Snow report Pitztal, 03/10/2018

Snow condition

Many rocks from early winter are largely covered. All the usual variants are possible without rock contact. Only blown-off areas still expose a few sharks or ice. Crevasses are well covered, but the large ones are deceptively overgrown by the wind and increasingly difficult to recognize. A few meters from the slope there was a rescue with 3 helicopters in the middle of the week. Taschach Glacier is going well down to the valley. The Wildspitze was also a popular destination on Thursday and Friday.

Snow quality

Thursday and Friday still fluffy. A strong foehn set in at the beginning of the weekend. However, the snow quality was still very good in the steep terrain on the north side. Otherwise, you could find everything from wind cover and hard snow to heavily soaked snow cover at lower altitudes

The avalanche situation has worsened due to the strong wind loads and rapid warming. The danger spots are easy to recognize, but the size of the snow packs is difficult to estimate. We were surprised by a very easily triggered small snow slab in a typical terrain trap in the now heavily tracked descent from Mittagskogel. The break was right at the bend in the terrain at the transition from a little to a lot of snow. (see photo)

Overall impression

Conditions are still good in the steep shaded terrain. With the foehn, however, the overall snow quality will suffer somewhat. Those who know their way around will still find one or two great spots