Engelberg Snow Report - February 6, 2024 - Accommodation Engelberg | Ski Lodge Engelberg

What a beautiful week in Engelberg! Lately we’ve been crushing laps up high on all of our favorite lines in the morning, and celebrating with a beer in the sunshine in the afternoon. The snow is soon coming again, but we have been soaking up every minute of these sunny days! It’s hard to complain when you can ski and trail run in the same day, right?

Push Yourself on the Titlis Rundtour

This week our Montana friends Forest Ledger, Johnny Egan, and Isaac Freeland are back in Engelberg! They had a great day on the Titlis Rundtour, so we thought we’d share this classic adventure with you. NOTE: This is an off-piste excursion, so if you are not highly skilled in route finding, rope work, terrain management, and steep skiing, please reach out to our friends at Engelberg Mountain Guides. They are fantastic and know this route top to bottom. The Titlis Rundtour offers you a thrilling combination of skiing and mountaineering. The journey takes you through the stunning landscapes surrounding Titlis, providing an unforgettable experience that combines the adrenaline of downhill skiing with the challenges of a high-altitude ascent.

Starting Point: Klein Titlis

The adventure begins on the majestic Steinberg glacier run. Kick off the expedition with a descent over glacial terrain, staying left and high so you can make the traverse. Use caution while traversing above the cliff band.

The Climb: The “Messer”

Following the initial descent, the route leads you through the exposed terrain known as the “Messer”, (“Knife” in English). This section provides a challenging climb, demanding some mental focus. As you ascend, the panoramic views of the surrounding peaks and valleys unfold around you.

Skiers boot packing up a ridge called the Knife.

The Crux: Abseiling through Couloirs

The real crux of the Rundtour requires a 50-meter abseil point through a couloir. This descent adds an element of technical skill to the adventure, as you navigate the rugged terrain with precision. After the first abseil, continue downhill towards the next abseil point. If you are highly skilled at steep skiing like our friends here, you might even skip some of the rapelling!

Ascend to Grassen Bivouac

Once you’ve made it through the couloirs, you have a nice skin back on the south side of Mt. Titlis, leading you to the Grassen bivouac. It takes about two hours.

A pristine skin track across a glacier field.

North Face Descent: A 1600-Meter Ride

The grand finale of the Titlis Round Trip takes you down the north face of Mt. Titlis. You’ll embark on a 1600-meter descent, navigating through the pristine snow-covered slopes, river crossings, and maybe even some forest bushwhacking.

Skier descending a steep line surrounded by rocks.

Valley Arrival

The journey concludes at the bottom of the valley in Engelberg. We recommend having an apfelstrudel to celebrate at the Wasserfall restaurant. Then of course, catch a free bus ride back to Ski Lodge to cap it all off with a beer in our sauna. 🙂

Skiers descending on foot through a steep forest.

Hard Facts

Snow depth Mountain (slope, 3020m): 267 cm

Latest snowfall: 01.19.2024

Avalanche alert level: (from WhiteRisk avalanche bulletin):

Moderate (2) Wet-snow avalanches. Gliding snow. Danger level “moderate” (2) in all aspects below 2600m. Medium-sized and, in isolated cases, large gliding avalanches are possible. Areas with glide cracks are to be avoided as far as possible. In particular on steep sunny slopes small to medium-sized wet avalanches are possible as the day progresses below approximately 2600 m.

Low (1) Dry avalanches . Wind slab. Individual avalanche prone locations for dry avalanches are to be found in particular in extremely steep terrain. The fresh and somewhat older wind slabs are in some cases still prone to triggering. At elevated altitudes these avalanche prone locations are a little more prevalent. These are to be evaluated with care and prudence in very steep terrain.
Restraint should be exercised because avalanches can sweep people along and give rise to falls.

Snow pack (from WhiteRisk avalanche bulletin): Despite strong winds from the west to northwest, only very localised small wind slabs have formed in the last few days. The surface of the snowpack is usually hard and there is very little driftable snow. On south-facing slopes, the surface of the snowpack became moist up to around 2500 m, where a crust froze during the night. There are still isolated weak layers in the old snowpack near the surface above approximately 2500 m, but no avalanches have been reported in the last few days. The bottom section of the snowpack is generally stable.

Gliding avalanches are still possible. This is mainly the case on east-, south- and west-facing slopes below approximately 2600 m and more rarely on north-facing slopes below around 2200 m. These avalanches may be large in regions with a lot of snow.