Snow report Zugspitz Arena, 12/22/2017

Snow condition

From the valley at an altitude of 1,000m, quite thin 10cm on the slopes (south-facing slope). The ascent is fine, stay alert on the descent, otherwise you'll get caught in the undergrowth. 1,500m upwards there is plenty of snow, no ground contact, pure enjoyment at this time of year.

Snow quality

The finest powder on the ascent from 1,500m. Around midday, the sun and rising temperature took some of the fun out of it. In places, the snow was already very compacted and packed together. Due to the changing conditions, you have to reckon with massive bumps on the falls during the ascent, which takes a lot of energy, but in the eastern exposure and between the trees you can still have a lot of fun!

In all exposures between 1,000 and 2,000m, large-scale sliding snow avalanches have occurred. In the area close to the ridge at 2,300m, drift snow in places, but only small amounts.

Overall impression

Very nice tour, which would have deserved 4 stars in total. However, if you're after pure powder, the rising temperature and the sunshine will put a bit of a damper on your enjoyment. Unlimited powder as we know it from the weekend can only be found sporadically in appropriate exposures.

All in all, very worthwhile, especially because of the large amounts of snow in recent weeks. As a rule, tours in the area are only possible in January due to mountain pines and undergrowth.