Slowenien

For several years now, a handful and a half of friends have been getting together once a winter to explore more or less distant mountain regions on skis and splitboards, but also to get to know other countries and cultures. They have travelled far to Romania, Kamchatka or Armenia, but have also travelled closer, for example to Ticino. This time, in winter 2023/24, the destination was chosen by lottery for the Julian Alps in Slovenia, with the additional requirement of 'winter camping'. The fresh snow forecast maps on PowderGuide.com were particularly colourful for the start and everyone was full of anticipation. But things turned out a little differently than planned... read the first part to find out how the first few days went!

For the fourth Advent, PowderGuide.com is organising another big raffle - just in time for the big snowfalls over Christmas! And this time, appropriately enough, it's also coming to Slovenia. Because that's where the next lucky winner will be travelling to! Here you can win a weekend ski pass for freeriding in Vogel or a guide to explore the Julian Alps on a ski tour. Naturally including a hotel and not forgetting the matching new Elan Ripstick skis (developed and designed with Glen Plake!) and a tour of the ski factory for your new skis!

As in the age-old internet meme, Ullr asked someone how many Südstau he should send and everyone just shouted YES! And so it comes as it must. There's another Südstau and then another one or two during the weekend. Is that good? Yes and no. This one is great. Nice amounts and a good snow line. The one at the weekend will be tropically warm with 25 degrees in the north and rain above 2000 metres in the lift. And you'll hardly be able to enjoy this one, as it'll only clear up briefly and then it'll get really warm.

After it rained up to almost 3000m and the Swiss zero degree limit climbed to 3764m on 1.1.22 (statistically likely for mid/end June), it is now winter again. And it's snowing on our boulder-hard frozen ground... Hopefully it won't be a Holiday on Ice week now that the swamp will freeze through. There's just enough for an alarm in the north, and more interesting amounts in the south-east.

So there's enough for another alarm this week! And the PowderAlert is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Welcome to this year's review of the channels of our Alpine clubs! More online seminars are hardly what we need, but I would like to establish this sub-category. Of course, all channels have gained subscribers, but the balance of power has hardly shifted. In my opinion, the ÖAV stands out with its educational and humorous videos about safety on the mountain. Just like back then, we are growing from small to big. Language courses included!

Is the snow melting everywhere in the foehn and further up there are deep layers of weak snow? No, not everywhere. A small, albeit not very Gallic region is bucking the trend this winter!

Ullr is getting into the corona streaming business in a big way and, if the crystal ball is anything to go by, wants to delight us with a whole season of more or less exciting weather conditions. As a pilot episode, he gives us something tried and tested to keep the freeriders happy and sends a short, normal südstau alarm.

Ullr likes it comfortable and leaves the powder machine in the same setting as last time, we already know it. One man's joy, the Northern Alps' sorrow: there's another südstau.

It's snowing again! Ullr at least tries not to cause us any more frustration this year and gives us a second helping in the south. Treeskiing at last!

Italy will survive and, despite the recent crisis, is coming back to life in the powder! We enjoy neve pulverosa and canale and canalone, and hereby show our solidarity with the southern side of the Alps. At least that's how it initially appears on the video... The fresh snow is sometimes sparsely reflected in moving images. So soon we had to pull out some gems, and finally, as is so typical, a PG-Conditions reporter and steep face skier completes this episode, and how!

On the way back to a normal season? After the rather tough course of this winter, some regions, at least in the west, are now on the way to an average season. There is a base and it continues to snow. Ullr is also making a rendezvous in the south-east and there's still plenty of snow above 1800m.