Snow report Saalbach / Fieberbrunn, 02/09/2014

Snow condition

Above the tree line often strongly wind-pressed under the influence of wind, drifting snow in all northern exposures. Little to no signs of wind below the tree line. The fresh snow, which is not to be sneezed at, is therefore quite unevenly distributed. Below 1400 to 1600m too little base or increased risk of sharking

Snow quality

Ranges from windswept/hardpack in wind corridors/ridge locations to >50cm loose pow in wind-protected mountain forest, i.e. 2-5*, everything included, the above is the average.

Have seen a smaller crack: Windbeinflusster, north-exposed, approx. 30-35° steep slope below a rock face (classic "transition from little to much snow"), board approx. 10x10 m, thickness at the crack approx. 20 cm. estimated 30 cm in the middle of the board. Another layer was embedded 10 cm below the affected weak layer (not investigated further). So: Situation divided into two parts. Pay attention to wind signs! For example, we skied a forest track with >40° at the same exposure a few hundred meters further down and relatively safely because the (deep!) snow was completely unbound.

Overall impression

If you find the right spots, you can finally have some real fun in the Northern Alps and polish up your face shot score. The star rating above is the daily average. However, 50% of the slopes skied clearly scratch 5* A small glimpse into the future: The foehn and the associated temperatures didn't do the fine snow any good, so this report follows a rather negative trend until the next dump.