Saturday, January 17, 2009

Snowshoeing : Niederrickenbach -> Klewenalp

A snowshoe tour from the SAC book. We wanted to try a WT4 trip (WT4-, really), and Greg needed to test his new boots.

Gondola to Niederrickenbach (1230m), along the road a bit, then up, up, up (yes, this was an Andrea special) to the Brisenhaus (1753m), where we had a short break. Further up, amongst a bunch of ski touring people, along a slope that was almost like a groomed ski slope. Finally reaching the Glattegrat at Schuenegg. Nice views of the masses of people in the saddle next to the Hoh Brisen starting their descent.


After an equipment-repair stop (Greg really needs new sticks!), along the ridge towards the Risetenstock. This gets pretty narrow and the footing starts to get less than optimal (too many people walking it in ski boots), so at one point it becomes time for Greg to stop. The last 200m or so just look too hairy for his mental state.


The way back isn't particularly appealing, so we follow a group of skiiers down a very steep face. After some careful zig zagging, some butt sliding, and 400 vertical meters, we're back on the valley floor. Back towards the Brisenhaus we decide to avoid going back the way we had come, so we follow the path around the ridge and then across the Sätteli and down into the ski area. The signage is less than ideal in the ski area, so we end up going down to far and have to take a chair lift up to the top. From there it's a stroll to Klewenalp, where we catch the gondola down to Beckenried. Our timing is good, so we take the boat back to Luzern.


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