A familiar area that for once looks quite unfamiliar :)

After the frosty hike up to Belchenflue and the mandatory winter walk on the Rigi, I opted to end my three days hiking adventure with a snowshoe hike in a familiar area. In spring and autumn, I had visited the Mythen region quite a few times already, but so far I never made it there in winter. As the preparation time for the hike was a bit short, I was glad that they had some official snowshoe trails there, which made the whole planning a lot easier. Deciding to pay the Furggelenstock a first visit, I headed out not too early on Monday morning and made my way to the final bus stop in Brunni. Heading out straightaway, the first 500 meters were doable without snowshoes, but then the trail started to lead upwards and it simply would have been too exhausting to walk on the snow with my hiking boots only. While I knew the way up to Holzegg like the back of my hand, it was nice to see it all in white for the first time. The Great and the Small Mythen were as majestic as ever and while I ascended further, I kept on marveling at the beautiful winter landscape.

The Great Mythen to the left, the Small Mythen to the right

Entering the woods, I had my doubts if the snow would cover all the rocks and roots in there, but the trail continued to be as smooth as before. Soon, I had left the forest behind me and was ready to tackle the steep ascending slope up to Holzegg. While the forecast had been fairly good, there had been clouds in the sky from the very beginning, but as they weren’t too thick, the sun was able to shine through and thus created an absolutely stunning atmosphere. It definitely helped to make the ascent to Holzegg go by in an instant. :)

Just another perfect moment :)

Arriving at the restaurant, I turned left and kept on following the pink signposts of the official snowshoe trail. It led me right through a skiing slope and as the school holidays just had begun, there were quite a few people out and about. Taking my time and paying attention to all the skiers, I made it safely to the other side and shortly afterwards had entered the forest again. A sign however told me, that also that part was in multiple use and before long the first kids dashed by on their sleds. :)

Walking on the sledding slope

Luckily, they were the only ones apart from a slower family and so I could focus on my ascent and the occasional outlook towards the Great Mythen between the trees. Already the day before I had decided to do a short detour to the viewing point of Rotenflueh and so I ignored the turnoff in the middle of the ascent that would have taken me to Müsliegg the shortest way possible. Coming upon the new restaurant of Rotenflueh, I didn't pay any mind to the whole hubbub there and just walked on to the old restaurant with its magnificent viewing platform. As I had visited that place in autumn already, I knew what to expect, but again, the familiar view was pretty unfamiliar. :) Also the clouds had thickened in the meantime and without the sunshine, the scenery wasn’t as gorgeous as I had hoped for. Of course, I was lamenting on a high level, as the view of the Great Mythen is simply one of the best there is, no matter the weather. :)

Understandably my favorite view of the Great Mythen. :) As everything was covered in white, it definitely was a different experience than before

Resuming my hike about 25 minutes later, I walked along the hillside, always with the stunning mountain panorama to my right. Not many other snowshoe hikers were on that trail and I enjoyed the silence until I was back along another skiing slope. Descending towards Müsliegg, I took my time and did another short detour to a little rise that boasted some marvelous views towards the Alps of Central Switzerland.

Looking at the mountains of Central Switzerland

Arriving at the Müsliegg turnoff shortly afterwards, I followed the way towards the Furggelenstock and soon came upon a skiing lift. The trail went along the lift for a while and then eventually turned to the left, leaving me to myself again. Although, that might not be the correct wording, as in that part many other snowshoe hikers crossed my path on their way down from the Furggelenstock. Leaving the skiing slopes behind for good, the ascent to the ridge in the distance had some of the steepest parts of today. It was rather strenuous to get up there, but already the views during the ascent made up for the effort. Also the sun shone through the clouds again and I almost forgot to move on as the panorama was so wonderful. :)

Taking a look back during the steep ascent to the ridge

Eventually coming upon the ridge, I could see to the other side for the first time and while there was my goal to be seen to the left, the Alps of Glarus in the distance made for an equal stunning view as the Alps of Central Switzerland before. :)

The view towards the Alps of Glarus while walking along the ridge. The Furggelenstock was to the very left of this picture and can't be seen on here

Ascending steadily, quite a few other hikers crossed my path on the ridge as well and when I finally arrived on the peak, it almost was a little bit crowded. :) Nothing to worry about though and while I ate my lunch and drank my summit beer, I enjoyed the marvelous view over the surrounding mountains.

The view from the peak. Definitely worth a visit in spring or autumn as well :)

As usual, the time on the peak passed by way too fast and too soon it was time for the descent back to Brunni. Leaving the summit after a last look at the beautiful scenery, a super steep descending slope led me down to the restaurant of Furggelen. There I took the turnoff towards Brunni and soon was surrounded by trees again. Even so, it was a lovely descent, as the trees gave way more than once to reveal some gorgeous views towards the Great and the Small Mythen.

So long my friends. Until the next time :)

Enjoying that last part to the fullest, I even made it to Brunni on time to catch the hourly bus to Einsiedeln that would bring me back into civilization. It definitely had been the right decision to check out the Mythen region in winter and I promised myself to be back one day when the sun is shining nonstop. :)

Highlight of the day: all the magnificent views towards the Great and the Small Mythen and the Alps of Switzerland

This hike is for you if:

- you’re looking for a challenging but doable snowshoe hike

- you want to follow an official trail rather than make your own way

- you’re looking for gorgeous panoramic views over the Alps of Switzerland

- you want to check out one of the best viewpoints of the Great Mythen

This hike is not for you if:

- you don’t want to hike in a skiing region

- you mind sharing the trail with skiers, people on sleds or other snowshoe hikers

- you prefer to walk straight ahead rather than up and down

As this is an official snowshoe hike, the trail is marked the whole way through. It is also a pretty popular one, so there will be other hikers and traces in the snow if you're not sure where to turn to. The hike and a description can also be found on the Swiss Mobile app and if necessary, you can check your location on the map there, using your smartphone GPS. On my hike above, I included the detour to the Rotenflueh, but obviously you also can skip this one, if you want to shorten the hike. As mentioned above however, if you skip it, you're gonna miss out on the best view towards the Great Mythen. :)