Schneealgen

Anyone who extends their ski touring season into early summer is bound to have seen them before. Many of us may know that the strange red spots on the early summer firn are algae (Fig.1 ). But they are by no means the only inhabitants of our treasured snow cover. Snow and glacier ice are much more than a sterile collection of frozen water. They are dynamic ecosystems made up of a multitude of microorganisms that have undergone hundreds of millions of years of evolution to adapt to these harsh environments.

During our mountain adventures, our high-altitude tours - in summer and winter - always take us to the icy glacier regions that are permanently covered in snow. According to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH Directive), these areas belong to habitat type 8240 "permanent glaciers", which is described as "high alpine zones permanently covered by snow or ice". An extremely inhospitable place - and yet we can certainly speak of a habitat here.

Summer firn is a little-known type of snow among skiers - but summer mountaineers often encounter it. We discuss the most important characteristics of snow that is usually reserved for hardy ski tourers and pick up where the last SnowFlurry left off.