Föisc

Going by the number of entries on Hikr, mostly in Italian, Föisc must be one of the most popular snow shoe hikes in Ticino. With decent amounts of snow, but low avalanche risks south of the Gotthard, it seemed as good a destination as any. I sent around quite a few messages trying to get other people to join in, but in the end it's just Brigit - keen as always - and myself.

 

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We set off from Zürich as the city is wrapped in low clouds. But the weather forecast for the mountains is 100% sunny, with MeteoSuisse even explicitly mentioning an "excellent visibility". Indeed, ascending towards the Gotthard Tunnel the clouds disappear. The lack of snow is a little worrying though. The snow line is well above the entrance to the Gotthard Tunnel. That must be quite unusual for this time of year. However, once more the contrast between the two ends of the tunnel is quite striking, this time in a rather unusual sense. It's the south that has been hoarding all of the snow! Piles of snow are stacked up high at the side of the roads. Luckily the road to Brugnasco is nicely cleared. There is limited parking in the village which seems to be all full, but continuing just beyond the village to the end of the road (at least as it is in winter), there is still some space to park the car.

 

Our route starts back at the bottom end of the village, with the path towards Rütan starting behind the farm with the silo. A little bit further, the snow on the roof of a building has partially slid down, curving from the roof in quite an astonishing shape. It's a first highlight on a path that is otherwise not that interesting. The path is also used by skiers and snowmobiles. Therefore the snow is well compacted and there is no need for snowshoes yet. In fact, if you'd keep following the snowmobile tracks, you wouldn't require snow shoes until very near the summit. However, with snow shoes on, some more pleasant variations and short cuts are possible. Thus, just before Ce di Fuori we turn right, asceding through nice snow via P. 1846 and P. 1887. The south-western slopes of Pian Alto show debris of some old, sizeable avalanches. No such worries luckily on the gentle western slopes of Föisc.

 

The summit remains out of view until the very last, but provides a striking panorama nonetheless. Glorious sunshine makes for a very pleasant temperature even at 2208 meters above sea level. The frozen Lago Ritóm below (with the smaller Lago Cadagno behind) is the most immediate eye catcher. Doing a loop of these two lakes (with a bit of an ascent onto Poncione d'Arbione) seems to be a feasible and interesting snow shoe hike as well; something to keep in mind for the future. But there's more to the view from Föisc than that. There's the entire Valle Levantina to the east, and the entire Val Bedretto to the west. The mountains on the northern side of Val Bedretto (Pizzo Rotondo, Pizzo Lucendro) in particular appear ever more beautiful in the winter sunlight as the afternoon progresses.

 

We descend on a slightly different route, slightly south of the morning's ascent, past P. 1891 and across a pleasant little wooded ridge at P. 1913. The descent west of P. 1913 is relatively steep and a little tricky in points (WT3), but we are blessed with excellent snow conditions so it is an absolute joy to run and slide downhill on the snow shoes. All too soon, we're back on the comparatively boring snowmobile track, leading us back to Brugnasco. Two final highlights are a natural "Swiss roll" made from snow, and the beautiful light of the sun setting behind the mountains on the south. Taking our descent route as an ascent route should be equally feasible, though route finding might not be entirely obvious.

 

And so we drive back north through the tunnel, after having negotiated the ridiculous twists and turns of the Airolo motorway junction. It's as if the road planners had said: "let's have some fun and annoy those German speakers a little before they are allowed to drive back home". It won't keep us from returning south if the conditions are as good as this!

 

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Föisc is one of the more popular snow shoe tours in Ticino, and with good reason. The route is pleaseant with a rewarding and sunny summit. It's relatively easy: WT2 via P. 1887 (Piano dei Sciüch) or WT3 via P. 1913 (Motti) and easily accessed by car from both sides of the Gotthard. The only annoying thing is that I haven't got the slightest clue on how to pronounce the name "Föisc"...