Snow report Oberstdorf, 12/26/2017

Snow condition

You can easily reach the valley, even through the forest. However, ridges are blown off and many streams are open. In addition, the choice of line is restricted by the sliding snow avalanches.

Snow quality

There was a lot, just no powder. On south and east-facing slopes, the snow was thawed and nice to ski on. As it wasn't particularly warm today, it wasn't firn yet. On the north side in the shade it was OK up to about 1300m. Below that, it was a nasty broken snow, gliding with a skin was not possible as you caved in a bit with every step. Skiing wasn't really possible on the flat either, it was more like slipping, as every little mistake ended in a fall. In the forest below 1300 m there was some wet snow. Sometimes the crust was really icy (ridges), which will be exciting after the next snowfall... I also saw hoar frost where there was shade all day.

There were all kinds of different lids to admire. But everything seemed quite stable so far, as it wasn't that warm today, even the sunlit slopes. Many sliding snow avalanches had already occurred on the last two days. At around 12:30 pm, the predicted change in the weather came with strong winds, which transported the last of the loose snow. By 2 p.m., the summits were covered in cloud and there were large cornices (and wind signs) on the Rindalphorn, some of which were already cracked. The cornices also made it impossible to judge the entrance to the northern gully. That's why I decided against the gully. At the bottom, I then saw that just below the entrance there was a sliding snow mouth in the middle of the slope. So it was still very dangerous in certain areas.

Overall impression

I caught the right time for the descent from Hochgrat and Rindalphorn and the weather. Therefore 3 stars. However, the descent into the valley was not so cool in the snow...