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I just got back from a 10-day trip to Andermatt. Antti Zetterberg already wrote an excellent review of the Andermatt ski resort after the last season. So, I have not much to add  - in this post I concentrate more on the thoughts and feelings from the trip. I also added a gallery of some photographs we took. (scroll down). Thanks to Antti for the patience to stop a few times to shoot photos.

The skiing (and snowboarding) was pretty good for the whole time in Andermatt. The cold weather guaranteed good snow all the way to the village and the lack of wind offered safe and stable off-piste conditions. Btw. this week the whole weather pattern for central Europe seems to turn much more spring-like. I guess we were pretty lucky with the weather!

1.st day – March 7

Not bad, first day of skiing and it has dumped some 30-40cm of new snow on the upper mountain. Travelling with the kids is always a hassle and this time it leads to that certain “no friends on a powder day”/”powder stress” situation. Waiting for Antti (AZ) I bump into Joonas Karhumaa at the middle station but the guy  is obvioysly too stoked to go ski the powder (and I am still waiting for AZ ). Then AZ calls that the lift line down there has grown significantly – I should wait for another half an hour or so. A bit confused I ponder weather to go skiing alone for a few runs. Suddenly couple of old ski friends appear (world is small indeed) and I make the quick decision to ski with them.

I manage to get some four great runs, before it is time to let my wife get her share of the powder. I skied two times the basic “B-Russi Run” and its sides and then the two couloirs to the Felsental side, “Gipfel” and the smaller one to the skiers left (the so called “Swedish/Finnish couloir”, not sure of the “official” name?).

2nd day, March 8

I have an afternoon turn and by that time everything near the slopes is tracked out. Time to hit another classic, the ”Giraffe” route.

Ooops –  the  high traverse to Giraffe over some 200 meters of exposure is quite unnerving at first. After all, last season I had  the first winter for 15(!) years of not going to ski any central European mountains. This definately feels here. But after the second run (we hit Giraffe twice that day) everything seems easier again, “I’ve done this before and it is nothing but a short, easy traverse” – this mantra seems to help…The skiing itself is nice, light and dry snow all the way to the exit couloir. The long traverse back to village near the river serves as some very welcomed exercise for us office rats. After that we even manage to go once more to the top for the five o’clock “alpenglow” run and ski empty Felsental in cold air (-20c!) while snow crystals sparkle in the air. Just beautiful.

3rd day, March 9

It gets a bit cloydy and two days of ski efforts feel  in the legs. I take it pretty easy. We ski the basic “Guspis” route to the picturesque (did I say that word?)  and ancient Hospental village.

After that I took some time to ski with my 5 old daughter and we went to the south side Nätschen resort.  For her the whole trip is an adventure. And to be honest Andermatt is not a real “kid’s/family resort”. She has never been on a chairlift before and got quite scared. We went to the middle station with Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (a train), which was a nice option. But from there all the slopes and lifts seem quite steep and high for my daughter. After a hot chocolate and a bit of pondering I see people skiing down the nearby sledge route with kids – bingo.  We found just perfect route for her.  Back at the village we are both pretty stoked, for a 5 year old the mellow sledge track (of some 500m of vert) was a long and exiting enough run for sure!

On the evening we enjoy a decent sauna with friends who have rented a flat from Swedish owners, and eat some mexican food in good company. One could get used to that kind of life.  

4th day, March 10

We decide to take another easy day with  the kids. After some research we found out that the nearby Sedrun resort has a long(ish) t-bar lift and a “kid’s world” with snow tubing etc. Splendid for the kids and our younger daughter (2 years old) appears to be a real daredevil on the snowtube run. Not to anyone’s suprise the father is the most scared on the (damn uncontrollable!) snowtube ride.

5th day. March 11

Low visibility. I took some nice Birdos Skis ”Early birds“  191cm for a test ride. The misty condition doesn’t allow these skis to shine. Low visibility keeps you going slow and according to Dan of Birdos Skis these are “built for speed”. However, we found some nice powder and a window of good visibility while doing a variation of “little Giraffe” (going along the ridge from the top and then heading to the skier’s right). I will try to write a longer review of the skis in a week or so.

6th day, March 12

Nice dusting (some 10-15cm at the top of the mountain) of new snow. The air is cold and still and the snow is just like cold smoke. There is not that much of it but the base remains quite good, so you ski on a soft pillow with very light crystals on top of it. Kind of “hero snow” where the snow is even but here and there you end up feeling the rezrozen chunks under the snow. We do some shooting at “Giraffe”. Couple of the shots even look ok IMHO. Sauna and few beers on the evening close up the very good day nicely. 

Oh and how could I forgot: Glen Plake sighting on a main street. He drove slowly by in a car taped with Elan/Dalbello logos. I guess the man knows where to find the good snow, heh.   

7th day, March 13

I go to ski “Giraffe” with Ulla (Antti’s wife) but we end up backing up from the high traverse. Increasing wind and lots of traffic has rounded out the track that leads over the exposure and some 30% of the track’s width has also disappeared. Not that big of a deal for skis but as a snowboarder Ulla should have walked over it on snowboard boots (she had no crampons with her) - pretty wise move to hesitate if you ask me. Then we just hit the “little” version where the snow is already a bit tracked out and getting more like crud due to sun & wind. I go up once more and ski the Felsental where are still some good pockets of snow but the lower part is just like a giant mogul run – manageable but not (that) enjoyable…

My wife and Antti do a wiser move and hike to the ridge of Chastelhorn where they score some 400m vert of almost untouched powder. Good for them.

8th day, March 14

Antti and Ulla and their son, Alvar head back home and we decide to do another Sedrun day again. Sun shines and kids enjoy, I don’t complain, after all.

From the train I spot dozens of nice ski touring routes and tens of groups going up. Not a bad thing to do for a sunday activity.  Well, some day again…(when the kids are a bit older?). The concept of using a train as a “lift” for touring trips is pretty cool to me. I guess many locals just buy the train ticket and go up to Oberalppass where you can e.g. hike up to Rossbodenstock (2836m). Using the train lets you get a nice advantage: with about 800 meters to hike up, you get some 1500 meters to ski down.

In the evening I try to do some serious stretching. Even by just skiing half days I am pretty exhausted. Besides skiing I’ve carried the kids the whole week with a traditional Swiss sledge around the village and up the little hill near the down station.

In the evening it starst to snow quite heavily.

9th day, March 15

New snow but bad visibility. There is some 30cm of new snow on the top of the Gemsstock and only a few people. I follow a Swedish group skiing with an Italian mountain guide. The skiing is “interesting” as the guide states, and I can’t but admire the guy’s steady short turns through the mist and how he seem to not mind the  lurking moguls underneath the soft snow at all. Not that easy when you don’t see for five meters ahead of you.

Skiing down the village offers some better options. And by one o’clock in the afternoon I even find some new routes down (from Geissgrat t-bar lift). It is my last ski day of the trip and damn I want some powder – so I just follow up (Swedish) groups and try to politely ask if they don’t mind me skiing with them. To my suprise they don’t and I get some nice turns here and there although the tiny trees on the lower mountain are quite tight and the routes not that straightforward. (Be aware of the sudden gullys/ravines out there if you are ever going to ski in that area!).  

On  “that one last run” down the Geissgrat I scare myself pretty good. I ski some chopped up moguls/crud and air between two moguls. Landing backseated to the second mogul it shoots me accidentaly to the air again - to a sudden steeper patch (almost a drop). I ended up dropping some 2-3meters and flying away some 7-8 meters, sideways and to my ski heels / butt. I land like a wet rag, luckily the snow is soft. Humbled, I ski down to the village.

My wife only rides for an hour and a half after that (she didn’t like the low visibility and riding solo), so we got plenty of time to do some shopping and drink the last after ski beers in the Spycher bar. We also meet Joonas and it appears that I’ve skied with his wife Mariella in the afternoon – I am glad that I tried to be polite at least…

I didn’t get to ski with Joonas (as I hoped for) because he was competing in FWT qualifications in Nendaz. Too bad Joonas fell and didn’t scored too well. But as he told me “I won the best trick competition and got myself a fancy watch!”. (He did a big 360 of a cliff).

10th day, March 16

Thirteen hours of travelling with two small kids and LOTS of stuff. I won’t tell you more of that. In Helsinki I find out that my ski bag is left in Zürich, great. (note: it came back yesterday, so I don’t have to buy a new pair of Armada JJ’s. The skis I just love by the way)

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