Berchtesgaden Alps on 16.12.2021 | bergjunge

Snow condition

It's clearly getting worse at lower altitudes, but fortunately the snow is falling more slowly at the top and a few centimeters have been added at the highest altitudes. Supplies are urgently needed!

Snow quality

Quite a challenging mix: very hard, crusty washboard snow when tracked (most of the time). In the untracked part quite ok to ski, soft broken snow. I had hoped for slush, but it was too cold on the north side for that.

You can't get to the higher elevations here as there is too little base. On the shady side, the snow cover is usually compact and stable.

Overall impression

A second star by the skin of my teeth. Unfortunately I was too early, the sun only came out later today at the altitude. Deep fog in the open, but the contrasts were quite good in the forest. There were also a few interesting turns, but unfortunately no sulz. The absolute highlight was seeing two rock ptarmigans.