Located on the south side of the Gotthard, Bedretto is rightly considered one of the most beautiful corners of the Swiss Alps. There is almost always an impressive amount of snow there and, as the Nufenen Pass is closed in winter, ski tourers who are out and about here are usually on their own.
Dream or nightmare tour - both are possible today
Apart from a 150 m short platter lift, there are no lifts, which is why you follow the earn-your-turn motto here, which isn't a bad thing. After a 12,000-metre powder day, we didn't want to rock the next ski resort straight away, but rather prepare our old bones and muscles for the big tours in spring with a nice, medium-comfortable ski tour... The early bird, etc. You know the drill... We quickly conquer the first 500 vertical metres in the steep larch mountain forest. A fantastic day, more fresh snow overnight and a steel-blue sky, actually perfect, if it weren't for the unusually large snow plumes on the ridges and summits. We are still confident that we will reach our summit destination, the Helgenhorn, which is almost 3000 m high. After all, you can reach the mountain without having to pass too many dangerous slopes, which is why we decided on this destination in view of the considerable avalanche risk. However, as soon as we leave the forest behind us, we are met by a strong wind, which turns into a full-blown fair-weather storm the higher we get. Shortly after we have made our tracks through the wind-blown powder, they are blown over again. Within a very short space of time, tens of tons of snow have been relocated. Not a good omen for today and I'm getting more anxious by the minute. When, a little later, the first whamming sound (a dull, booming noise caused by structural fractures in the snow cover when air is forced out by the settling) makes the serious avalanche danger clear, it is clear that today is not our day. After some discussion and a few insistent booming noises later, we decide to climb only a small pre-summit in moderately steep terrain.
Despite the utmost caution, it almost happened...
On the ridge ridge, we fight our way up step by step against the storm. We choose the descent through flat, boring hilltop terrain below 30 degrees. But as is the case in hilly terrain, the one or other slope is 30 degrees steep or even steeper. And that's enough for today! While I rush down the valley with the danger alarm siren blaring, Totti cruises relaxed down a 30 degree slope through wind-blown powder. After just under two thirds, the entire section of the slope suddenly comes loose and Totti and the avalanche now cruise on in pairs. Fortunately, the layer of snow that had been released was not very thick, otherwise the avalanche would have had serious consequences, as the small avalanche in the hollow area - after all, it was around 80 tons of snow! - would have been enough for an extremely deep burial. Now at the latest, everyone realizes how precarious and dangerous this day was in this area. Interestingly, in Andermatt, which is less than 15 kilometers to the north, the snow seemed to be quite stable and Aron and his buddies plowed down 40-degree slopes there without any serious signs of an unstable snowpack.
The avalanche situation only eases as we pass below the 2000-metre altitude line. There, the wind is only blowing weakly and the powder snow is almost unbound. Having gained a dicey and instructive experience, we powder down through the loose larch forest. Conclusion: at danger level 3 (= considerable), it's better to stay in the ski area for powder skiing, where the snow cover is generally more stable, or you have to be extremely defensive.
