Snow report Bregenzerwald, 01/17/2016

Snow condition

Due to the strong winds of the last few days, the situation is still very varied. In some places the gullies and slopes are fully loaded up to the top, then you come over a crest or a completely normal slope and have to contend with grass + rocks.

Snow quality

Early in the morning there might even have been a 4, but despite the very icy -14 degrees, the sun on the southern slopes made for somewhat heavier pow.

As you can see in the pictures, a lot of lips have opened up. The sun has contributed a lot here, because on closer inspection of the cracks, it was clear to see that meltwater has made the meadows very wet and therefore also slippery, which is of course quite critical. In addition, there are the drifts, which of course push from above. Fortunately, no major slopes were visible today, but great caution is required.

Overall impression

In itself, it was a great day's skiing, but the backcountry had been ransacked and abused by a caravan of tourists. It seemed as if everyone who had skis, poles and ski boots just wanted to powder by hook or by crook. It even went so far that extremely dangerous and almost "safe" gullies were skied today (luckily nothing happened) to crush the last of the pow.