Snow report Montafon, 01/15/2021

Snow condition

Gamechanger the last few days. An incredible amount came from the sky. Well, that was in the news in several versions. Basically, it's an unusual event. Such masses of snow from the valley to the peaks only happen every few years. I've lived here for 8 years and it hasn't happened to this extent since then - in the valley at 450m there's been about 60cm of snow in the garden since this morning. At the Golm valley station it's more like 80-90cm and I would buy the meter at the middle station. We didn't get any further. A lot of the forest is covered and disappearing for the first time this season. They are slowly disappearing and the choice of line is currently only influenced by the avalanche situation. At the moment, I'd say we're at an average level and it's possible to start the tour from Bodensee. No problem.

Snow quality

The snow is so deep and so light that if you can make a few turns, it immediately takes your breath away. FFP2 on and give it to him. You skate down small sections at walking pace. Three turns and back on track, that's all you can do. Even with my 190cm height, there are continuous face shots when you're in mode. The last time I experienced this was many years ago when powder hunting, here on site not for a long time. And I'd say I haven't skied many good days in the last few years.

Now comes the BUT, we rode down the forest path at Golm and between the bends in >30°C terrain. Out of a desire for adventure, we then chose a variant that was closer to -25°. Result > we only pushed, we couldn't ride. At least Firstline. Cracks form on every slope, no matter how small. No, not 50cm or 1m. Entire sections of the slope collapse. When skiing down a forest road, the "slope" cracked and slid completely over 50m. On the run we had about 10 settlements, at times you could feel the settlements and follow the continuation of the rumbling noises. One of those moments when you get a very uneasy feeling in your stomach. The Tyrol Avalanche Warning Service has posted massive videos over the last few days - also from other PowderGuide members *lea*. We were careful on the way, but this has exceeded our expectations. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It's going to be hot, very hot.

Overall impression

1 run in the forest was good, the second run ended in a 2 hour odyssey of pushing and fighting through the forest. After that we didn't feel like it. It was too hot for us. It wasn't such a quick afterworkshred. It gave us some information for tomorrow and we can make better decisions.

My tip to everyone is to be careful. There's no room for "let's give it a go". There is no safety buffer. Political 4s, as has been the case in recent years - no chance. For me, this is one of the most blatant days I have ever experienced in terms of danger signs.