Snow report North chain, 12/14/2019

Snow condition

Snow conditions unchanged from yesterday's CR.

Snow quality

The snow quality has deteriorated significantly compared to yesterday, with the rising temperatures and the sunlight from late morning making the snow, which was still super fluffy yesterday, heavier and heavier. Even in exposures (e.g. east-facing), where the sun didn't reach, the snow became heavier below approx. 1900 m. Good snow can probably only be found on the north-facing side. Above the Seegrube at the end of the Karrinne, the snow was even better and a little more powdery. There, however, you could feel every meter of altitude that you descended. A little further up (pictures 2 & 3) it was still relatively powdery, further down it was much stickier (picture 4) and with the even warmer temperatures tomorrow you can forget about finding good snow, at least in the Seegrube area.

Drift snow has formed due to the strong winds. However, the rising temperatures have contributed to the fact that the loose snow is becoming less and less and the drift snow is settling faster. That's why we only climbed the wide field at the end of the gully and avoided the narrower and steeper gully.

Overall impression

Still enough for 3 stars, as you could still make nice turns on the eastern slope and in the run-out of the gully. It takes a bit of an ascent, but it was definitely worth it. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't as powdery as yesterday, but it was still fun :)