Schnee

PowderGuide has been reporting on a "Gear of the Week" almost every week for over 10 years now. From ski suits to skin wax, ski boots, sunglasses and safety halves, almost everything has been included, but one thing has probably been forgotten and that is not at all unimportant for us freeriders. That's why this week is all about our favorite element: snow!

There is a magic in every beginning, and winter has got off to a magical start.

"You don't have snow for ski touring in Europe? Let them go heli-skiing in Alaska!". This famous quote from Marie Antoinette about the frequent situation in early winter in Europe famously led to the snowflake revolution of 1999.

The sight of snow-covered peaks says it all: it’s time to get moving again. The lifts are starting to turn, the first tracks carve across the slopes, and with each passing day, the anticipation for the new season grows stronger.

Unfortunately, too much time has passed for many people since the last major snowfall in mid-January. Since then, a very stable area of high pressure has dominated large parts of Central Europe and ensured long-lasting warm temperatures. This triggered euphoria among some climbing enthusiasts, powder fans got long faces and yet not all freeriders lost their motivation, because the best snow after powder is known to be firn. But just as with fresh snowfall, there are a few things to bear in mind when there is no snowfall.

Between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea stretches the 1,100 km long Caucasus - a mountain range up to 5,000 m high that acts as a natural border between Russia and the Middle East. At the heart of this mountain range lies Georgia - a geopolitically fractured country with a fascinating culture and breathtaking mountain landscapes. The Caucasus has long been a legendary freeride and ski touring area, hosts the FWT and is once more receiving a good amount of fresh snowfall.

Before we head towards the Christmas snow, let's take a look at the large-scale pressure centers that rotate over the world's oceans and control our weather: The polar vortex currently has two distinct cold poles. One lies over eastern Siberia and the North Pacific. The other extends roughly from Newfoundland via Greenland to the Barents Sea and is responsible for a strong westerly current over the Atlantic, which has been bringing us "new weather" every few days for a while now.

A WeatherBlog sparked by the circumsrtances; the first snow is falling in the Alps, and it's falling a lot. We take a closer look. Is that enough to go powder skiing already? Or does it at least provide a stable base for future snowfalls? We also clarify the status of our current weather service and give an outlook on new developments for the winter.

Dr. Benjamin Walter is a physicist by profession. He works at the SLF (Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research) in Davos and is primarily concerned with snow physics, specifically the changes to snow crystals caused by wind transport and the resulting risks to the snowpack structure. Christiane Eggert interviewed him for us.

The Christmas weather is not showing its contemplative side this year, but is arriving with a decent storm and fresh snow. Friday and Saturday in particular are expected to be very inhospitable, with high wind speeds and lots of precipitation. The next report from our colleague Orakel won't be long in coming!

Compared to the last few winters, the start of the season was reasonably good for the northern side of the Alps. Even Munich and even Lower Bavaria enjoyed and groaned under unprecedented amounts of snow. This was followed by a warm and wet period of precipitation, which caused considerable damage to the snow cover at lower altitudes. But now a cold front gives us hope for good fresh snow before we head towards sunny times. We are also noticing that the southern side of the Alps is still suffering from a considerable lack of snow.

In the season report, we traditionally look back on the past winter. The snow conditions in 2022/23 were anything but good, although late snowfall in the spring made us feel a little better towards the end. However, the May powder doesn't hide the fact that it was a difficult season with too many sharks and too little snow. Nevertheless, there were of course some highlights, both on the mountain and on PowderGuide.com.