Snow report Roof tile, 12/30/2016

Snow condition

This week, considerable amounts of snow have fallen in the north jam. Around 40 cm to 60 cm have been added to the glacier since Christmas. As these amounts have fallen with a lot of wind, the snow situation is quite inhomogeneous. In sheltered areas it's quite deep and in wind corridors you can occasionally slide around on ice. More passive skiing is certainly not a bad idea. For the Hallstatt glacier, it's just enough for 2 stars. In comparison, there was less snow at the beginning of February 2016. The ascent with skis up to the via ferrata to the Hoher Dachstein is possible without any problems (no visible crevasses!).

Snow quality

In the protected area there is nice powder (3 stars) and where the wind was really at work and the ice appears there is no more downhill fun (1 star).

We couldn't see any activity on the tour today. During the gondola ascent, we could see isolated loose snow avalanches below the south face. These were not very thick and it was difficult to tell when they had gone (sometimes difficult to see as the wind had already covered them with snow). There is definitely a danger in steep gullies and slopes and there was also rain before the snowfall up to approx. 2000 m (weak layer in the old snow!).

Overall impression

Nice end to the year with pretty solid snow quality and great weather. Great that our traditional New Year's Eve ski tour could take place again!