Alpen

The sun means well with us - perhaps a little too well. A small high-altitude low caused a few blemishes on Tuesday and Wednesday, then high pressure took over and the meteorological start of spring began with an omega situation. For us, this means big temperature differences between day and night, firn windows in the morning - and a watchful eye on the avalanche situation in the afternoon.

Two projects from the East: Giray Dedali in Turkey and Trygg Lind in Iraq - two really beautiful films that show the local culture and visit the ski scene there. Nicholas Wolken, the gymnastics genius, in the spotlight. Skiing and jazz - how do they go together? Plus a solo trip: two days in the mountains as a splitboard ASMR. Stay safe out there and enjoy the powder.

We repeat the latest message from the oracle - the wet westerly weather is over for the time being. We are heading towards spring, both in a statistical and meteorological sense and in terms of the character of the weather. The next few days will be very warm and very sunny.

The Doors sang about it, the Avengers made a movie about it - and only the sausage has two. The end. However, Ullr and the PowderAlert are not about something existential like the end of our own existence, the end of the world or the last relationship, but only about the end of our west or northwest situation, which is now rolling inexorably on. People in Valais and France are probably quite happy about this and even the oracle whistled through his teeth this morning when he saw that the avalanche danger had been upgraded to level 5. The little cousin of February 1999 is showing his teeth. (And who else but the Oracle finds a downgrade at level 5 a bit odd? "That's like getting an F+ at school," was the best comment in the chat today). Before the westerly thaw is over this weekend after almost two weeks, some more alarm-worthy snow is coming.

The next north-westerly dust situation will snow on the northern slopes of the Alps and then spill over to the southern side of the Alps on Thursday. We notice that the polar vortex is favoring us and hope that it stays that way. Winter can begin and our new weather system is in the starting blocks.

PowderAlert has already reported it and we confirm it: All kinds of alerts in the western Alps and things are slowly getting more exciting in the east too. The western weather is producing one front after another and with a bit of luck we'll even manage a nordstau at some point this winter.

Everyone is waiting for The Big One, albeit for different reasons.

This winter can already be classified as difficult due to the below-average snow conditions and especially because of the treacherous avalanche risk situation. But all good things come from above: A circulation upheaval is planned in the stratosphere, which could greatly favor the northern slopes of the Alps in terms of upstream flow. In view of the old snow problem, we remain defensive in our route selection and look into the crystal ball of the weather below.

After some snow at the weekend, winter is visually recognizable again in the Northern Alps, although the base still leaves a lot to be desired. Some measuring stations are scratching the record minimum for the time of year. At least it's snowing in the south this week and maybe next week too!

Only the avalanche situation is more exciting than the weather. The dry early winter in the Austrian Alps is taking its revenge. A pronounced weak layer combined with wind and fresh snow has provoked a series of avalanche accidents and claimed several victims. Kamchatka was also badly hit, with huge snowdrifts burying homes and people. Europe is also facing a stormy week. Quo vadis 2026?

After around two weeks of fairly low temperatures, it will become milder again over the next few days. The cold air masses that have migrated to us from Arctic latitudes have moved eastwards and the high-altitude current is turning to westerly to south-westerly directions. After fresh snow in the north followed by considerable icy weather, the medium-term signs are now pointing to Föhn and südstau.

The winter has been contradictory so far: "We" in the north have been waiting for what feels like ages for a solid base, which is now finally on the horizon. In contrast, real amounts of snow have already fallen in the southern regions of the Alps. Time for a quick look behind the scenes at PowderGuide. How have the reach, usage and community developed since the start of the season? What factors are driving traffic and what can you, as our readers, look forward to in the coming months?