Snow report Zillertal Alps South, 05/01/2018
Hochferner north face - Enormous!
Zillertal Alps South
Snow condition
Snow quality
Overall impression
Snow condition
On the way to the Hochferner bivouac you have to carry a fair bit. We parked at the first hairpin bend, which lengthens the route a little more. First a leisurely walk along the meadows and later it's worth crossing the stream and continuing on with skins.very changeable snow conditions in the Hochferner north face. Breaks and crevasses are generally well snowed in, but in some (flat) places the ice also comes out.
Snow quality
The upper part is wind-influenced powder, the gully then hard but grippy, further down again powdery snow, but in places only a few centimetres on ice. Overall, however, better conditions than expected.
Risks
A large, slightly older avalanche cone has already torn a lot of snow from the wall. Drift snow due to the sometimes stormy wind could be a problem, the seracs are already huge and you don't want to be underneath them if something collapses. It's certainly not a bad idea to be out early and not in too warm temperatures. Nevertheless, the wall is generally not without danger.
Overall impression
A huge line that I've been looking at for a long time. I almost didn't believe that it would be possible to ride it this winter because April was far too warm. Then at least there was a very small weather window with lower temperatures. Chance taken :)
We went lookers right around the upper glacier break and lookers left around the lower one. Unfortunately, the route is not completely continuous, 2 short sections have to be climbed (end of the gully next to the upper break & next to the lower break).
There are certainly steeper walls to descend. The wall is only really steep in the narrow gully next to the upper glacier break. However, it is quite difficult to catch the wall in acceptable downhill conditions. It will probably get worse as the glacier recedes.
Apart from us, nobody was in the bivouac. Two other people climbed the wall after us. Much less busy than expected, but the weather forecast wasn't that good either.
Video of the descent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnB8Oessc9A
Comments
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