This past week has seen some fantastic weather in the mountains (compared to the thick fog we have down here in the Northern areas), although the warm weather means the snow has been melting at elevations where you would usually have some very nice winter trails. So selecting a good trail to hike is a combination of studying various webcams and a good bit of luck.
We were quite lucky with our choice for this last day of 2019: A 10 km hike in the Prättigau region of Grisons, near the Austrian border, from a small village called St.Antönien near the back of the valley, heading out of the valley to the small family skiing area called Pany, which overlooks the Prättigau (Valley from Landquart to Klosters). The start and end of the trail, being on asphalt roads, were clear of snow as the cars still travel those stretches, but after that there were several sections through forested areas, which meant there was shade (brrr....) but also still snow on the trees and a great snow-covered trail.
These winter trails are usually prepared along mountain roads that don't get used in winter, but which we would rarely walk in summer, so this gives us opportunities to cover ground we usually would not do in summer....
(PS: The photos for the 2017 winter hike we did further back into the valley are HERE)
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| Start of our hike is just above the little village of St.Antönien toward the back of this ravine |
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| Close-up view of St.Antönien |
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| The first part of the road for almost two kilometers was unfortunately snow-free because the cars still use it |
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| A couple of years ago we did a winter walk in the opposite direction, starting at St.Antönien and heading even further back into the valley. That was a wonderful hike which we plan to do again. |
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| The weather is warm and so most of the snow is off the trees, except here in the forest where it is shady (and cold!) |
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| Cold in the shade but the snow is perfect like this for winter hiking |
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| Some nice views of the surrounding snow-covered hills |
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| Sunny sections in the forest were perfect |
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| Here was a bench where we stopped for lunch and watched the other people trying to decide if they should go on the snow-shoe trail or continue walking. The mountains in the back form the border to Austria |
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| And ahead of us, lots of sunshine, and not a lot of people. Just how we like it. |
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| Looking behind us in the direction of Austria |
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| Perfect winter walking trail |
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| Below us a little alpine mountain village |
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| Getting closer to the end of this ravine, which opens into the Prättigau Valley |
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| Looking toward the back of the ravine |
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| This outcropping of rock is called Sulzfluh, and we just discovered that there is a summer trail around it, which takes you into Austria and back into Switzerland. We are planning that hike for summer 2020. |
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| Starting on the descent toward the village of Pany. |
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| These are South-facing slopes and quite steep. The warm temperatures have cause the snow to slide off already. |
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| Below us is Pany, where we plan to catch the bus back down to Küblis in the valley bottom (where it's really dark and shady!) For most of the descent the path was also clear of snow and we walked on asphalt, sometimes quite icy. |
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| A look down to the city of Klosters (very popular ski region) at the end of the Prättigau Valley |
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| The roads in the village of Pany are clear of snow because the vehicle travel here a lot to the ski area |
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| Very nice house in Pany |
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| Our 10-km winter hike parallel to the Schaniela Ravine, starting in St.Antönien and ending in Pany |
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| On two other occasions we were in St.Antönien: The red trail was a summer hike in 2016, ending at St.Antönien, and the green one was a winter hike in 2017, starting and ending in St.Antönien |
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