Chimmispitz & Zweierspitz - snowshoe hike

This was my first visit to St. Margrethenberg ever. Really nice and scenic area!

I started this hike in Furggels at 08:30 in the morning. The temperature was -5° C with a little bit of wind, so it felt rather cold at the beginning. At the start I followed the road in southerly direction to the place called Tal. There I mounted the snowshoes and headed straight up the hillside. At elevation 1400 m it was about 30° steep, and I even used my ice axe as support for a short distance. The snow was powdery on top but grainy underneath and the snowshoes did not really have a good grip in that area.

Finally I reached the ridge, where I could follow an old snowshoe/ski track and I continued towards Chimmispitz. A short traverse just before reaching Alp Maton was rather tricky due to hard packed snow. The view from Chimmispitz was great, even though it's not a very high peak.

The descent from Alp Maton in direction SSW was no problem, the snow was soft and provided good grips. Next, I ascended towards Zweierspitz, which was hard work cause I didn't have any fresh tracks to follow, but otherwise without any problems. Some skiers had been on Zweierspitz during the last couple of days, and it looked like someone had been there today as well. I enjoyed my lunch at the top, and there was hardly any wind.

During the descent, I headed down to Marola, and the I followed tracks on the road to Fürggli. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the area south-east of Chimmispitz is a designated wildlife protection area during the winter season, and access is restricted to staying on the forest road (http://www.wildruhezonen.ch/wr400.php). After reaching Fürggli, I took off the snowshoes and continued on foot back along the road to Furggels.

All in all a really nice snowshoe hike in a beautiful winter landscape!

Equipment:
- Alpine snowshoes
- Hiking sticks
- Gaiters (not used, cause I wore ski pants, and could pull them over the hiking boots)
- Ice axe

Remark:
The avalanche risk was "1 - low".