Snow report Val Maira, 03/01/2026

Snow condition

Very good snow conditions in Val Maira, even if the warm week (every day with afternoons up to over 15 degrees in the valley) has clearly affected the snow thickness. The small streams, rocks etc. are all well covered in snow. The forest is very easy to ski. Especially in the northern sectors, it still had that "winter wonderland" feeling.

Snow quality

The big weak point. Before the heatwave, there was fresh snow with a lot of wind (slab powder, drift snow). On the sunny side, this was transformed relatively quickly by the heat and radiation and after one or two days there was a (not always stable) frost cover. On the shaded side, the snow remained soft for longer, but was no longer easy to ski. The firn conditions then became more and more predictable over the course of the week and had the classic diurnal pattern, which was somewhat shifted by the warmth (firn on the south side early in the morning, then quickly turning slushy later).

At the beginning of the week (approx. February 19/20) there was still an avalanche warning level from 2000m). This classification was then reduced to 2 in the course of the week and replaced by the typical spring danger situation: 1-2 in the morning, 2-3 in the afternoon (the lower values towards the end of the week). Wet snow avalanches were mainly to be found in the south and west sectors. In the south sector there were also isolated ground avalanches.

Overall impression

Back in January, we decided to spend our February ski touring week in Val Maira (Piedmont). The reasons for this were the generally good snow conditions there and, above all, the condition of the snow cover (no old snow problem!) and the danger situation there and here in Austria (which was then exacerbated by the heavy snowfall in the Eastern Alps). We were not disappointed. The Val Maira was once again covered with a very high blanket of snow right down to the valley. Unfortunately, warm air arrived at the same time and our search for powder was fruitless. Even in the shady northern sectors, the snow was already impaired up to over 2000 m and at the very top we found slab powder instead of powder. At least we found usable, sometimes even good firn conditions. We caught some slopes at almost the optimum time.