Alpen

Three women whose stories go far beyond records. Rachel Entrekin leaves the entire field in the dust. Sophie Woods crosses the Alps in record time and calls for more support for women in endurance sports. Lhakpa Sherpa fights for her freedom and returns to the mountains. What connects them? The question: “Why not me?”

Winter is getting closer, the first glacier ski areas are opening and we’re all wondering: How much snow will the Alps get this time? El Niño is getting plenty of attention across North and South America, but what does it mean for us in the Alps? There’s no simple answer. It might be raining in the valley while plenty of snow falls higher up. And an early winter doesn’t tell us much about what the rest of the season has in store. We’re excited for it, though! Here are the planned opening dates for ski resorts across the Alps. Dates may change depending on conditions.

The winter of 2025/26 challenged us with difficult snow conditions, but at PowderGuide, things were moving full speed ahead. With the new PG Map, more editorial content and an increasingly international focus, the platform took some big steps forward. At the same time, our community continued to grow, with ConditionsReports, feedback and plenty of interaction once again showing what PowderGuide is all about. Our Season Report looks back at the key developments, highlights and numbers from the past winter.

April is known for the small battles between Ullr and Ostara - winter versus spring, cold versus mild, snow versus sun. At the beginning of the week, Ullr tried once again to make up ground. But it wasn't too successful: the PowderAlert station reported a decent 33cm, but the advance was limited to the higher elevations. Ostara is increasingly asserting itself in the valleys - but spring is holding out.

The Easter weather had it all - the onset of winter in Holy Week was promptly followed by the first day of summer (>25°C) on Easter Sunday. The spring weather is here to stay for the time being, albeit with slightly more "normal" temperatures. From the weekend onwards, both the uncertainties and the chances of precipitation will increase again.

As WeatherBlog 21 already indicated, and as two PowderAlerts within the last week as well as many highly starry ConditionsReports prove, early spring has once again covered the north side of the Alps in white gold. Although the gold price has fallen considerably since mid-March. We dare to doubt whether there is a negative correlation here. What these two northern storms certainly correlate with, however, is the weakening of the jet stream - more on this in the special topic.

The days of winter seem to be numbered, the dark forces of summer are marching inexorably towards Ullr's Deep and the Ullhirim have decided to take one last ride during Dump One. For Powder! For Glory!

Our colleague Orakel has the details, but we also notice: Nordstau! For what feels like the first time this winter! At least east of the Arlberg, the base was and is poor to miserable for the end of March (!), but we are still happy about the late powder gifts. Also: Global weirding on the other side of the Atlantic.

Nordstau, lovely creature full of mystical power i love thee and thy fluffy shower! The oracle, full of iambs and troches, longs for you and for snow on front porches.

The last Mediterranean cyclone has once again delivered a wild mix of powder and concrete snow to large parts of the Alps. The weather will remain varied and snowfall is still to be expected. And when the powder season slowly draws to a close, the high altitude season begins. The current high pressure and increasingly longer days are inviting the first high-altitude tours.

Broken zipper, tear in your favorite shell or lost button? The Patagonia Worn Wear Repair Tour is making another stop in the Alps this winter and giving outdoor clothing a second life. Free of charge, uncomplicated and with a clear message: repairing instead of throwing away.

The tough omega situation is wobbling and the warm, sunny weather is coming to an end for the time being towards the weekend. With cold air from the north and the chance of low pressure developing in the Mediterranean, it could even get quite wintry again, but the details are still unclear. In any case, it will become increasingly unstable from today and the dry, reliable firn phase will be over for the time being.