Fantastic Winter Scenery in the Center of the Alps at Andermatt

Sunday January 29, 2023 -- A good day for another snowy winter hike as the weather was absolutely superb in the mountains, although cold (we had on our long underwear!) 

We decided on a very easy 10-km "stroll" in the mountains near Andermatt, which is relatively close to where we live so didn't require a lot of time to get there. The hike actually consisted of two sections, starting higher up the mountain on the road toward the Oberalp Pass and walking down to Andermatt (6 km), and then taking a train to Hospental in the direction of the Furka Pass and walking back to Andermatt (4 km). (We could have done it all in one direction going westward, but it turned out to be quite nice this way).

The vehicle road from Andermatt in the Urseren Valley to the Surselva Valley on the other side of the Oberalp Pass is closed to traffic in winter and converted to a walking "trail" and ski/sledding piste. Sledding down from the train station called Nätschen along this road was one of the first winter outings I did when I came to Switzerland in 2013, and we felt like walking it again. Since it only takes 90 minutes to walk down to Andermatt, we decided to add another hour to our walk on the winter trail between Andermatt and Hospental. We are glad of this decision as the afternoon temperatures were ideal, and we enjoyed a lot of sunshine!

Starting down the road at 10:45 toward Andermatt; the Nätschen railway station is above on the left (not visible). The highest peak ahead of us is called Rossbodenstock, and on the other side of it is Lake Toma, the source of the Rhine River. 

The Oberalp Pass road is closed to traffic in winter and converted to a walking trail / sled & ski piste. It is 6 km to walk down to the train station in Andermatt.

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A bit of a panorama view near where we started. I love the crunching sound of the snow. That's what you need for a perfect winter hike.

Behind me is the beautiful Urseren Valley. At the very back is the route toward the Furka Pass. It was pretty cold up here, but got warmer as we descended.

A close-up view of the Gotthard Massif. Below is the town of Hospental where we started the second part of the hike, and in the middle is the zigzag road ascending from Realp toward the Furka Pass.

Below us is a section of the curving road we are walking down. 

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Perfect slope for small people learning to ski!

The dog was having a lot of fun racing down beside the sled!

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Sledding looked to be going well this day!

This dog was having the most fun of all!

A look down at the new part of Andermatt built by the Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris. And all the car parks are full because there were a lot of skiers up here this day!

Most people were walking UP the road. Below, the Gotthard-Matterhorn train making its way up toward the Oberalp Pass.

There were a couple of Yak farms up here. I guess they tolerate the cold well!

A look down at the town of Andermatt as we get closer to valley bottom. 

Looking down at the trains as they pass us between Andermatt and Oberalp Pass

Various sightings of the Gotthard-Matterhorn Train along the route. In particular we were fascinated by the wagon at the end (upper right) painted with the words "Après-Ski-Bar"

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Some video footage of the trains on the Andermatt-OberalpPass stretch.

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Approaching Andermatt, and a look up the Urseren Valley. A large part of the town is still in shadow of the mountains at this time of year. 

Glimpses of Andermatt

When we got back to the train station, we decided to catch this train to the next village over, Hospental, from where we walked back to Andermatt. We noticed it also had an "Après-Ski-Bar" Wagon.

We had a look inside the "Après-Ski-Bar" in the train. This is pretty cool!

Heading by train to Hospental (a 5-minute ride). We could have walked the 4-km stretch in this direction, but we wanted to do it the other direction. 

The second "hike" we did started in Hospental, walking toward Andermatt. We had less than an hour because the trail was very good. We started here at 13:15

A look behind us at the village of Hospental. 

Close-up view of the tower ruins in Hospental

It only took us about 45 minutes from here to walk to the station. 

Walking toward Andermatt we had the Oberalp Pass in our view, as well as the Gütsch Wind Energy Turbines. 

A close-up look at the Oberalp Valley. There is a train just stopped at the Nätschen train station where we started our hike. You can also see the winding road we descended. 

Another look behind us as we continue to get further away from Andermatt

Ahead of us is the town of Andermatt and the Rossbodenstock mountain (on the other side is Lake Toma, the source of the Rhine River). 

Crossing the Reuss River

We had 30 minutes before the train left, so we sat here on this fun "bench" enjoying the afternoon sun (approx. 14:30)

Enjoying 30 more minutes of afternoon sun near the train station in Andermatt

Our view from the chair-lift "bench", looking eastward 

What our combined hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. First we walked from Nätschen to Andermatt then took the train to Hospental and walked back again to Andermatt, before returning down the Schöllenen Gorge (upper middle) to the Reuss Valley. 

All the hikes we have done so far in the Gotthard region. The Reuss River has its source here, near the Gotthard Pass (where the pink, yellow, purple and peach-coloured trails meet on the left). 

A favourite view of mine when traveling by train between the Gotthard and home along the Reuss Valley: The village of Wassen.