Snow report East Tyrol-North Carinthia, 05/27/2020

Snow condition

Snow fields start at approx. 2300m and a continuous snow cover can be found in southern expos from approx. 2500m. You can then walk/ski above this without interruptions. The south-facing glaciers of the Großvenendiger are well covered. You can't really see any small or medium crevasses there, only the really big ones are open, of course. A rope is still recommended. The south-west face of the Großvenediger is of course no longer really a firn face in summer. It is therefore rather rocky. The descent was possible, but there are certainly winters in which there is more snow on the wall. The photos show the wall at its best - the main gully can be skied all the way, but the stones are only very lightly covered on the top 5m. The descent was then possible up to about 2200m in the Dorfertal with one 5m unbuckle. So ideal for the tour. The ascent takes about 30 minutes from the Johannishütte. This will only change slowly, as at the beginning you walk on shaded snow fields.

Snow quality

Super fluffy powder for the end of May. However, only on north-facing slopes. All exposed glaciers had pressed powder due to the strong northerly winds of the past few days. The wall had about 20-30cm of fresh snow. On the Dorferkees there was 20cm and this up to 2800m. Then transition to summer snow with fresh snow fishing.

We could not observe any unusual avalanche activity. The snow on the south-west face did not make a brittle impression either. Below 2800m, the snow cover was very homogeneous. The high radiation intensity also allows the fresh snow to bond well.

Overall impression

Great tour. A steep powder descent from the fourth highest mountain in Austria at the end of May. What more could you want? 800m first line. Tips for imitators: www.huettentaxi.at/taxi-zur-johannishutte/
Hut cab to the Johannishütte also leaves very early. Mountain bikes can also be taken for the way back. Pick-up is also possible. Ascent via the Dorferkees is only recommended to a limited extent due to the many crevasses. We took the normal route. For the Venediger there was not much of a crowd, but there were about 30 climbers and 2 groups with mountain guides. Certainly a great tour in firn, but powder is of course always better.