Piemont

In contrast to last year, there are many differences but also many similarities when it comes to the start of the best season of the year. I'm not talking about carnival, but about the Ulling, a season that roughly stretches from September to May and is very variable in its puvlig-soft appearance.

All your base are belong to us! The internet meme always makes sense in a skiing context and Ullr sends us dump number 2 to the south. Now you can finally swap your stone skis for the good slats and go skiing. By that, however, I still mean relaxed early-season turns and not shooting with the handbrake off.

After minor snowfalls here and there, Ullr is now bringing alarm-worthy amounts to the south again. It has already started to snow and there will be a lot by Monday. The problem with southern alerts in spring is of course the high snow line in the south, in addition to the foehn in the north.

Similar to the last Bundesliga alarm, Ullr continues undeterred and brings us powder in painter mode. Because there are no isolated, brilliant mega-dumps from an eccentric artist god, but honest work, precisely for fans of the middle part of the Bundesliga who value consistency and regularity. And just as the skilled worker brings home a reliable pay packet every week, Ullr brings us our weekly refresh.

Christmas 2027: The avalanche warning services have to surprisingly end summer mode because it actually snows in December! Well, it's not quite that far yet, but after the third bad early winter, we are surprised that something actually happens again before January.

It's snowing in the Southern Alps! Massive traffic jam, the competition reports #EightMeterSnow and the oracle is silent? No, not really, I just wanted to wait and see if it really will be as warm as expected. If Ullr causes the snow line to rise above the tree line, it makes no sense to go skiing during the precipitation.

Is it perhaps the last alarm? It's snowing, but only in the high mountains. The last few weeks have seen a few flakes here and there, but not large amounts all at once. At least the March temperatures have remained bearable in contrast to the last few years. But spring is here, even here in Alaska, where one temperature record after another is being broken and we are now going on spring tours for the last few days.

In contrast to the rest of the winter so far, the Alps have been in a north-easterly flow for a while now (apart from a few foehns), which brings relatively cool weather. Most recently, a drop of cold air paid us a visit. What's it all about and why are we not feeling the otherwise frequent Atlantic influence at the moment?

The meteorological winter (December, January, February) has been over since Monday. In Austria, it went down in the statistics as the second warmest winter in recorded history at 2.7° above the long-term average, and in Germany it was also 3.4° warmer than the average. In Austria, only 2006/07 was warmer, 2013/14 was just as warm. This means that five of the 10 warmest winters in the 250-year measurement history have occurred in the last 10 years. Nevertheless, and because the weather is known to not always stick to the calendar, it was, is and will be relatively wintry, at least in the mountains. We take a closer look at this below.

Most people have already seen it: The maps are getting more colorful, the crowds more massive, the ski internet is going crazy. It's southern traffic jam time.

Stefan Neuhauser is a mountain guide and photographer. He happened to be near the scene of the Germanwings plane crash at the time. Although he and his tour group did not see the accident, but only heard it, this "ear-witness" status was enough for many media outlets, eager for news about the plane crash, to shower Stefan with interview requests, some of them dubious. For this reason, Stefan Neuhauser has decided to publish a statement on PowderGuide instead of further interviews.

And once again, the pattern of winter can be seen in the maps: because it was mostly only really colorful in the Southern Alps. And here only from the Maritime Alps to Monte Rosa in the west of Italy. Apparently, Ullr has taken a liking to the Signorinas del Neve and always wants to go back. And for all lovers of the southern lifestyle between espresso and deep powder, there's yet another reason to go there, because it's thumping: And once again in the magical meter range! This time, snow should fall from the Maritime Alps to the Dolomites, but the jackpot, as so often this year, is to be found in Piedmont.