Federispitz – A deep winter snow shoe hike in fall

I was actually not really ready for winter yet, but since it was here, why not make best use of it. The weather forecast was excellent and the avalanche warning only 2. So I decided to do something which can’t be done too often in the winter. The slopes of Federispitz are all quite steep so safe conditions are recommended, and, the slopes are all facing more or less south so often there isn’t really enough snow to do a tour in the winter… not this fall!

I started in Ziegelbrücke and took the normal hiking path in the forest up to Grüt (north side of the train station, walking towards Schänis for about 250m then turning right). After a few hundred meters going up I encountered my first challenges. Obviously I was the first hiker taking this path since the big snow fall. I found no tracks but pretty deep snow here already. Tree branches and bushes were covered with lots of snow and due to the heavy load they bent down into the path. I often had to duck and many times shake off the snow in order to get through (and of course the snow usually fell on me…). At some point thorn bushes intermingled with branches and lots of snow blocked the path. I couldn’t go underneath but actually had to climb over them and still got covered with falling snow and those silly thorn bushes held me back as well. I was almost at the point of returning but then luckily the forest cleared up. The trees got higher, less low hanging branches and no more thorn bushes. Finally I got up to the street which comes from Schänis. (It would have been a much better choice to walk up along this street than taking the “shortcut” through the forest).

I followed some tracks along the street which ended at Grüt. There I had to put on my snow shoes. I continued to Schwanten, Vorder Federispitz and Obernäten. Since I’ve been on Federispitz numerous times during the summer, finding the path was not a problem, but the snow was surprisingly deep and got deeper the higher I got. It was beautiful in the virgin deep snow, but since I had to make all the tracks it was quite exhausting too.

At Obernäten there were actually ski traces coming from Näten going up to Federispitz, but since I hate it too if people with snowshoes destroy the ski traces, I decided to keep making my own tracks up to Federispitz. (I actually didn’t go all the way up to the summit cross, but went only to the signpost on the nameless peak right south of Federispitz.)

On my way down I first went back to Obernäten and from there to Näten and down the Chämiwald to Kapuzberg. There I could take my snowshoes off and I followed the street and hiking path down to Autis and Weesen.


Ziegelbrücke – Grüt – Schwanten – Obernäten – almost Federispitz – Obernäten – Näten – Kapuzberg - Autis - Weesen