Snow report Kleinwalsertal, 04/17/2021

Snow condition

Compared to Thursday in the same expos, it felt a little less despite the higher altitude, hence 3 stars. Streams are mostly open below 1500m. On the south side, the glaciation is progressing well. On the way from the Turaalpe to Baad you had to unbuckle a few times.

Snow quality

Over 1500m around the north, depending on the terrain and shadows, still beautiful powder snow. In the Derrarinne you could still find this despite many tracks. On the east side at 30°+ at half past 10 good firn in the early stages, flatter and other expos still hard. Then quite hard at the bottom. For firn and powder just 4 stars.

A lot of wet snow is already down, but not all of it yet, as it was overcast yesterday and this afternoon and so the full power of the sun couldn't take effect. However, there also seems to be a problem with old snow, as reported in the avalanche report. On the Ochsenhofer Köpfen, you could see a large slab of snow (?) on the south side with a low crack thickness. Maybe you can see it on the photo. Of course, I don't know what actually caused it. It seemed to me that the avalanche was already a bit over-snowed, so possibly self-triggering on Wednesday. The risk of falling should not be underestimated either. EDIT: Exactly the picture with the avalanche didn't come through...

Overall impression

Contrasting program to Thursday. In Baad at half past seven almost all the parking spaces are taken, caravans head off to the well-known peaks. But if you keep your distance, it's still beautiful. Unfortunately, the planned gully was no longer worthwhile as it was filled with wet snow avalanches. So we made a detour to the Unspitze and down via the Derrarinne. Let's see how much precipitation comes in the next few days and from what altitude it comes as snow.