Snow report Zugspitz Arena, 01/27/2017

Snow condition

Ski tours can be undertaken quite well. Every now and then you pick up a stone, but it's not that bad. The approaches from the other starting points, such as Bichlbächle, looked much worse. (Starting point for a former freeride tour of the week on the Roter Stein: http://www.powderguide.com/magazin/tourenresorts/artikel/freeridetour-der-woche-roter-stein.html) Better snow conditions than in the direct neighbors like Mieminger Kette. (I haven't been there myself recently, information was given to me today) The Zugspitze massif simply holds up a lot there. Often blown off on the west side.

Snow quality

We found everything. Still nice powder, break and wind crust. As described in other Cr's, the soft snow on the south side was also quite nice to ski. With a bit of luck you can get firn conditions during the day. But you shouldn't rely on that just yet.

Today was the first time that the danger decreased in the areas affected by the old snow. This is of course generally positive. However, as already described elsewhere, a danger scale can be a poor representation of an old snow problem. I would continue to be cautious and wait a few days to see how it develops. The area was not particularly affected by the last wind. No wind during the course of the day today. The drift snow close to the ridge looked quite brittle and was easily shed like clods. But it wasn't critical.

Overall impression

Nice tour today and it's always amazing how different the snow conditions are in the smallest of areas. However, as everywhere else, we urgently need to resupply. Really steep stuff is still a long way off.