Haute Route in the Tösstal – ski tour on your doorstep

It’s not every winter that there is enough snow in the immediate vicinity of my home to get out into the powder. So this morning, we’re particularly glad to be heading into the valley to tackle the Tösstal Haute Route ski tour. And we are all the more concerned about respecting nature. That means leaving as few ascent and descent tracks as possible and avoiding the forest. We don’t want to disturb and stress the resident wild animals, which are already weak in winter. But first things first.

Quickly trip to the starting point

This is one of those ski tours that goes from A to B, which means it’s a perfect candidate for access by public transport – which is incidentally the more environmentally friendly option. We travel by train from Zurich to Steg im Tösstal in just one hour. With our headlamps still on our helmets and skis on our backpacks, we start our valley tour along the Tösstal and climb the snow-covered road toward the Brüttental. We try as best we can to keep to the roads and hiking trails and to avoid walking through the untouched forest. We don’t want to subject the wild animals to any unnecessary stress. North-east of the Schindelberghöchi, from Schindelegg to Rosegg is a wildlife ‘quiet zone’, which is protected not only in winter, but all year round.

To the highest point in the canton of Zurich

We quickly realise that we’re not on this ski tour for the long, dreamy descents, but to enjoy the unique natural surroundings. Once we reach the Schnebelhorn, the highest point in the canton of Zurich, our longest ascent is over. What follows is a sightseeing tour of the Tösstal at its finest. We keep to the ridge, over several hills. Some of the descents are so short that it’s hardly worth taking the skins off your skis. But there’s never a shortage of fun and laughter when you’re heading downhill with skins on.

Choose your own adventure

After a long break, it’s finally time to undertake the long-awaited powder descent 1 from Habrütispitz towards Allmeind: a modest 300-metre drop in altitude. However, the powder is amazing and the experience fuels our motivation for the second-last ascent towards Höchhand. Up to this point we have had these snow-covered hills to ourselves. However, Höchhand and Schwarzenberg are fairly well-known ski tours in the Tösstal. We meet a few other enthusiastic ski tourers. The second descent is next: from Schwarzenberg to Wolfsgrueb. Once we arrive at Wolfsgrueb, we have to munch a few gummy bears to give our legs some more energy. The final ascent awaits. We put on our skins for the last time for the Scheidegg crossing over to the Dürrspitz. Now the atmosphere is getting romantic; as we reach the Dürrspitz, the sun is setting and we’re rewarded with an unforgettable descent into the sunset. This last descent takes us conveniently to Gibswil train station. Legs tired, we board the train in almost complete darkness and, thanks to SBB, we’re soon home.