Lawinensicherheit

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The winter of 2025/26 challenged us with difficult snow conditions, but at PowderGuide, things were moving full speed ahead. With the new PG Map, more editorial content and an increasingly international focus, the platform took some big steps forward. At the same time, our community continued to grow, with ConditionsReports, feedback and plenty of interaction once again showing what PowderGuide is all about. Our Season Report looks back at the key developments, highlights and numbers from the past winter.

The Easter weather had it all - the onset of winter in Holy Week was promptly followed by the first day of summer (>25°C) on Easter Sunday. The spring weather is here to stay for the time being, albeit with slightly more "normal" temperatures. From the weekend onwards, both the uncertainties and the chances of precipitation will increase again.

March ushers in spring - and to match, here's my favorite short film by Finn Bilous, which has just been released. We also go snow camping in the Swiss Alps and Manu Bernard presents his unique style of season recap in pure, simple art. The full review of the Nines is online with breathtaking footage and we get exciting insights into the development of a new Armada snowboard.

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.

"Bergtagen" is a Swedish term that literally means "taken into the mountains" or "captivated by the mountains". It describes the feeling of being completely absorbed by the majesty and magic of the mountains. The expression goes back to Nordic legends in which people were enchanted and captivated by mountain spirits. It is precisely this idea that forms the philosophy behind the Fjällräven Mountain Days. At the "Fjällräven Campfire Academy: Bergtagen", the focus is not on the summit, but on being out in the mountains together. This recap takes you on three days at the hut, ski tours in Uri and the meaning of "Bergtagen" - the feeling of being touched and moved by the mountains.

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 risk'n'fun training courses sponsored by the Austrian Alpine Club are aimed particularly at young freeriders. Thanks to the funding, participants up to the age of 30 benefit from particularly low course fees. However, anyone aged 16 and over can take part; there is no upper age limit. PowderGuide took part again this year and would sign up again anytime! There are currently still places available on two Level 1 courses for anyone who would like to join.

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.

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.

The forecast a week before the event still looked like freshies were coming. It only snowed in the last few hours on Sunday, but we still had a great weekend in Hochfügen! The highlight at the end was handing over the main prize to the winner of our snow depth prediction game.

"Under the magnifying glass" is a series of articles by Lydia and Linus. We are both at the SLF in Davos this winter, where we are studying snow from a scientific perspective. As we regularly take a close look at the snow in our surroundings - both during our field work and at weekends - we'll be taking you with us from time to time this winter. We will explain our snow profiles to you, what the individual observations mean and what snow science topics arise from the current profiles. Today: How the orientation of a slope - i.e. its exposure - influences the development of the snowpack and why north-facing slopes often offer particularly good snow, but also the most dangerous conditions.