We’d a mixed group of people for snowshoeing yesterday, a couple of people who’d never tried it before and a couple who’d not only been out with me the day before but had been here last winter. So I wanted a route that our regulars hadn’t done before that the our new guests would enjoy. I’ve always enjoyed Gstaad snowshoeing, the scenery is fantastic and the villages and mountain farms are really pretty. I take people over from here and it’s a handy place to meet people on day trips with a great train connection to Bern.
Rellerli is one of the ski areas of Gstaad, there’s a ski lift that takes skiers, and snowshoers, up on to the Rellerligrat. From there it’s possible to follow a prepared trail through the ski area for a short way over the Hugeligrat to the Planihubel. From there we leave the prepared trail and cut across wooded slopes to the foot of the ridge leading to the Schneitgrat.
The Schneitgrat is a really obvious snowshoe objective, it’s a rounded peak with a surprisingly narrow ridge line with steep slopes dropping off both sides.
From year to year the snow cover varies. In fact it’s different each day so I wasn’t 100% sure what options we’d have from the top of the Schneitgrat. Retracing our steps back to the col would have been simple with the possibility of descending the meadows. But really I wanted to descend the steep part of the ridge heading to the summer farm at Bire. From the top the ridge looked in great condition, firm snow that our snowshoes could grip well making it possibly to make a route carefully down to the safer ground below.
It’s “just” the first few metres of the ridge that require real care. Once the tree are reached the slope eases a little and the trees themselves provide a convenient handrail. But, the path is narrow and extremely close to the heavily corniced ridge. It’s an exhilarating line that requires a little care but you’re soon onto a wide, easy angled ridge where we have a picnic and admire the amazing views over the pre-alpes and the Bernese Oberland.
Around Gstaad snowshoeing is always great, the peaks are just a perfect shape and the rolling ridges are ideal for snowshoes.
A fantastic introduction to snowshoeing Ian. Many, many thanks, we are hooked!