Last week there was unexpected early snow in the Alps. ‘Switzerland, Austria and Germany Surprised With Early Snowfall‘ read the news report… And not just a few flakes either. Some areas reported snowfalls of 25 cm (that’s 10 inches for some) – apparently a new record for this time of the year. Well, as you can imagine that sort of blew up plans to go hiking in shorts and t-shirts this weekend… in fact it sort of blew up all kinds of plans… and it left us with a bit of a dilemma… where to go, what to do? So we headed to Flims for what turned out to be a delightful walk to Foppa (1440m).
Flims in the Graubünden region seemed to have the best chance of reasonable sunshine, so we picked this as our destination, deciding that we would see what the conditions were underfoot (no pun intended), see which cable cars or chairlifts are operating and then decide where to go from there or what to do…
We could of course have stayed in bed, but that isn’t really an option for Barbara and I. A day somewhere in the mountains, regardless of the weather, is always a better option than lying in bed reading a book and listening to the radio… so we threw blankets off (metaphorically speaking) shortly after 06.45, showered, made coffee, dressed (Barbara convinced me to wear longs) and got ourselves ready for the 07.42 train. Yes, it was Sunday morning. Yes, it was early! And on a cold Sunday morning it is prime sleeping time for many people, but it was either get out early or not go.
Our first stop when we arrived in Flims was to get a coffee from Ella, the tastefully decorated little restaurant at the cable car station. Then it’s off to the cable car ticket office for some info. Turns out the only chairlift operating from Flims was the one to Foppa (1440m). From Foppa there is a second stage chairlift to Naraus, which would have given us an option to walk to the ‘Plaun Segnas Sut’ which impressed me last year when I walked to Segnespass and on to Elm. But it was closed. We decide to walk to Foppa and see what the conditions are like. A few metres above Flims we encounter the first ‘early snow’. As we gain height, the ‘early snow’ gets deeper. Here and there its turned into slush. And in a few places it’s formed a slippery crust. When we reach Foppa at 1440 metres we decide to carry on to Naraus. Another 100 metres or so higher, with the early snow getting deeper, we decide to call it a day, and turn back. We make our way back to ‘Berghaus Foppa’. Cappuccino for Barbara. Small Radler for me.
The scenery across the valley is superb. Virgin-white mountain tops, with the sun breaking through the clouds creating endless interesting patterns of light and shade. A buzzard floats past; flaps its wings once, then dives off in a different direction. In the distance a flock of about 18 or 20 black birds, probably crows or choughs are riding a thermal. Slowly circling higher and higher. A technique that takes glider pilots hours to perfect. A natural ability for birds. Then one breaks off in a down-valley direction and the rest follow. I lose sight of them when they disappear around a corner.
We decide to walk towards Scheia and onwards to Fidaz and from there back to Flims (rather than walk directly back to Flims retracing our steps). Here and there the path is a little slippery – especially on the downhill section before we join the wide ‘Wanderweg’.
On the way we come across a number of sign boards introducing Romansh words and phrases (with German translations) – reminder that Flims (or Flem in Romansh) lies in Graubünden. The only Swiss Canton where Romansh is an official language.
On the rock faces above us, little avalanches crash down with a thundering noise. We stand and watch as a few tons of snow come loose from their base – probably scree – and slide over the edge of the slope before raining down on the ledge below with a crashing sound. For a few seconds as the snow tumbles down it looks like a pure white waterfall. The early snow is melting quickly on the south-facing rock face.
Today is not a day for big plans. We could of course have dragged snowshoes and crampons along… but, given it’s the first week of Autumn it just felt wrong… ah well, next week the sun will be shining again, so we can look forward to a few more sunny days before we have to don longs, gaiters, snowshoes, and start carrying ice axes and ropes along for protection. Still… we got out. And in the end we enjoyed our walk and time in the sun and fresh mountain air.
Getting to Flims, Foppa, etc…
The Flims Laax Falera website has a host of information on how to get here, what to do, etc.
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