Nordkette on 11.01.2022 | ChevChelios

Snow condition

Visually, it looks good at the top, but due to the recent snowfall without any wind, some stones are only slightly covered. So on steeper slopes, you have to watch out for stone contact. Further down, where it was bare before the last snowfall, the fresh snow is of course often not enough. If the ground is calm, it is possible, but as soon as it gets rockier, it is better to switch to walking. Below approx. 1400m you can no longer ski properly, even in gullies.

Snow quality

Tremendous snow quality, 5-10cm of the finest wild snow on top of 20-30cm of powder snow. Super nice to ski, and due to the cold temperatures the sun has hardly any negative effects on the snow quality. The best conditions are between approx. 2300m and 1800m, further up there is some wind influence and further down you can feel the crust at some point. There was a very small area with some "moistened" snow in the area of the upper fog line, where diffuse radiation had an effect. Further up and further down it was nice and powdery again. Western slopes with a little less fresh snow and a little more wind-influenced, where you can reach the crust more quickly.

Below 2400m a 1 has been issued, above that a 2. I can agree with that, the fresh snow is completely unbound and the old snow problem seems to have been solved, fortunately. Further up you have to watch out for drifting snow, but the good snow is probably not at the very high altitudes at the moment anyway, where the wind had more influence.

Overall impression

Amazing after-work tour in the Karwendel with the Rumer Spitze at sunset. On the way there, there were already 3 beautiful descents in fantastic snow, and the snow on the south-west flank of the Rumer Spitze was still good in the late afternoon. The only drawback on the last descent was the annoying fog, which according to the ZAMG should have lifted, but then moved higher and higher and gave us a nice whiteout after a few hundred meters of descent.