Snow report North chain, 05/20/2016

Snow condition

Still okay for the end of May. With the bikes from Scharnitz into the Karwendel valley, bike depot at approx. 1300m. Then continue on foot towards Neunerkar, first patches of snow on the north side from approx. 1600m, strap on skis at approx. 1800m, from there upwards the snow conditions are still good. The north-facing Karwendel cirques are actually still quite full of snow, Birkkarspitze and Karwendelreibn were also made today.

Snow quality

As expected, there was no more powder left from this week's fresh snowfall, but the following: in the upper third, there was a layer of hardpack on snow that wasn't yet soaked through (unfortunately not 100% stable), in the middle third there was nice firn on a layer of hardpack and in the lower third there was deep slush. The sun has really damaged the snow today - if the whole thing freezes well again in the forecast clear night, you could possibly find good firn conditions tomorrow (with an early start).

Rather unproblematic on our route. The steep step up to the start of the Neunerkar is already snowed out, further up the fresh snow from the previous days was already well settled due to the warmth. Due to the daytime warming, you had to watch out for loose snow slides from the steep terrain, but such danger spots could be easily avoided on our tour through the rather moderately steep cirque.

Overall impression

Although the snow quality was certainly not ideal, we had a fantastic day of touring thanks to the fantastic weather and the magnificent landscape in the remote Karwendel. If you're not afraid of a bit of bike & hike, you can still do some great tours in the local mountains. It's a bit of a shame that the season is slowly coming to an end now, as I would like it to continue for a while longer, just like the past few weeks...