Snow report Upper Black Forest, 04/05/2015

Snow condition

The precipitation of the past few days has brought another 20cm of snow to the Upper Black Forest. There is currently sufficient snow cover for ski tours above 1,100m. Last week, the meadow on the Feldberg plateau was already exposed due to the strong wind, but the recent snowfall has covered everything well again. Knowledge of the area is an advantage to avoid colliding with a rock that is only just covered in snow.

Snow quality

The snow cover has been fairly compressed by the wind, with around 10 cm of loose powder snow in the lee. The prevailing cold has preserved the quality so far, but this will change from Thursday at the latest as the weather warms up.

The main danger at the moment are the mighty cornices above the Zastlerkessel and Baldenwegerbuck. Some (parts of) them have already come down, so it makes sense to first look where you want to drive in.

Overall impression

Compared to the last two weekends, many ski tourers were out and about again today. As the weather warms up, short stretches, e.g. at Hüttenwasen, will be necessary, otherwise the snow conditions should still be sufficient for short Black Forest tours over the next two weekends.