Alpen

Every two years, the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) brings together scientists and practitioners from a wide range of different, but always snow-related, subject areas. New findings and research results are presented in various thematic blocks - so-called sessions. We break the whole thing down into more or less digestible morsels and summarize the sessions of the ISSW2018 for you every two weeks.

In times of climate crisis and flight shame, vacations in the mountains are also being tested on one moral or climate-friendly measure or another. Well-considered concepts and approaches, such as those implemented in the mountaineering villages of the Alpine associations, not only focus on the fun factor for environmentally conscious guests, but also on nature conservation and the quality of life of the local population.

The dry, very sunny weather will stay with us until Friday. The partly pronounced inversion in the valleys is creating a kind of winter feeling with cold temperatures and visibility limited by high fog (and fine dust), but in the mountains there is no sign of the cold, dark winter - according to hearsay.

The sun isn't just coming, it's already here and it's starting to get a bit boring. The WeatherBlog was looking for musical inspiration for today's issue and now can't decide whether STS or Rammstein is more suitable.

Seems like the first skiers are already secretly hiding in their favorite couloirs during these days with less snow. At least that's what the successful YT search for this special terrain suggests! Presented here: steep descents from the Pyrenees, the Rockies, Scandinavia and, of course, the Alps! We learn how to ski couloirs without using poles or hand straps!

A strong westerly to north-westerly flow will determine the Christmas weather in the Alpine region. This current brought a warm front yesterday (Tuesday), followed by a cold front today. While the lowlands and lower valleys will be quite wet, considerable amounts of fresh snow will fall at higher altitudes.

High pressure determines the weather in the Alpine region. A high pressure system is currently arching over Central Europe with a simultaneous low pressure influence in the south. Over the next few days, the high will flatten out and the large-scale flow will become more zonal. If the whole thing were a little further south, we would have "western Alpine weather", but as the frontal zone is quite far to the north, we will remain under high pressure for the time being.

And again an early onset of winter brings the betting game out of its winter escape in the south! This time it missed the first few PowderAlerts at 10-15 degrees Celsius in Finale Ligure on the rocks. But yes, you can't deny it: It's winter and no longer fall. It's the beginning of the season of skiing, powder, PowderAlert and snow depth prediction game!

After our colleague Orakel has already reported four times, it's high time for the WeatherBlog to return from its summer slumber. We are starting the season with a classic overview of the very interesting general weather situation:

In 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the political objectives of the United Nations in terms of sustainability, came into force. In short, these goals, which run until 2030, are intended to help achieve sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level. But what are the SDGs anyway, how do they affect us and do they have anything to do with outdoor sports?

The morning wind is fresh, the leaves are becoming more colorful, the peaks whiter: Winter is just around the corner and the season is slowly getting underway again at PowderGuide. The PG core team takes the opportunity to indulge in the anticipation and discuss their individual ski destinations and weather wishes for the coming season.

As the author writes these lines, late summer temperatures have long since returned, but the mountains have recently seen the first signs of fall with the first snowflakes of the season. This naturally raises the question: when do the ski resorts open? We have done a bit of research and compiled a list of resorts that open before the end of November - without guarantee and with the note that ski resort websites are notoriously unreliable when it comes to such things...