PowderAlert 13 2025/26 | Ode to the nordstau!

Oh dear ... Oracle, stick to your guns or crystal balls!

[Here used to be crude German poetry which could not be salvaged into English ;) ]

Shy as a deer, the Nordstau has been hiding behind its broad-shouldered friends the West and Südstau all season. But now he's finally spent enough time in Ullr's weight room to show himself to us. He's become a fine specimen: not monstrous, but the kind you know from the Sturm und Drang of the 2000s - powerful, cold and from France to Vienna. There are no offshoots to the east. To paraphrase Goethe: "The Sorrows of Young Austria" are over.

It may even look like a whole training cycle for the nordstau, and he's adding an endurance session on top. But more on that below. Above all, the East would theoretically hold all the trump cards (it's still a long way off, so "calibrate your enthusiasm").

To bring the two overarching themes of this alert - gym and poetry - together: "Biceps-Ullr doesn't let himself go, and the Nordstau could have more to show."

Alert period and areas

The alert lasts until midday on Friday.

It stretches from northern France to the Rax. The core, in which Ullr is lifting the heavy weights with the most powder, is probably from the Bernese Oberland to the Glarus Alps, but that only adds a few centimetres.

Snow line

It's nordstau, real nordstau. Right at the bottom. What else?

Full amounts from 1000-1200 m. A PowderAlert like in the old days, which would have delighted young Werther.

The amounts

From Haute Savoyen to the Rax, 40-70 cm of snow depending on the potential for north Stau. At such classic places as the Nordkette it could possibly be a few centimetres more. In the core, I would assume 60-80 cm. In the typical Stau holes of the core, like at our betting game station, I can also see a meter of fresh snow.

In the meantime, such conditions are so rare that I have to recalibrate the crystal ball. (North cyclonic, by the way, was one of the most frequent weather conditions in the months of December to February in the period 1951-1980, but has become a rare situation in the period 1991-2020. Sigh.)

Where should I go?

You should go to the core or to the northern Valais/Lower Valais, as there should still be enough base on the northern slopes from about 1,300-1,500 m upwards. In Austria this will be scarce due to the difficult season, so you would have to work with local knowledge.

Wednesday is not yet worthwhile, Thursday should be quite good in the forest or on meadows (without a base).

On Friday it will clear up in the west, in northern Switzerland/Arlberg possibly only in the afternoon. In the east it will continue to flake lightly.

Saturday should be sunny almost everywhere. It will then become cloudy again. Whether there will be another alarm will be announced here on Saturday.

Medium term

To dump or not to dump? That is the question.

At the moment, the crystal balls are showing a drama of Shakespearean proportions, the outcome of which is uncertain. The latest crystal balls are confident for everyone, but the East definitely has a better chance. However, it's quite certain to remain cool to cold there and it won't be as hot in the west as in the Rockies either, so it will remain powder on the north-facing slopes for touring.

West of the Arlberg, you should light an extra candle in the Ullr shrine for another dump. But we've also had it easier recently than our fellow freeriders in the east.

Powder to the People!

Your oracle

Prediction game #11: Core zone station "Titlisboden (2149m)"

The snow depth prediction game #11 takes place at the station "Titlisboden (2149m)" from Tuesday, 24.Mar 19:00 to Friday, 27.3. 18:00. The initial snow depth at the station "Titlisboden (2149m)" is 190cm (24.3. 19:00).

Write your new snow tip by Wednesday, March 25th at 20:00 as a comment below! Reminder: Prediction game rules, prediction reminder by email.