Snow report North chain, 12/13/2019

Snow condition

A few cosmetic centimetres of snow at the Hungerburg, and around 80cm at the top of the Seegrube. Of course, it's nowhere near enough for the descent (even if there are people who have actually tried it), and the mountain pines are not even close to being covered in snow. This means that the off-piste terrain is very limited. The 3-seater pillar lift isn't running yet, which means you can make some nice powder turns there, where there is normally pre-grooming. At the very top, the wind was blowing hard and the ridges and crests were pretty blown off.

Snow quality

You can't complain about the snow quality. Around 30cm of super fluffy powder snow, a little more in some places and a little less in others. Due to the cold temperatures, it was still nice and powdery in the afternoon, but this only applies to the area just above and below the Seegrube. Further up, e.g. in the Karrinne, the snow looked much more wind-affected.

You definitely have to watch out for drift snow. The signs of wind in the snow cover cannot be overlooked at the top. A crack caused by a snow groomer 3 days ago is still easily recognizable. Steeper terrain should be avoided.

Overall impression

Very weekend warrior-friendly weather, perfect at 1:30 p.m. up on the Nordkette, so it was a pleasant Friday afternoon. With a little hike there were still a few nice turns to be made in beautiful powder snow. As it was still untracked down towards the 3er-Stützen lift, there was even a nice ridge line with a subsequent ascent back to the Seegrube.
The descent into the valley really isn't skiable yet, not even with a Steinboard/ski :D
Too bad that the Föhn is coming soon. So today will probably be the last good Nordkett day for the time being.