Snow report North chain, 01/13/2024

Snow condition

Good snow conditions in the Karwendel. The gully we were aiming for hasn't looked this good for over 2 years. Whereby good in this case still means quite narrow and stony :-) The mountain pines are also well covered. Descent via toboggan run even down to Halltal possible.

Snow quality

Very variable snow quality, even in a small area. In the upper part of our gully (Expo Northwest), very loose, unbound powder snow (which unfortunately blew away a lot). Further down, there was more and more wind cover, but it was still good for boarders. In the Karwendel, some people found the classic traverse rather difficult, with lots of crushed harsh and hard snow and only a little good powder.

Drift snow is certainly the main danger at the moment. The wind has picked up a little since Saturday afternoon, and where the drift snow is deposited on the unbound, loose powder snow, it is certainly very susceptible to disruption. The crack thickness is probably still rather low, but you should also keep an eye on the risk of falling.

Overall impression

On my 4th attempt, I finally managed to make what was probably the first ascent of the F*ckerinne on the small Stempeljochspitze. The top section is very exposed, but easy to ride. After that it becomes much narrower, steeper and rockier. One passage is only possible with dry snowboarding (< 1.5m wide for approx. 20m). After that, the gully widens again and becomes a little more relaxed. In the lower third, you have to abseil over a steep step including an icefall. We have set a bolt on the side of the gully riders left, abseil approx. 27m long. The block at the bottom is still free this winter and has to be climbed about 2-3m. However, the part at the bottom has already been rideable on previous attempts. All in all, a nice adventure in any case :-) On the overview photo is the Herzogrinne on the left (probably first ascent 22.02.2020) and the F*ckerrinne on the right.