Snow report Grisons, 01/16/2016

Snow condition

It has been snowing continuously for the last two days (I would guess a good 40cm in total) - but at higher altitudes (2000 + ) with a lot of wind. In the lee and forest enough to ride mostly complaint-free. Every now and then, however, there is still something lurking under the surface.

Snow quality

Very good quality snow (temperatures around -15 °C), very loose and mega fluffy when you get to lower altitudes. In wind-pressed areas, 5 - 10 cm of loose powder, then noticeably more compact.

I would still rate this as very critical. As soon as you move above the tree line, you kick a board loose with every turn on steep slopes that have been blown in. Due to the strong winds of the last few days, the edges of the crack can quickly reach up to 40 cm. Even with careful loading of the snow cover, immediate and far-reaching crack propagation can be observed. There is hardly any wind and better visibility through the trees.

Overall impression

The first day that deserves the title "skiing". However, due to the tense avalanche situation and the bad weather, it's not yet the pleasure you'd wish for. Constant snowfall at the moment - tomorrow is supposed to be a calm bluebird. I'm curious to see how much will happen.