Snow report Zugspitz Arena, 01/10/2020

Snow condition

Not really much snow (often no more than 20-30cm), but still not extremely restricted if you watch out for individual stones. No more snow in exposed places. Below 1500m and in the forest it gets difficult even on the north side. Above that, the snow cover is quite sufficient for tours. A piste or forest road to the start makes sense.

Snow quality

Better than expected. Almost always either sun- or wind-treated (don't forget your crampons!), but not so hard that you break in, but not completely hard either. There are also some really nice, soft turns. On steep south-facing slopes, it firns up a bit later in the day. But if you have a super-secret north-facing gully without wind, you'll be even better served.

Quite relaxed even up to 40 degrees, but icy snow everywhere. Not a good base, especially if the weather stays like this. There were a few small sliding snow slides from steep terrain!

Overall impression

A perfectly usable day with better snow than expected. The standard tours are like pistes, but you can also tackle really steep detours. In my opinion, it's still worth making the most of the nice weather and the fresh conditions.