Austrian Powder

This year has been a down year for powder for me and possibly you too due to the substandard season in Utah. 

Here in Innsbruck, however, we had an Austrian powder day today on the Stubai Glacier.  With only a few cm, it wasn't a deep day and I should call it dust on crust, but beggars can't be choosers in 2026.  Some decent turns were had in areas favored by the wind.  

Clear days in the Alps can't be beat.  The back side of Stubai has great views of western Tyrol.  The highest peak in the photo below is the Wildspitze, the second highest peak in Austria.  

Utahn's are familiar with morning powder in the mountains and afternoon summer in the valley, but the situation in Tyrol is even more extreme.  Stubai Glacier reaches 3210 meters (10,500 feet), comparable to the top of Alta and a bit below the top of Snowbird, but Innsbruck sits at 574 meters (1883 feet), much lower than Salt Lake City.  So we had morning powder with a summit temperature of -3.2 C (26F) at 8:50 AM and then an afternoon high in Innsbruck of 23 C (73 F).  It's 8:38 PM here now and we have the apartment windows open and are lounging in shorts and T-shirts.