Snow report Grisons, 12/14/2019

Snow condition

If you memorize the coarsest stones on the ascent, you can ski down without base contact. At the reservoir at 1600m in Arosa, the base is about 40 cm. It quickly increases towards the top. Above the tree line, it then varies greatly due to the large areas of snow. Gullies and hollows are well filled. Ridges and ridges are stony and blown away. You can't really ski in dense forest. Pillow lines are great in the light pine forest.

Snow quality

Powdery from 1800 m. Not wet underneath but just a bit settled. We decided to climb up a second time in the sparse pine forest because it was so good. The expected warming in the afternoon did not materialize and the snow remained powdery. In the unprotected terrain there was a lot of drifting snow which was rather average to ski on the flat. -Up to the tree line 4 stars above 3!

Around Arosa there was a triple with drift snow as the main problem. For the Schiesshorn we had to cross a short narrow section with almost 35 degrees and before that we did a sliding block test in the somewhat flatter east-facing slope directly next to it at about 2000 m. (see photo). (see photo) A break after the 2nd knock from the elbow was the consequence. It broke off relatively smoothly at about 35 cm. Below that everything was solid. We did not notice any strong fracture propagation either during the test or during the rest of the ascent. We avoided open, steep slopes on a large scale, as medium avalanches are also to be expected. The summit slope was too steep and blown in for us, so we decided against it and instead looked for a few power powder lines in the mountain pine forest below. Tomorrow some slopes could unload with the predicted rapid warming. We'll probably head to the ski resort then.

Overall impression

Despite the sometimes inadequate base, a few powdery pillow lines were possible in the pine forest. This unexpected skiing fun as well as great light and snow conditions make it worth going out at the moment. Are there any ski tourers in Graubünden? Yesterday and today we didn't meet a soul on tour and were allowed to track everything