Snow report Stubai Valley, 11/10/2019

Snow condition

Visually, it doesn't look too bad in places. However, the first impression is quite deceptive and in terrain with rocky ground, there's not really anything off-piste. Thanks to the weekend and SportScheck Testival, there were still some very interesting lines to be seen, so it's worth taking a look at the photos! Zuckerhütl has also already been ridden. The valley run has even been skied, but from the gondola the lower part looked like a maximum of 15cm of snow. To better illustrate the snow situation before the next snowfall, here are a few pictures of different faces.

Snow quality

Approx. 30cm of fresh snow in fine quality. In the direct off-piste terrain either already tracked, too stony or both. I skied a bit with skins and was able to make some really nice turns. With the poor base, however, you could only really make use of the beautiful snow in a few places.

In addition to the very high risk of sharks, crevasses must also be taken into account. Avalanche danger is currently difficult to assess. Sometimes you can see clear signs of wind in the snow cover (see picture towards Zuckerhütl). We were only on flat terrain today and have discarded our original tour destination. We should definitely keep an eye on the avalanche blog spot. After the recent snowfalls with wind, a little restraint certainly won't hurt.

Overall impression

Thanks to the informative CR of Wildschnee from a few days ago, I went to the Stubai Glacier without great expectations. Already on the way there was a lot going on despite the early time, on the way back we saw that both alternative parking lots were also very busy.
Fortunately splitboard and skins packed and so at least a bit escaped the crowds and could set a few nice turns. Our two tour destinations discarded due to snow conditions or uncertain avalanche situation. Still had a good first day of the season, and without any shark contact :)