Snow report Northern Norway, 05/13/2016

Snow condition

In Jotunheimen there are many tours that start at 1000m or higher, so you don't have to carry anything here. The glaciers are well closed and the risk of crevasses falling is very low.

Snow quality

The crust is covered with melt/rain, it rattles a lot. Still quite good for ascents, but in steep sections you'll be glad to have crampons or cramponsIn high altitudes there was a bit of powder on the crust on Friday and Saturday thanks to the precipitation on the slopes, which made skiing down a bit more pleasant.

The cooling at the end of last week froze everything that could have slid together. No current observations, but a lot of old stuff (wet snow avalanches and a broken board) was lying around.

Overall impression

The obligatory tour to the highest mountain in Norway, where we had the summit all to ourselves and a neighboring mountain the next day, surrounded by cozy winter camping and a team that was slowly getting used to each other, were once again a lot of fun. Even if they weren't the best tours in terms of skiing and snow. Only the summit fog, the ticket for excessive speed and the cold afterwards didn't have to be.