Andermatt from the sunny side

The weather forecast had promised sun all day and this time they really got it right. We started the day with a little hike. After a short pitch of skiing down the back side of Gemsstock (the top of the Andermatt ski system) we put the skis on our backpacks and hiked for about 15 min up to Gafallenlycke, a col at 2821m. From here there is a beautiful long run down to Hospental (1467) that follows different valley systems. It’s possible to ski all the way down to the train station with some urban skiing at the end.

The next run for the day was the north face of Gruschenstock. After some side stepping and traversing on a steep ridge we arrived at the top of the north face. The snow was bottomless and the angle was perfect. After a lot of happy joddling and smiling faces we could determine that this was the best pitch of the week so far.

After a long traverse of the river Rauss that brought us back to Andermatt we enjoyed a Swiss lunch with sausage in union sauce.

We finished the day with a run in Felsental. The north faces in this valley still had lots of cold untracked powder. The shadows was growing long in the afternoon and we could see our own silhouettes dancing in front of us and the light powder blowing dust clouds out of every turn as we skied down to Andermatt.  

A perfect ending of a perfect day