Snow report St. Moritz / Engadine, 12/19/2019

Snow condition

we started today in the lower engadine at about 1900m. there at least 50cm, well-set old snow. it stays that way up to about 2600m. there is then quite a lot blown off and partly covered with about 5cm of fresh snow. in the summit/ridge area, today at about 2900m, almost everything is blown off. overall, however, absolutely sufficient for free line choice, if you avoid the blown-off ridges and edges.

Snow quality

today we found the best snow conditions of the past 5 days in this region. at 1900m, north-facing, crushed harsh cover, not bearing. from about 2200m good, not wind-influenced, old snow, with about 5cm, powdery new snow layer. above 2600m, in all expos, wind-blown. partly bearing, partly not. there are also blown-off, icy areas and bad, sometimes also quite large zastrugis.

the swiss two for the munster valley was ok today. there is a lot of drift snow above 2600m and in the ridge area, and the strong southerly wind is constantly adding new snow. but it wasn't releasable anywhere. no big cracks and slabs today, created on the ascent and descent (up to max. 40°) and no booming noises heard. the snow cover makes a fairly stable impression.

Overall impression

as I said, the best descent of the past 5 days, partly with good, settled pow. the wind was only unpleasant in the summit area. below 2600m there was almost no wind. zero degree limit today at approx. 2200m, plus partly sunny clearings. that makes for a quite usable day of touring, with 3 stars.