Gran Paradiso

The warmth came to stay? In the short term, some snow is still falling in the south, but the snow line is too high and it's too short to justify a real PowderAlert.

This winter is a bit of a rollercoaster: nothing happens for a long time and then things get crazy. A bit like the Italian westerns that shaped our youth.

A few days ago, there were reports on social media (not from us!) that a new, large südstau was coming. But as is the case with Ullr, Italian lows and precipitation forecasts beyond 72 hours, that was probably symbolic for social media. More hype than substance.

Merry Christmas from PowderGuide, it's always nice to get something extra for free. Ullr also gives us something extra for the last alarm.

The year is 2025 AD. The entire Alps have been conquered by drought. The whole Alps? No, a small Ullian village in the southwest of the Alps is resisting the invasion.

The life of a cowboy is dusty, hard and full of hardships, just like the freeride season 24/25. But just before Ullr sends the season into retirement, he calls us back to the powder rodeo.

The traffic jam has cleared and the west highway has been closed by Ullr. After all, our Scandinavian god is still not idle and is once again turning his attention to the south of the Alps.

A decent dump is coming to the southwest of the Alps. It's still cold enough for powder and there's a lot of it coming down, so there's nothing wrong with a weekend in the south.

Ullr apparently no longer does it under quasi-apocalyptic amounts of snow and so he ponders: Which corner of the Alps is not yet far above average in terms of the base? He comes to the conclusion: Ah, western Italy! I'll send a retour d'est and do a few meters there too. As the god of skiers, there was too much wind and the snow line was too high for alarm 13, so he tweaks these settings too and the next mega dump is ready.

After Lord Voldemort almost ate Bella Swan in the first part of the Alert and you're wondering after such a cliffhanger whether our god and hero Ullr can still turn things around for the best, here comes the long-awaited answer: there's more snow, but unfortunately only cooler temperatures when most of it is through. So far, about a meter has fallen in Ticino and there has also been a lot of fresh snow north of the Gotthard region. Below 2000m, however, this morning's glory has already been lost to the warmth and thus to the Glop™.

This alert will probably be published in two parts, but then I'm in the best Belltristik and Hollywood company, because like Twilight and Harry Potter, at the end of this winter there's a story by Ullr, our favorite author and Powder screenwriter, that can't be squeezed into a single film or alert. And as with those movies, we at PowderGuide hope you'll be eager to read the second installment and pour hundreds of millions of euros into our coffers!

Wow. It looks like Ullr is going to get its act together and let winter begin in early March. At least in the northwest (with over a meter from the last two alarms) and now also in the south - well, at least parts of the south. And as I've just come from climbing in Ticino, I can tell you: it's sorely needed there too.