Snow report Zugspitz Arena, 04/16/2017

Snow condition

Overall, the amount of snow is relatively low due to the high temperatures of the last few weeks. On the north side, below 1600 m above sea level, there was hardly any snow until Saturday. The situation has improved with the snowfall from Saturday to today. Around 40 cm fell at an altitude of 2000 meters. There was about 7 cm in the valley this morning. In the afternoon it was almost green again down below. We set off this morning on skis from the bottom. On the way down, however, we skied down from 1600m above sea level due to lack of snow. This afternoon the zero degree limit was around 1800m. Despite the warm temperatures, the peaks of the Außerfern look pretty wintry again.

Snow quality

The quite considerable amount of fresh snow fell under the influence of the wind and was already slightly damp in places when we set off. But it was still easy to ski. However, this fresh snow lies on a superficially frozen layer of harsh snow.

Today the situation had to be assessed with caution. The snow fell under the influence of strong winds and was heavily blown. Added to this was the moisture penetration during the course of the day. Some (wet) loose snow and sliding snow slides were visible yesterday and today (see photo).

Overall impression

As we went on tour today without any great expectations, the day was very nice and skiing in the fresh snow was great fun. For me personally, today was the tour with the largest amount of fresh snow this winter. We were also lucky on the descent today that the sun came out for a short time and visibility was accordingly good.