Snow report Sölden, Ötztal, 02/28/2021

Snow condition

The snow conditions on the south side are passable. Even above 2,000 m, the snow is much less, so you have to watch out for stones and bushes in places. However, with good time management and the right choice of line, you can get down without any problems.

Snow quality

The snow quality is very changeable. There is still some heavy, blown powder in places. In the south couloir, the entrance and the first 300 m are very hard. From approx. 3,300 m, the snow slowly starts to firm up so that you can make some nice turns here. From approx. 2,800 m (below Breslauer Hütte) there is good firn right down to the valley. However, it is essential to take into account the time of day when the snow warms up. We left at 11.30 am and found good firn. At the bottom, it was already a bit wetter.

No spontaneous avalanches were observed. However, attention must be paid to diurnal warming and avalanches from sunny steep terrain.

Overall impression

Very nice tour with a cool ascent and a cool descent. Since the original plan (east ridge up, north face down) unfortunately didn't work out (old snow slab crack in the north face recognizable) we decided at short notice for the south couloir. Here the entrance was very hard, but otherwise ok to ski.
Weather and visibility were perfect, only the strong wind on the ridge and summit prevented us from getting the 4th star.