Snow report East Tyrol-North Carinthia, 04/08/2024

Snow condition

Very good snow conditions in the high mountains. Glaciers very well covered in snow and crevasse bridges (if crevasses are visible at all) are stable. According to many, the situation on the glaciers in the region (Venediger Group) is better this year than it has been for a long time. Descents to below the huts are possible (approx. 1800m), but there are many (dirty) avalanche cones to cross (sometimes on foot) on the access roads.

Snow quality

Predominantly firn snow (or slush depending on the time of day). Dry, soft snow can still be found on the north side above approx. 2900m (very nice to ski when protected from the wind, as in winter). On the south side up to approx. 3200 still dry and soft (if not too exposed to the wind). This will of course change quickly with the summer days.

Daily variation! Significant in the afternoon and at altitudes below 3000m. From around 11:30 a.m. onwards, we constantly observed - sometimes large - wet snow avalanches in steep terrain on the east side. Set off early! We set off for the Venediger at 4:50 am from the Kürsingerhaus and by 10 am we already had some beautiful firn on the south-western slopes above the Johannishütte.

Overall impression

For me, there are de facto no 5-star tours ;). But the weekend in the Venediger group came close to 5 stars. Very good conditions for high-altitude ski tours at the moment: lots of snow at high altitudes, glaciers very well snowed in, radiant nights, still soft, dry snow on the north side and firn conditions on the east to west side depending on the day. The early bird catches the worm (or finds the right - and safe - type of snow).