List of ski tours

A favorite for hill walkers. Also has some winter climbing and skiing. Sharp edge is a classic scramble.

An excellent fell with much opportunity for walking, scrambling, rock climbing, winter climbing, and skiing.

The big green peak. A curious name since it is white for most of the year, maybe black and white at best. It has a wonderful summit, and outstanding views over the Aletsch glacier and the other nearby 4000m mountains. Is it easy to get to the top of it? Well yes. But. In 2011 the reputed Swiss mountaineer Erhard Loretan died just below the summit guiding a female client, after which a spokesman for the Wallis police infamously said "it is not a particularly dangerous mountain". Maybe I climbed a different mountain. Loretan was the 3rd person to climb all fourteen 8000m summits, so was no novice. To even get to the bottom of the mountain you have to traverse the Fiescher, Aletsch or Jungfrau glaciers. Then after a night at 3000m, climb the Grünhorn glacier, which is full of crevasses. Traverse under the huge hanging seracs of Grünegghorn, and finally climb 200m of steep frozen rubble. Not hard (grade II), but any slip would almost certainly be fatal. Finally a short traverse across the summit ridge with several hundred meters of exposure either side. OK, in perfect conditions, for an experienced party, with the correct equipment, it is a walk in the park. But not particularly dangerous? Maybe I am just a wimp. Whatever your perception of danger, the climb deserves respect. That said, the climb to the summit is exhilarating, and with proper care, should not present too many problems.

A nice tour, easily accessible from Oberalppass. From the summit, if conditions allow it is possible to ski back to Andermatt, or continue to reach the SAC Maighels hütte, from where more tours are possible. Maighelshütte is one of the sources of the Rhine, where the river starts its 1200km journey to the North Sea at Rotterdam. On its way it will pass through Switerland, Germany, France and Holland. The Rhine is the second longest river in Europe after the Danube.

An attractive and challenging mountain; what Blümberg lacks in size, it makes up for in quality. The mountain is accessible from the delightful Lidernenhütte,  but does not give itself up easily, with a challenging traverse, and the last few meters on foot. If conditions are not good it is best left for another day due to the risk of avalanche and difficult navigation in poor visibility. The descents however are beautiful, whether back to Käppeliberg, as described here, or all the way down to Muotathal. There is often insufficient snow for the latter early and late in the season.

Galenstock is the highest mountain in central Switzerland, and offers a superb ski tour with a moderately difficult mountaineering finish. Situated at the top of the Tiefengletscher, which itself is ringed by half a dozen impressive peaks, Galenstock towers above all of them and offers views over practically the whole of Switzerland.

The Lidernenhütte is an excellent base for ski touring, with half a dozen summits easily accessible from the hut. Here three are described. One, two or all three summits are possible within one day from the top of the Käppeliberg gondola, with an overnight stay at the hut as an option. The tour offers fine views of central Switzerland, without any great difficulty or danger.

The smooth mountain with a beautiful powder descent. Glatten overlooks Klausenpass but is best reached on skis from the end of Muotothal. A relatively easy, gradual ascent is followed by a slightly steeper variation that lies in the shadow and in good conditions offers perfect powder.

Engelberg is one of the best resorts in the alps for off piste ski routes, with many excellent and long itineraries. Amongst them the Laub, Titlis, Galtiberg, Sulzi and Wendenstock-Lücke all offer excellent sport on long, steep, beautiful runs. They require little uphill work, but the risk of crevasses, avalanches, route finding or sliding off a cliff mean that they are for experienced off piste skiers only, and should be treated with respect. There have been fatalities on many of the routes described here. The centrepiece is the circuit of Titlis, a big outing that starts at 3000m, descends to Fürenalp at 1000m and has just 600m of ascent in the middle. It starts with an exposed traverse, then descends the extremely steep south flank of Titlis by a series of abseils, that experts can ski; conditions and queues permitting.  Next a climb up to Grassen bivouac, and a long, steep glacier descent where route finding is tricky in poor conditions. All in all, a full day out that should present no problems to the experienced, but should not be attempted by those without full knowledge of alpine techniques and navigation.

Situated on the corner of Kantons Berne, Uri and Obwalden, Grassen falls just short of 3000m. It has stunning views of the walls of Titlis and the nearby glaciers, as well as one of the most significant ski descents in Central Switzerland.

Hengst is the highest point of Schrattenfluh, a unique ridge of limestone pavements. In the summer and autumn, the geology of this is fascinating. In winter it is covered with snow and provides a wonderful area for ski touring, that is neither difficult nor dangerous. Beware early and late season though, some of the cracks in the pavement are deep, and have not been pointed very well! In good weather there are excellent views of the Eiger and the Bernese Oberland.

A beautiful ski mountain, accessible from either Sustenpass or Göschenen.

A popular and very worthwhile tour from Melchsee Frutt. A not too long ascent, beautiful views from the summit and a long descent combine to make this a great day out. Melchsee Frutt is a busy ski resort, and queues in the morning can be long, but the village itself with its lakes, mountain views and traditional atmosphere show the reason why. Once you start the tour though, the crowds are soon left behind. The route itself is not too steep, with just one tricky section on the uphill reaching the col before the summit. The north facing descent is steep at first, often with excellent powder, then very enjoyable. Depending on snow conditions it has some narrow, icy, and stony parts just before you reach the village of Stockalp after 1500m of exhilarating downhill.

An impressive and popular peak, Sustenhorn is the largest mountain above Sustenpass and glaciated on both sides. The glacier has many crevasses, both on the steeper lower section, and the upper section. Care is needed, particularly in early winter when the crevasses are not fully filled with snow, Many parties choose not to rope up, but anyone who has been there in summer and seen the number and depth of the crevasses will probably want to!

A pleasant tour from a very popular starting location. The climb to the top of Fürstein offers superb views, especially when the Hochnebel is present in the valleys.There are no real difficulties or dangers, and the tour makes for a very nice day out.

A relatively easy, but nevertheless interesting, scenic and enjoyable tour. Chli Bielenhorn is a popular destination, and with good reason. Realp is easily accessible by road or train, and the summit is accessible as a one day tour. It can also be used as part of a multi day tour with overnight stops in either the SAC Albert Heim hütte or the more comfortable, but still very reasonable Tiefenbach hotel. The rock architecture and views from the summit are superb. It is not too difficult or dangerous, but at the same time challenging enough. Pick your time well and you will have the summit to yourself, pick it badly and you will certainly not be alone on top! 

Tödi, or Piz Russein as it is also known, is the largest mountain in the Glarus Alps, and as such a prized target for ski tourers. It is usual to climb it in two days, but the super strong also manage it one.

An enjoyable and relatively easy tour, the first half through the forest and then lots of open, unspoilt scenery. Descent is either by the same route, or as a variation you can descend east via Schwarzsee to the Gronda valley and Meierhof.  It is also possible to continue to Piz Lad (WS), from where a more difficult but beautiful descent is possible (ZS) to the south east via Blausee into the Grond valley (not shown on the topo here). Care is needed with conditions, the slopes are steep

A beautiful looking mountain, that is relatively easy to reach. The last 100m are steep and climbed on foot, the difficulty depending on the conditions. There is a couloir on the east side to climb with a chain in it. If this is visible then it might be possible without ice axe and crampons. If it is't then these are recommended. It is about grade III. If the conditions are not suitable, Spitzmeilen has a sister peak, Wissmilen that is very easy to reach.

A tour that takes in four summits in it's fullest form, can be shortened to just one or two, or can be just a tour round the peaks. Here it is described in an anticlockwise direction

Silvrettahorn is situated on the border between Austria and Switzerland, and is accessible from both sides. The route described here is from the Wiesbadenerhütte. 

Piz Buin is popular perhaps partly due to the sun tan cream that is named after it, but certainly also because it is a beautiful mountain. It requires grade II scrambling to get to the top and is accessible both from the South (the Swiss SAC Camanna Tuoi Hütte), or as described here from the Austrian side, the Wiesbadener Hütte. 

A relatively short, but still challenging, tour from the Wiesbadener Hütte