Snow report Ticino, 02/20/2014

Snow condition

Madness!!! Göschenen 0 -> Airolo 1.5m! The road to All'Aqua in Bedretto resembles a bobsleigh run flanked by 2m high, milled snow walls. Villages seem to have grown together at roof level to form a uniform white icing. At the top, entire alpine huts are swallowed up by the snow and even higher up, the wind has moved the snow massively during the foehn phases, but there is still so much that lines suddenly become skiable that you would not have thought possible.

Snow quality

Unfortunately, the quantity does not quite correspond 1 to 1 with the quality. Up to 2000m, a slight crust of melting hard snow even on shady slopes. Above that, top quality on north-facing slopes, but only where the repeated stormy foehn phases were not quite as effective. Southern slopes damp during the day, or with a nasty crust.

Moderate, watch out for drift snow in gullies and hollows and behind terrain edges. We were only out and about in the terrain forms indicated and got a consistently stable impression, although we were mostly on the drift snow mentioned. The quantities blown in are so enormous and the snow cover is generally very homogeneous. On steep south-facing slopes, the first fish mouths have opened dangerously wide. At lower altitudes, the snow cover has already slipped down to the grass in places. Unfortunately, it's already very warm for the time of year.

Overall impression

Impressive! The times with such huge amounts of snow can't even be counted on one hand in my memory.