TouringTip | Sellabödeli (2828 m)

It's May. For many splitboarders, the last days of the season are upon us. For us too. Glaciers are not our preferred terrain. But we're not fed up yet. There's still time for one more tour.

So we don't start at the hut at 4:30 a.m., but in Freiburg im Breisgau. With bikes on the car. The plan: We want to cycle up the Gotthard Pass road and then continue on the splitboards. Admittedly, this is nothing new and nothing extreme, but it will be one of the most beautiful splitboard tours we have ever undertaken: Let's go to Sellabödeli!

Approach

The tour was a little while ago and perhaps we were a little more in "do mode" shortly after Corona, so that it wasn't all over at some point. But, people, even if you read something like this here: please pack your cars full of people, take the train or at least stay in the Alps for two or three days. Goodbye to day trips.

The journey is easy. There's nothing going on in Switzerland in the middle of the night. In a good mood and not at all tired, we park up in Hospental at around seven o'clock. We have a quick coffee and then saddle up our bikes.

Bike

Full of energy and yet amazed at the heavy backpack on the bike, we turn the corner after 200 meters - and are shocked. A construction crew has closed off the first few meters of the road and is rattling along. Do they let us through? The guys see us, greet us in a very friendly manner and push the barrier aside. Whew. So we cycle on happily and reach the bike parking lot after five breaks.

After just over three kilometers, we park between two bushes at the entrance to the Guspistal. The Guspistal is very well marked, both cartographically and in reality, by a hexagonal building which is part of the air circulation infrastructure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. You can't miss it.

Split

We are extremely happy. We've managed the bike tour with a heavy backpack and the steep hike up. We set off at a leisurely pace and are delighted with the surprisingly grippy snow. It will be a day without crampons. Up to the large crossroads north of the Gloggentürmli, we pass some impressive wet snow avalanches and marvel at their sheer force. The ascent runs smoothly and without any major difficulties.

We have to invest a little more in the Chrummegg area. The terrain is not particularly complex, but the snow gets harder and we have to navigate our way through the steeper sections with the splitboards.

Then we turn south at "Unter dem Rotstock" up the ridge to "Sellabödeli" and feel with every step that we will be rewarded today. The north-northeast ridge is soft as butter, almost powdery at the top. Kissed by the morning sun, we realize that a fantastic descent awaits us.
But don't rush. It's May, there's no wind and not a cloud in the sky. We are allowed to enjoy a rest at the summit. The descent over the ridge is a feast. We enjoy the soft snow, it's fast and fun, what a treat.

Even the previously hard western slope further down is now easy to ski on, so we glide out of the Guspistal valley in a good mood before it gets too warm. Even though we didn't notice any dangers on this day, you should keep an eye on the day's progression at these low altitudes in May and simply be out and about early.

Bike without hike

It works well downhill. On the descent, we somehow find more patches of snow and can basically ski down the steep section we hiked up before to the stream. Fortunately, we have a sturdy board ready to cross the Gotthardreuss. Overjoyed, we roll back down the pass road, greet the guys from the construction site as we pass and are back at the car by 2 pm.

Of course, we're always looking for powder. But is that all there is?

We found 300 vertical meters of good snow that day. That was it. We got up very early, dared to try something new, cycled, hiked and split, climbed over avalanche cones and rattled over old, hard snow. The guys from the construction site were the only ones we met that day.

Tour data:

Start: Hospental (1452)

Bike: Gotthard pass road, >3km, 250hm

Hike: from the ventilation shaft to Guspis, 100hm

Split: 1000hm/ 2.5 - 3 hours

Note: The PG tour tips are general descriptions of tours that we like subjectively. Our tour tips DO NOT REFER TO CURRENT CONDITIONS. Read the situation report and the weather forecast and plan your tour accordingly.