Snow report Obertauern, 11/12/2017

Snow condition

I was mainly on the south and east exposures. From the parking lot, you can easily ascend and descend along the slopes. From 2000 m upwards, you can also see the influence of the wind very clearly. Exposed areas are blown off and gullies are visually filled. With a defensive skiing style, you can also descend well away from the ski area in gullies. However, the possibilities away from the ski area are still very limited. The snow cannons in the ski area have also been in operation for the last few days.

Snow quality

Almost everything was there today. With temperatures in the plus range, the snow below 1800 m was already quite wet by midday. As the altitude increased, there was a transition from settled powder snow to a few centimetres of fresh snow in corners protected from the wind. Unfortunately, a skiable gully next to the piste had an unsightly cover thanks to the artificial snow machines. Otherwise there would have been three stars for the November tour day.

Today, the main danger still came from rocks, stones and unsnowed obstacles such as streams and ditches. After the next snowfall, the terrain possibilities will increase and then you have to watch out for the drift snow! Due to the sometimes rather diffuse visibility, it was not so easy to get a good overview today.

Overall impression

Most of the ski tourers didn't arrive until around midday and the area was pretty much to themselves. The snow and the possibilities today were certainly nothing for the history books, but much more pleasant than in the glacier ski areas.