Dolomiten

When you're on a roll, why stop, thinks Ullr and sends several dumps from the southwest towards the Alps. What does that mean? It snows again exactly where there is already a lot of snow and the north gets nothing or at least virtually nothing in the west of Switzerland. The first wave starts tonight (Thursday) and ends Friday night. The second wave starts on Saturday afternoon and lasts until Tuesday.

Counter-current system? What is that? Without poaching too much into WeatherBlog territory, I'll say this: the countercurrent system is Ullr's way of bringing his faithful powder in exciting quantities without much wind (at least in the center) by letting two air masses make love over the Alps.

The new PowderAlert is due and there's powder again. This time again in the south and west. However, the amounts will be significantly lower than the Christmas alert and won't break any records. But it should be enough for the odd face shot. Once again, Ullr has no sympathy for the northern side of the Alps and first sends the Föhn ahead of it, only to add cosmetic snowfall again. In the far north and northeast, the cosmetic snowfall may be completely absent (east of Innbruck too). The dump starts on January 4th, ends on the 5th and the fresh snow is already fried by the sun on the 6th almost everywhere except for high northern slopes in the south.

From February 22nd to 24th, the sleepy Trentino village of San Martino di Castrozza at Passo Rolle became the base camp for the predominantly Italian-speaking freeride community. Ten pro teams, consisting of two well-known freeriders and a photographer, as well as lots of WANNABES and amateur photographers dropped, turned, photographed and smiled on the two days in February. All on the hunt for the freeride shot of the future king of the Dolomites. Contest participant Hanna Finkel was there for PowderGuide.

The beautiful Cristallo Group in the Dolomites with the ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo is not only a meeting place for the rich and famous, but also the perfect place for alpine activities and steep face skiing.

Mediterranean low!!! Off to the south side of the Alps and powder your little noses. After last week's rather indifferent flurries provided excitement and were most likely to bring joy to East Tyrol and Italy, the next low will bring much more predictable snowfall to France, Italy/Slovenia and the Upper Engadine.

The first dump is the sweetest, although hopefully not the deepest, because let's assume that, analogous to "the first cut is the deepest", the first dump will not also be the deepest. But you could say that the first real snowfall of the season is the one that causes the most excitement and anticipation, because it's finally starting properly.

Winter in our beloved north-eastern Alps is rapidly coming to an end, the meadows are already green in many places and the summer temperatures are causing the below-average snow cover to melt even faster. Many of the usual steep face projects for this time of year are highly unlikely to be realized this winter.

Most outdoor enthusiasts know the Dolomites as a climbing El Dorado. For a long time, only a few were aware that the same applies to the freeride potential. Nowadays, the majority of freeriders know the powder hotspots of the Dolomites. However, due to the vastness of the areas, untouched slopes can still be found several days after the last snowfall. When it became apparent that a southerly storm would dump an acceptable amount of fresh snow in the Dolomites, the decision was quickly made - we set off for northern Italy – in search of deep snow and steep gullies.

The most beautiful mountains in the world. This claim is often used to describe the imposing limestone cliffs in the South Tyrolean Alps. It's not just hordes of Italian summer tourists who make a pilgrimage to this unique region during Ferragosto. In freeride circles, too, the Dolomites with their steep rock cuts have already secured a place in the hearts of couloir fans. The 2008/2009 winter season, with its exceptional amounts of snow, also attracted a group of German couloir fans. You can read about their experiences in the following report.

In 18 days from the Watzmann to Lake Geneva. Four main ridge crossings, 50,000 vertical meters, 1300 km route, 16 times over 2400 m and 8 times over 3000 m. These are the pure facts of a crossing of the Central Alps by bike. Trudging along hiking trails with an 18 kg bike and 14 kg of luggage are rather unsuitable conditions for such a sporting record hunt. However, the fun factor is record-breakingly high. The fact that "coincidentally" half of the uphill meters can be done with climbing aids naturally also helps

The ski touring season has begun and so we sent three of our ski slaves into one of the most beautiful areas in the Alps, the Dolomites, in conditions that were still a little unpleasant. They traversed the Dolomites in five days and, with the best will in the world, didn't choose the easiest route. Experience a little foretaste before the deep winter finally comes to an end and gives way to spring with better touring conditions.