Karnische Alpen

Beautiful tour from the Gailtal valley up to the border between Austria and Italy. As described in yesterday's Snow of Tomorrow, the starting point is also very easy to reach by public transport.

The mountaineering villages of the Tyrolean Gail and Lesach valleys lie hidden under a thick blanket of snow. The record precipitation at the beginning of December has once again underlined the Carnic Alps' reputation as a snow-sure region. The basis for a winter full of tours has thus been laid several meters high and will continue into the spring.

The Nassfeld ski resort on the border with Italy in the south of Austria usually benefits from the südstau. Extreme amounts of snow are not uncommon here and are not a problem as long as they are acceptable for the environment.

After the welcome cooling, including snowflakes in the lowlands at the start of the week, the cold air supply is now being turned off again. There is a threat of low gradient, gloomy weather with a tendency towards mild, foehn-like temperatures at high altitudes and inversion torpor in the valleys.

The Mediterranean lows that have been so frequent in recent winters have been rare so far this season. Low pressure system Virginie ends the west/northwest trend, at least in the (very) short term, and the south-east can be happy.

The snowless winter of 2013/14 in the northern Alps and the constant reports of Adriatic lows - with their almost unbelievable amounts of snow - drew our attention to Carinthia. And because Mother Hulda was particularly kind to us, there was another half a meter on top 48 hours before our arrival - snow depths of around 4 m awaited us at Nassfeld!

White mountains guard blooming flowers in green valleys, those who forget their sunscreen will regret it and early birds catch the firn.