Snow report Zinal, 06/25/2020

Snow condition

Unfortunately, long stretches cannot be avoided. The snow line is generally around 2700m on the north side, but there is still snow further down on glaciers and in gullies. The snow conditions are good in high alpine terrain. Glacier crevasses are still well covered with snow and some steep slopes still have a good layer of snow on the ice. However, this varies greatly between different steep faces, see below for detailed information: Obergabelhorn north face, 21.06.2020: Bergschrund still relatively easy to pass, still a good snow cover in the lower third of the wall. Further up it gets thinner and thinner, the last 100m below the Coeur ridge there are only a few centimeters on bare ice. At the top of the ridge, very deep powder snow up to the summit. L'Epaule/Zinalrothorn Nordschulter, 22.06.2020: The north ridge of the Zinalrothorn still looks very snow-covered. In the last rocky section to the pre-summit, L'Epaule, there was deep snow on rock. There was still good powder snow on the flank of the north shoulder, but further down it looked more like bare ice. After a few turns, we crossed over to the ridge and skied down the west side towards Cabane du Grand Mountet. There you could just about reach the hut on skis, but now you'll have to carry a bit further. Brunegghorn normal route, 24.06.2020: Good snow conditions from the Brunegg Glacier. Descent possible up to approx. 2750m, then continue on the summer path towards Turtmannhütte. Crevasse zones are still well snowed in. Weisshorn east face: Original goal for June 25th, but when spotting from Brunnegghorn I saw that there was not enough snow in the lower part. The upper part looked really good and the middle part still has enough snow. At the bottom, however, there is no longer enough for a continuous descent, and it won't be enough for climbing down in the snow either. Unfortunately, it's very rocky at the bottom. The bergschrund is also quite wide open. Bishorn Nordostwand, 25.06.2020: There is enough snow on the Bishorn Nordostwand. No ice contact on the ascent and descent. Ascent through the left, rocky part and then along the ridge, descent in a Z (first along the ridge, then next to the seracs and then traverse below the seracs). More direct lines are theoretically still possible, but much rockier.

Snow quality

Obergabelhorn north face, 21.06.2020: The upper third of the descent along the ridge was tremendously good powder snow, a good 30-40 cm. In the wall itself, there were gullies that were completely icy and spines with between 10 and 20 cm of powder snow. There probably won't be any suitable conditions for a descent this season, but the north face could still be good for climbing. Below the wall there was wet powder and in the lower wall (600m long, north-west facing) it was still quite hard even in the late morning. L'Epaule/Zinalrothorn Nordschulter, 22.06.2020: At the top of the flank of the Nordschulter, the powdery snow was still there. Good firn on the west side at the top, but then it quickly became very boggy. But we were also too late with departure at 1 pm (night was not so clear, at 5 am you couldn't see 10m, therefore later start). Brunegghorn Normalweg, 24.06.2020: Really good firn on the northwest-facing descent at 11:30 am. Still a bit hard at the top, a bit further down then a good bit optimal and in the last part on the flat glacier already a bit too wet again. Bishorn Nordostwand, 25.06.2020: In the late afternoon of the previous day there was a short afternoon shower. Unfortunately, this ensured that the wall was covered with a thin glaze of ice up to an altitude of 3700m, above which there was some sleet. The descent was therefore rather challenging, as the north-east face unfortunately sloped a little more to the north-west in the accessible middle section and the ice glaze had not yet thawed even at 10:30 am and high temperatures. In the traverse below the seracs it was already soft and in the final part of the wall the firn was easy to ski. Below the wall it was rather wet.

Note the increase in avalanche danger during the day. From late morning, there were wet loose snow slides from rocky terrain. Rockfall could also be heard from time to time. Otherwise, there is mainly a risk of falling on the steep faces due to hard snow conditions or bare ice. The danger of crevasse falls should also not be ignored if the snow bridges soften due to the high temperatures.

Overall impression

A huge steep face week in Valais!

For years I dreamed of climbing the north face of the Obergabelhorn, but failed last year due to too much bare ice. This year, in borderline conditions, I finally succeeded. The following days were also unbelievably beautiful and offered both steep descents and more leisurely moments. The only drawback of the perfectly located campsite was the 4.5-hour ascent with over 30 kg on our backs. After 6 days in a row on tour, my legs and shoulders were already a bit tired.

In general, you can still ski well in high alpine terrain at the moment. The people who wanted to walk from the Grand Mountet hut didn't get very far. On foot, you can still get very deep, and after a clear night, the descent is a real pain. There is also still a lot of snow on the rocky ridges, which slows down progress considerably. But it will certainly improve soon with longer periods of good weather.

If anyone is still motivated for ski tours, there's still something to do in Valais :)