Snow report Sölden, Ötztal, 01/04/2014

Snow condition

Not exactly exhilarating, but only just below average for the area, in any case much better than in the northern Alps. In general, you have to watch out for stones, especially in the lowest parts of the ski area where there is still hardly any snow and then again in the higher areas where large areas have been blown away by the wind. The best area is just above the tree line.

Snow quality

Quite ok, although many areas were windswept and also very wet fresh snow, at least up to about 2400 m. Unfortunately, only a small amount of fresh snow of about 5 cm in the valley and a good 20 cm at the top of the mountain. Over the course of the day, another 5cm was added, but you can usually get through on the mostly very hard surface. Even the old tracks weren't properly covered up, which made riding a lot less fun.

Critical, see LLB. The snow is completely packed and often blown away by the wind, even if it is not as bad as the last snowfall, which was also much more abundant. Due to the limited visibility, the assessment was also difficult. We were only on the flat.

Overall impression

I've gotten used to little snow, small amounts of fresh snow and critical avalanche conditions by now, but when you add visibility that fluctuates between ski tips and 4m (and in the forest there's not enough snow in front and behind) you can start to think about staying at home.