blown some crevasses closed, but some of the snow bridges are still very thin. There were also 2 snow slab cracks, although I don't know when they started: 1) Wildspitze west of the north face, exposure north, altitude approx. 3550m (low crack height, in the orographic left crack area but down to the ice) 2) Hinterer Brochkogel northwest face, exposure northwest, altitude approx. 3500m (in the orographic left crack area, crack height definitely 30-40cm, but only estimated from a distance). If the photo upload should work for once, there are pictures of both cracks as well as of crevasse zones.

Overall impression

A great start to the winter with a leisurely ski tour to the Wildspitze. Fantastic weather, no wind even on the summit and at least some fine powder snow. The west flank was also in skiable conditions, the only deductions are for the part with the unpleasant snow below the west flank.