Alpine Panormam Weg #3

In my first two outings on the Alpine Panorama Weg, I was bemoaning the lack of snow. But in the time since then, snow has fallen almost all over Switzerland. I could not let that pass without an making another trip to continue along the trail, even in the snow. So it was that last weekend, I made my way back to the cable car station at Schwägalp to make the next stage of the journey. It seemed like a great many Swiss people were also on their way to the mountains. Whether it was the eagerness born from the frustration of having almost no snow, or a fear that the snow would disappear again as quickly as it had come, I cannot say, but all seemed eager to be out, whether with skis, snowboards, or snowshoes. Most however, were going somewhere different from me, and as the bus brought me to Schwägalp, there were only four people on board. Reaching the cable car station, the other three went inside, but I was heading out on the trail, so I immediately started walking.

Within less than a hundred metres, I was into deep snow. I seem to have a habit of underestimating the snow. I bemoan its absence when it is not there, and underestimate its depth when it is. But at least Säntis was looking better than on my previous outings.

Snow slows down the walking pace quite considerably for a number of reasons. First of all, it covers the trail, and as the trail heads across open terrain after leaving Schwägalp, markers became infrequent. The signposts were there, well clear of the snow, but between those signposts, the marks painted onto rocks and fenceposts were covered, so it would be easy to lose my way. As a result, I was relying on GPS to make sure that I did not go off course.

But snow does something else as well. It evens out the variations in the terrain. I could put my foot in one place and find the ground just centimetres below, and then just a step further on in the flat snow, my foot might sink half a metre or so. I have never used snowshoes, because in Ireland the snow is practically never deep enough to need them, but on this occasion, they would have been very welcome. Nevertheless, I made reasonable progress, and soon picked up a route where people had been cross-county skiing. Although covered in fresh snow, the underlying snow was firmer where the skis had been, and I followed this route. It took be through Hinder and Vorder Stelzenboden, and on through Dunkelboden, until I came to the road at Lutertannen.

It was mostly downhill to Lutertannen, but the trail turns sharply left at that point, and starts uphill again. It was steep at first, twisting and turning to gain height, but then becomes more gradual on the way to the Risipass. I had met no one between Schwägalp and Lutertannen, but between there and the Risipass, I met plenty of people. The problem with that, though, is that on the flatter ground, the snow seemed deeper, or maybe it was just a feature of the higher ground.

I fell twice in the snow. People often think that snow is slippery, but in general, it is not. Mostly, my feet would sink until I hit something solid and then grip. But on one occasion, I did slip, and found myself falling sideways into the flat snow. On the second occasion, my foot went through a snow cornice, and I pitched forward, again onto flat snow. But these were just minor setbacks, and I kept going, onwards and upwards, towards the pass. Eventually, the Risipass itself came into view. This marks the boundary between Appenzellerland and St. Gallen cantons. I paused for just long enough to take a selfie at the top of the pass. On another day, I might have gone to the nearby Stockberg, but with slow going through the snow, I decided to keep going.

The route goes steadily downhill from the Risipass. At times, looking westwards, it seemed like the route was going too steep, but each time, it managed to find the best terrain, and kept a more gentle downward trajectory. Eventually, the village of Stein SG came into view. The entire valley seemed to be under a cover of snow. In the snow, I wandered slightly off the trail at one point, but once again, GPS helped be get back on course. Eventually, I reached Stein SG, with a bit of time to wait for the bus that would start the journey back to Basel. It was -3°C in Stein at three o’clock in the afternoon. I could only guess what the temperature must have been on the higher ground at the pass.