Snow report Jungfrau Region, 12/17/2017

Snow condition

There is probably already more snow than during the entire 2016/17 winter season. The base is excellent thanks to occasional strong winds and short warm spells. At 2000m there is probably about 1.5m, in the valley at 900m still about 40cm. And another load of snow is expected tomorrow. The village is also looking really wintry.

Snow quality

I have rarely experienced such light snow. Hip-deep, and because it was so light, you could still make good progress. Nothing windswept.

Considerably. But for the large amount of snow that has fallen in the last few days/weeks, the conditions are relatively favorable. I saw a few small slabs of snow today, but they were harmless. The snowpack build-up has been very good since the beginning of the season thanks to short warm weather phases. But if you do get caught by a slab with this amount of snow, good luck. Today I spent 45 minutes looking for a ski in the deep snow after a fall and only found it by chance and with a lot of luck.

Overall impression

It could hardly be better. Waist-deep powder of the lightest kind. So much snow from the summit to the valley. Nothing wind-blown and, despite so much snow, relatively favorable avalanche conditions thanks to the good snowpack structure. And furthermore, we skied almost alone next to the piste today and the slopes weren't fully tracked until the evening. People probably weren't expecting the sun this morning.

Variant tips in the Jungfrau Region can be found at www.freerideguide.ch