Snow report Trafoier ice wall, 05/29/2021

Snow condition

From Trafoi (Heilige drei Brunnen) you have to carry up to approx. 150m below the Berglhütte. The traverse in the direction of the Nasenhornferner is mostly open, with a few snow fields to cross. You can only really strap on your skis below the Nasenhornferner at approx. 2350m. The north face itself has good snow conditions, no bare ice and you can get through without coming into contact with the rock. Nowadays, unfortunately, it no longer follows a direct line, but zigzags a little. The glacier below the wall also still has very good snow conditions, many crevasses are still well closed and the big breaks should of course be avoided anyway.

Snow quality

In the north face itself, really good, settled powder snow (steep on the north side, above 3100m). Further down on the glacier, the quality of the snow varied greatly, depending on the exposure and altitude and, of course, the time of day. At 9 o'clock in the morning, it was crushed snow on the north/northwest side between 3100 and 2900m, below that it was a stable cover, which was hard but grippy at first, and then turned into good firn below 2700m. Below about 2400m it was already very wet at this early hour, as it had not frozen through despite a clear night. Altitude information is only for rough orientation, is currently very dependent on sunlight the day before, exact slope exposure, temperature, radiation overnight, etc. Powder can only be found on north-facing slopes above approx. 3100m that are not too exposed to the wind.

The conditions on the steep face are now relatively good and stable. The last snowfall was more than 4 days ago and with the sunlight the snow is settling well and is still powdery on the steep north side. You should still watch out for drifting snow in places, and after fresh snow with wind it's best not to set off on the first fair weather day. Otherwise, you should take into account the daytime warming, which not only affects wet snow slides from steep, rocky terrain but also rockfall.

Overall impression

Once again following in the footsteps of Heini Holzer, who first climbed this beautiful wall 40 years ago. Unfortunately, the ice in the wall has now melted considerably, which means that a descent in the fall line is no longer possible. However, as a descent is still possible, this wall had been on the list for some time. Now it could finally be ticked off in good powder conditions. The catch is the unpleasant approach to the Nasenhornferner, which involves traversing steep slopes and an ascent and descent of a very brittle moraine. Once you have completed this part, an adventure awaits in an incredibly beautiful and lonely glacier landscape. The bivouac box at 3230m with a window view of the wall is not something you experience every day.