Cauma, Switzerland

Given that we were not fit to go on long trips and the weather being unpredictable, we decided that we should try to move more North and west, to see if the lower sunlight time would help. We headed over to a place called Riein where there was a route up to a peak above the village which also had a road/ track up it that would give an alternative descent.
The approach followed the return from yesterday, via Ilanzthen headed south.

At the car park above the village, there was one other car around who had left before we arrived. The cow byre below showed the rural nature of the village. Checking the road up we soon found the step off point.

Quickly getting boots and skis ready, and anxious to get started we moved to the start of the snow on the road.

The guide had the route following the summer track, which cuts a line through the road zigzags.
We started off with a deep track cut up the road, which then broke off to the right and went through the trees. Despite the deep snow out side the forest, underneath there were patches where the old snow had vanished.

The gentle rise of the track lead, after more breaks in the snow for rivulets, to the first of the open meadows.
Here we cut up to the right following old tracks. At this point it became very apparent that there had been little freezing overnight and that the base was not very substantial even at this time of day. Off the tracks the skis sank and made fro very uncomfortable skinning cutting a new line in deep stodgy snow. Best to stick to someone else's line.

the next section followed the road for a short while ... giving some respite from the deep snow .. this helped alleviate the fears of the descent effort required .. it would just take a little longer following the track round all the bends!

Following another meadow short cut - the day was warming up...  we should have started even earlier ...  maybe this would have helped (although with the lack of freezing I doubt it).
At the top of this section we met a single guy coming down ... he later turned out to be the owner of the other car in the car park. He had come up a more direct way, but we could now use his tracks for going up, and also it would show the best places to come down - even at this part of the day he was fighting the stodge.

Now, with some recent tracks to follow, things got a little easier. Navigation was also simpler.
We followed his tracks up the next meadow to a gap ion the trees .. Not the "correct" path but grateful for some local knowledge this assisted both the ascent and descent.

trace through the trees ...  a much used narrow gap .. also a element of welcome shade.

We were not late starting, but certainly not early enough for the conditions of the day... As we came out of the trees it was nearly noon...  we realized that with 350 Hm still to go - we would not make it down safely from the summit, and we needed to adjust the target.
In the near horizon was a small "top" that would give a good objective, however as I set off following the tracks, there was an alternative that came into view over the small col ...  a collection of huts - even better.

This was obviously much used, and the snow hard packed around some convenient benches ...  also gave us excellent views into the valley.
snacked and rested but also mentally prepared for the fight on the descent to come we readied the skis for the descent.

The route upwards would continue over the bump behind the hut, then along the ridge above the trees to the top in the clouds ...  definitely we would need over another hour to do this ...  so we should have started over 2 hours before we actually did.

The initial descent was at that awkward angle where it is too steep to ride straight, but too shallow to commit hard turns ... however there was some of a surface that allowed simple snowplow turns to be effective.
Through the trees in the forest was a fantastic run ... tight turns on snow with a surface ... this was the best of the day.
Out of the trees came the worst of the day ... heavy crud on a warm surface.. back to defensive riding looking for anywhere that had some assistance - in this case to the left which had been in shade longest.
As we dropped back onto the track where we had passed the other person a helicopter passed overhead and was caught in a lucky shot ...  I was really after the sun and the tree!

We followed the track down from here to the corner ...  at this point the other person had cut down to the trees ..  one of those mischievous thoughts caused me to follow his tracks to the trees just below.
The track through the trees was a train track on hard packed ice/ snow.. very committing with several sections where we had to de-ski.
The track exited into a top meadow - again local knowledge helped here ... this snow was much better ... I guess because it had been in the sun more constantly and was not so deep the actual surface beneath helped .. the skiing was better than expected and we could actually put in some proper turns, and it was more enjoyable than expected.

The last stretch of the slope, down to the car park, was very patchy... I set off down trying to pick a path through green sections, however there was one part that was unavoidable ...  luckily the grass was wet enough to prevent any real friction and the skis traveled across without incident, as they did fro Bryon.

Back at the van, and relaxed we could see how much things had changed through the day.

This is the slope above the car park

And the one below.

Back then to the hostel and drying the kit.

Dinner we headed towards "fat Benny's" around the scenic route, taking in the lake .. only to find it was Ruhig tag  .. rest day. on the way back there was a place that looked like a cafe but taking a chance we went in and found some excellent food - Restaurant Riva al lag. This one never got a nickname as tomorrow we would move on. Over the week the hostel had started with the German snowboard team, then added the French and now also the Austrian. they were all preparing for some competition at Laax play park.