Snow report Arlberg, 01/29/2019

Snow condition

The amount of snow continues to be enormous. Natural terrain is slowly disappearing and turning into huge white fields. Otherwise, there are many large windslips and cornices.

Snow quality

Mixed. Partly powdery 30cm of fresh snow (more in places; heavier on the south side from midday), partly hard and blown away. Hard ground on the west side, otherwise rather soft.

Lots of sliding snow mouths to be seen (see pictures). These will certainly cause problems later in the season. The affected slopes are of course still skied on without a second thought. Despite the "Arlberg effect", we have also observed medium-sized avalanches triggered by winter sports enthusiasts (see pictures). This was in the more or less steep off-piste terrain on the south-east side. We have also observed spontaneous avalanches on the south side. Valluga and Schindlergrat were blown up all morning. There and also in the rest of the ski area, there were quite a few medium-sized blasts. As I'm not often out and about on the Arlberg, I always find it exciting to see how many "freeriders" are out and about without equipment and in huge groups on a 3-person tour.

Overall impression

Despite relatively little local knowledge, rode beautiful and fresh lines from 9-15 hrs. Sunshine for most of the day. There is no better way to explore this great terrain.