Snow report Stubai Valley, 12/03/2016

Snow condition

Unchanged poor snow conditions. Off-piste still very rocky and off-piste skiing in the area is still out of the question.

Snow quality

Some of the slopes are very icy. Away from the slopes there is a stable snow cover. However, good snow quality is something else.

The destination of the tour was a south-eastern slope. In the last blog entry of the avalanche warning service, snow profiles from high alpine south-facing slopes were rated as favorable. Due to the fact that there was a load-bearing snow cover, the avalanche situation was more reminiscent of spring.

Overall impression

Why go on a ski tour/splitboard tour when the snow conditions are poor and the snow quality lousy? on the one hand to escape the crowds and the icy pistes in the ski area. On the other hand, because the mountain had been on the to-do list for some time, the conditions were at least safe and the snow conditions allowed it to be skied. Although there are some large boulders there, they can be easily avoided both on the ascent and the descent. The risk of sharks is also rather low due to the hard snow surface. Further up in the gully and in the uppermost part, the snow conditions are quite acceptable, but you have to switch to crampons relatively quickly on the ascent. The descent was even more worthwhile than I would have expected in the current conditions. Boards/skis with good edge hold are still recommended