Snow report Grisons, 01/08/2020

Snow condition

There's snow as far as the main valley of Graubünden :) estimated up to 1000m. There is less at the top than at the bottom. Thanks to the wind! But you don't need to be afraid of stones in sunny weather!

Around the Medelser Hütte it has swept so much that EVERY exposure here is really crusty. There's hard-packed snow, broken snow and wind-blown ice patches. There is drift snow, and it's easy to see. But they are only ever a maximum of 2x2m packs and therefore not really skiable. Even gullies and hollows are a black box. Below 2000m, the wind has not been quite as strong. Here you can find 10cm of fresh snow. But only up to about 1700m. From the afternoon onwards, we try our hand at south-facing slopes, which can easily become firn and fun with sunshine :)

The slf issues an avalanche warning level 1. For sliding snow avalanches, a 2 without time of day restrictions. In the 3 days at the hut, the fish mouths we see do not change at all. Ground avalanches have already occurred and are approx. 1 week old. Otherwise we do not observe any avalanche-relevant events.

Overall impression

Sun and stable conditions - perfect for riding steep things, we thought. Yes, it was. But the gullies we tested are such a wonderland when it comes to snow conditions that we put aside the urge to ski steeps and enjoy the sun. Not to forget: doing snow dances, of course! The Alps urgently need more!