Snow report Kalkkögel, 12/18/2022

Snow condition

You can ski down to the valley on an (icy) piste in the Schlick. But that's the best news about the current snow conditions. There's still a long way to go in the forest anyway, and even the rocky gullies still need quite a bit of snow before they can be skied properly. With a bit of webcam research and local knowledge, you can find a bit of snow, but stone skis are definitely an advantage off-piste. Combined with a soft skiing style, you can also make a few first turns in the gullies, but you won't get very far up yet. Be sure to check the snow conditions on the ascent and don't try to drop in anywhere from above.

Snow quality

Very fluffy powder snow on the shadow side, without crusts in it. Good sinking depths, which is not always an advantage due to the rather poor snow conditions. We climbed a short passage on a sun-exposed slope, where the snow was already wet and sticky in the morning (at an altitude of over 2,300m).

An avalanche below the high Burgstall shows that the combination of weak old snow and drift snow is quite susceptible to failure. Further down, in wind-calm, shady terrain, the snowpack was completely loose and unbound. Not a good basis for drift snow either, but the board was missing here.

Overall impression

At least we had a first look at the Kalkkögel and made some nice turns in good powder. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of snow here too, both in the freeride and touring terrain.