Snow report Arlberg, 05/04/2016

Snow condition

The last snowfalls have significantly improved the situation. It just reaches up to 1,400 m and from 1,600 m it quickly becomes more snow on the shaded side and from 1,800 m it still looks like deep winter. The snow cover is very homogeneous. There is also still a lot of snow on the south side above 1,800 m. If you have time now, there are still a few tours from e.g. Alpe Rauz, Zürs or St. Christoph.

Snow quality

From 2,400-2,200m it was still very settled powder and then from approx. 1,800m down to the valley floor it was good firn. We left at around 11:00 and the entire descent was north-facing. Further up (>2,400m) it could still be powdery on the north side.

Generally only small fresh loose snow slides. Very compact snow cover with an approx. 10 cm thick layer of harsh snow. Small-scale drift snow packs can often be seen, which become more frequent with increasing altitude and are easy to recognize. The wind picked up in the morning and continued to move snow, but there is hardly any loose snow left. At around 1,500 m, I saw a fresh small base avalanche.

Overall impression

Impressive tour in glorious weather in the otherwise hectic Arlberg region. In contrast to the Albona area, there were real caravans on the way to the Schindlergrat. The conditions for touring on the Arlberg are currently still very good. It should tend to get warmer and then the daily avalanche trend will become more acute again.