Around 10-30 cm of freshies came down in the French Alps on Thursday. It stopped snowing locally in the northern Alps. It was the prelude to a northern Stau that started on Friday. The sun came out in France on Friday (check out the amazing pictures), but it started snowing again in the northern Alps. This northern Stau will last until Sunday. The sun will come out again on Monday, but a new storm will kick in on Wednesday. We can get ready for PowderAlert #6. It's time to hit the Alps! In this forecast:
It's been a while since there's been a northern current on the maps. It's quite unique so far this winter and it took me some time to realise it was actually going to happen!
It will start snowing again in the northern Alps in the night to Saturday and it will keep on snowing until Sunday. The Arlberg, the resorts in the east of Switzerland and regions close to Germany like the Tannheimertal will hit the jackpot. The wind will mainly come from the north and the will result in a lot of fresh snow in typical powder magnets like St. Anton am Arlberg. And it will probably be more than our snow maps indicate. I expect half a meter of freshies and locally even more in the 'Schneelochs' as they call powder magnets in German. The more to the main alpine ridge, the less snow will come down. The air is pretty cold, so most of the moisture already came down as snow the moment they hit the Alps. The sun will come out on Monday everywhere, but it will start snowing again on Tuesday afternoon.
Happy hunting! The powder advice doesn't differ from yesterday. Choose resorts with trees between 1200 and 2100 meters and with a decent base and you'll have some great days. And if you'd ask me, I would avoid the steep slopes and big faces above the 2200 meter. Leave those slopes to the avalanche dummies. This is the powder chase the next couple of days:
A new storm will hit the Alps on Wednesday. And a new storm means new opportunities. It's already visible on the snow maps. It's too early for details. Sometimes the low pressure area bursts through the high pressure blockage in the Alps, it's less powerful in the next run. We'll see what happens the next couple of days.
The avalanche danger in the Alps is 'Considerale' (3 on a scale of 5) or 'High' (4 on a scale of 5) at the moment. More and more people venture off-piste, but not everybody has the right knowledge and the right gear. Already 15 people died because of avalanches this winter. Do you have the right knowledge to ride off-piste? Test it yourself and start with the first capital of the Mountain Academy for free! No knowledge? Stay on the marked slopes or hire a mountain guide!
Stay stoked, Morris