After the brief snowfall of the last week, the has weather kept being weird this winter. Last week was grey, very grey. A thick fog covered the area of Zurich during the whole week and the intense cold made the streets very unwelcoming. I spent the whole time looking forward to the weekend. It was our opportunity to run away to the mountains, high enough to escape from the fog and enjoy a few hours under the winter sun.

And that’s exactly what we did. First, we checked the weather forecast. I’ve already told you about this peculiarity of Switzerland: while in Zurich it’s foggy, the chance of finding another valley without fog not far from home is high! There were many options, so we decided to go to a new place: Wildhaus, in Canton St. Gallen. This village is very close to some of my favorite mountains: the Alpstein massiv, where I’ve been many times before (you can see some photos from previous hikes in Alpstein in winter, spring or summer). Wildhaus is located between the Alpstain massiv and the Churfirsten mountain range. At the northern side of Churfirsten, there are some ski slopes and a few snowshoe trails. That’s where we went.

We took a chair lift from Wildhaus that left us at the beginning of the trail. From there, we hiked through beautiful forests and meadows, passing snow covered alpine farms. There was just us, the sun shinning and the footprints of wild animals crossing the marked path. An easy and relaxed circular route of a little more than 10km with views of Alpstein, Churfirsten and, in the distance, the Liechtenstein and Austrian alps at the other side of the Rhine. A nice walk to stretch the legs after the dull foggy week in Zurich. And in the middle of the route, a nice pit-stop in Skihaus Gamperfin, a small mountain restaurant where we recharged batteries with one of my favorite Swiss mountain meals: Rösti!

I liked Wildhaus and the new perspective we saw of the impressive Alpstein massiv. I’m sure we’ll go back again when the snow melts, as there are new mountain summits, alpine lakes and trails to explore!!

But for now, here are some photos I took during this hike. As you see, there were parts of the trail where the snow had completely melted! I hope it snows soon again and we can enjoy a few more hikes in the white mountains, at least before the official beginning of spring…

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