Tanzboden and almost Chli Speer - from Ebnat-Kappel to Kaltbrunn

Tanzboden is an example for a safe ski-/snowshoe tour even if the avalanche warning is very high. Since I knew there was no or almost no snow below 700m, I decided to take my snowshoes instead of my skis along; it was a very good decision.

When I arrived in Ebnat-Kappel the situation didn't look very promising. The fog was very thick and Ebnat-Kappel was just one big sludge area. The situation down in the valley would have called for rubber boots rather than snowshoes - OK my hiking boots are waterproof and they did a very good job too. From the train station I walked along the Thur to Thurau and from there up the hill to Büchel, Nestenberg, Orlen, Unter- and Ober Abschlagen to Tanzboden. Around 950 m altitude there was finally enough snow to put on the snow shoes and at approximately 1150 m I got out of the fog - from there on it was just beautiful...

The view from Tanzboden was breath taking especially with the sea of fog down in the Linthebene. Since I still had plenty of time left (I had to catch the train in Kaltbrunn at 3:07 PM), I decided to walk along the ridge towards Speer. I visited Schorhüttenberg, Tüfentaler Berg and Wannenberg and made it almost to Chlii Speer, before I turned around. The snow was varying a lot and interesting: sometimes nice deep powder, sometimes icy, some parts were completely hard and blown off and sometimes there was a frozen layer between fresh powder and the old snow below it, a clear sign that it rained even at this altitude.

For my way down to Kaltbrunn I first went back the way I came to Wannenberg and Usser Gheist and then to the hut of Gheist. From there I went down to P. 1211 and down the Rufnerwald to Wengibrugg. Then I followed the street and marked path down to Kaltbrunn. Again at around 950 m the snowshoes were obsolete and I could just walk in my hiking boots, below 700 m there was no snow any more at all.

At approximately 2:40 PM I saw a sign: "Kaltbrunn Bhf 1h 10min"… that's when I realized I had to hurry to make my 3:07 PM train. As other hikrs have missed their busses lately (1 and 2), I missed my train too. In fact at 3 PM I decided to give up and not run any more. However, lucky me: I happened to walk right by the bus stop  Kaltbrunn, Muellisperg, which I didn’t consider in may planning, and to my surprise there was a bus to Uznach in a little more than 20 minutes (on Sundays they only run every 2 hours). So even though I missed my 3:07 train I wasn’t late for my appointment.



Ebnat-Kappel - Thurau - Büchel - Nestenberg - Orlen - Unter- and Ober Abschlagen - Tanzboden - Schorhüttenberg - Wannenberg - Usser Gheist - Gheist - P.1211 - Rufnerwald - Wengibrugg - Bärgarten - Steinerbrugg - Kaltbrunn, Müllisperg