Great snow in Engelberg during PA #1

Great snow in Engelberg during PA #1

The last couple of seasons started pretty good with early season powder in Hintertux, Kaunertal and last year some cold powder on the glacier of Les Diablerets. Where to start this season? The maps were looking good, so we decided to go to Engelberg.

The Drill

It normally goes like this. Guy (my snowboarding buddy) and I start sending the first ensembles and snow maps via Whatsapp in September and start making the hitlist for the season. New insights as a result of a summer-long searching on Google Maps always bring new options.

Northwest

PA#1 was announced and initially it didn’t look that good for the weekend. The snow would come down, but the required visibility wasn’t visible on the maps and the rising temperaturs were also worrying. The green light was given on Thursday: a storm from the northwest with snow deep into the valleys, low temperatures and snow on Saturday morning: jackpot! We didn’t pick a French ski resort where you just have to wait and see if they open the lifts, but a more reliable Swiss resort. Engelberg it was.

Investments

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Engelberg. Maybe there was just to much powder panic thanks to all the Scandi’s, but I was pretty happy when we arrived. The resort invested in their infrastructure and the new gondola brings you straight to Stand from the village. Awesome! I also have to say that we were inspired to visit Engelberg again thanks to the wePowder roadtrip from last season.

Laub

Engelberg offers endless freeride lines. Titlis, however, was still closed, so there were no hordes of Indians, Koreans and Chinese people who wants to take a picture with you! Steinberg and the Jochpass were closed as well, but they all did not matter, because we came for the Laub (check out this freeride classic here). 1200 meter vertical, a great incline and once we’ve managed to get through the sketchy entrance we found perfect snow! Check it out:

For Steven
For Steven
Engelberg below
Engelberg below
For Steven
For Steven
Cold sprays
Cold sprays
Run 3 back to the car
Run 3 back to the car

It was our best opening day ever and apart from the fact that I’m still looking for someone to melt some P-Tex for me, I’ve got a big smile on my face! Winter is here!

Vinnie
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