Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
Looking at trying to get away for a day touring trip in the middle of February. I had a rather disappointing (snow wise) new year in Chamonix and can only really justify the expense of a second trip if I'm going to find some good skiing, and would prefer to step away from the pistes. I've been checking out/recommended both Bivio and Andermatt (more Realp) really as good day touring venues, and both have useable huts at that time of year to spend a bit more time higher. So... My questions are:
1. What are people's experiences of these venues in terms of day touring?
2. Will these venues have decent snow cover away from the pistes if the current weather continues?
3. Anyone got any up to date info on the off piste conditions in these areas?
Thanks very much in advance, I appreciate it's a pretty vague request!
Cheers,
Paul
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I can't help specifically but we did stop in Bivio for a couple of nights in our motorhome about 4 years ago. It's quite remote, several motorhomes had been abandoned under 6ft of snow and as a novice boarder the 3km of T bar was a bit of a challenge. I paid about a tenner for a day pass and saw about 20 people all day. I seem to remember the valley being quite open and would imagine it would be an excellent go anywhere touring landscape.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I have no experience of Bivio. I have moderate experience of Andermatt. Andermatt has good lift accessed skiing but it is well-known, is within easy reach of Zurich and powder goes fast as a result - especially on the weekends. It has some good lift accessed touring options - e.g. the Guspis and its variants. It also has some fairly serious terrain that can only be accessed by hiking - e.g the stuff off the Gurchsenstock.
Disentis is another option. Disentis is much quieter, being harder to reach from other parts of Switzerland and offers high quality touring options off the top lifts. Some but not all of this is south facing, though. Some of it is glacial and there are sections of via ferrata. I prefer it to Andermatt, although it would be a wash if Amatt wasn't so busy on a good day.
Regarding current conditions in that neck of the woods, I was in Disentis until Monday night. Disentis was skiing well, although the snowpack is thin and the pack largely transformed on sunny slopes and skied out anywhere without a significant walk. The guide I was with reckoned that conditions in Disentis were better than in Andermatt, although that was partly down to the number of skiers rather than snowfall. Another guide I spoke to reported that Amatt was skiing well above 2000m even prior to the snowfall c. 10 days ago, pointing to a reasonable base. The splitboarders in the hostel also reported that the Rossbodenstock ridge was in good condition.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Cheers for the replies, I'll check those places out. Indecision is key to flexibility and all that!
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Hi Onnem,
Been checking out Loetshental, looks good. How busy does it get? And do you know if you can access the Lötschenpass Hut from the top of the lifts?
Cheers,
Paul
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Sorry, ignore the 2nd question, found some useful info. Any info on how busy it gets and also current snow conditions would be appreciated though.
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