Phenomenally beautiful! Winter hiking on Lauchernalp

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Versatile, sun-drenched and snow-sure well into spring – the Lauchernalp in the Lötschental combines many positive attributes of a ski area and is one of my favourite winter sports resorts away from the big players. In addition to the varied slopes, there is also a wide range of winter hiking trails. Perfect for exploring the impressive scenery of the surrounding four-thousand-metre peaks at a more deliberate pace.

With the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, Lauchernalp has gained more Valais winter excursion destinations as direct competitors in one fell swoop; the Aletsch Arena and Saas Fee have moved closer to the catchment area of Bern. But with the RegioExpress Lötschberger, you can still reach the panoramic sunny plateau high above the Lötschental with a single change in less than two hours, and best of all, long queues and slope scramble are rarer today than in the past. And if you prefer to set your basic pace at a leisurely pace anyway, you can dedicate yourself to winter hiking. In addition to 55 kilometres of slopes, the Lötschental boasts 50 kilometres of marked winter hiking trails.

Out and about on Europe’s highest winter hiking trail

We took a close look at part of the winter hiking trail network on a beautiful January day. A highlight in the truest sense of the word is the Lauchernalp high-altitude panorama trail. This starts at the mountain station of the Hockhorn gondola lift at 3,111 m above sea level, making it the highest winter hiking trail in Europe. From the valley station of the Lauchernalpbahn in Wiler we headed directly for the Hockenhorn. After changing trains twice, we are greeted at the top with a simply phenomenal panoramic view of the Bernese and Valais Alps. Even the vantage point directly at the Hockenhorn offers a panorama that “knocked my socks off”, to say the least. In order to find out which is the Doldenhorn and whether we can also see the Blüemlisalp from here, we first have to clear the snow from the white-sugared panorama board.

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After several “wow” and “boah” and “did you photograph that too?!”, we can tear ourselves away from the sight and set off on the pathed winter hiking trail towards the vantage point, which is almost 100 metres below.

Despite an almost cloudless sky and blazing sunshine, the altitude is noticeable with an icy wind. By the way, you can also reach the viewpoint on skis. If you are on foot on the winter hiking trail like us, you have to hike back uphill to the Hockenhorn gondola lift afterwards. The positive thing about the ascent is that the heat returns to the body. Apart from the pitfalls of the altitude, this is an easy way (about 2 kilometers / round trip about an hour).

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Explore the Lauchernalp on foot

After this detour to the highest point of the Lauchernalp ski area, we take the gondola and chairlift down to Stafel. Here at 2,100 m above sea level, the wind doesn’t blow quite so nasty around our ears anymore. Two winter hiking trails start in Stafel: the Lauchernalp-Hockenalp-Stafel adventure trail and the Stafel-Lauchernalp winter hiking trail. Depending on your mood, the two trails can also be combined into an almost 5-kilometre-long circular hike (running time around 2 hours).

Mountain air makes you hungry and so we follow the winter hiking trail Stafel-Lauchernalp in the direction of Berghaus Lauchern. The cosy restaurant is located in an enviable location high above the Lauchernalp. We look for a sheltered spot on the sun terrace, order a Valais plate and enjoy the magnificent panorama.

Then we follow the loops of the winter hiking trail to the mountain station of the Wiler-Lauchernalp cable car. At the farthest hairpin bends, wonderful views open up towards the Lötschenlücke – and further down, the path leads past the beautifully prepared wooden chalets.

Lauchernalp – Wiler by toboggan down the valley

If you are on foot on the Lauchernalp, you can either follow the winter hiking trail towards Kippel downhill, or jet down to Wiler on a toboggan. The toboggan run runs parallel to the blue slope (No. 1 valley run to Wiler) and the toboggans can be rented in the sports house on the Lauchernalp. While the first section is relatively flat and I struggled to get my sled going, the second section has some fast corners in store. Overall, however, it is a leisurely toboggan run that is also easily doable with children. The only downside: The valley run does not end directly at the valley station of the cable car. You have to pull your toboggan behind you for about 10 minutes from the end of the toboggan run to the valley station.

Our conclusion: Even without skis, you can experience a wonderfully decelerating winter day on the Lauchernalp. And the panorama on the Hockenhorngrat is simply gigantic!

Practical tips for your winter trip to the Lauchernalp

• The starting point for the Lauchernalp is the village of Wiler in the Lötschental. You can reach this by post bus with one change in Goppenstein.
• The post bus stops directly in front of the valley station of the Lauchernalp cable car.
• The detailed route descriptions of the winter hiking trails in the Lötschental can be found on Outdooractive.
• Pay attention to the wildlife rest areas and wildlife sanctuaries and stay on the marked routes.
• An overview of the winter rates for skiing, winter hiking and tobogganing can be found on the Lötschental website.

[alert color=”FFFFFF” icon=”Select a Icon” title=”BLS Ausflugstipp Winterpanoramaweg und Schlittelspass Lauchernalp“]

The Wiler-Hockenhorngrat winter hiking ticket costs CHF 42 for adults (CHF 36 with GA/Half-Fare travelcard). The panoramic winter hiking trail on the Hockenhorn ridge is open until 22 April. All further information about this offer can be found at BLS.

The offer tobogganing fun<pstyle=”font-weight: 400;” > costs CHF 35 for adults and includes the day ticket for the Wiler-Lauchernalp cable car as well as toboggan rental. [/alert]