Winter hike to Chalet du Soldat is exceptionally beautiful. As I wrote before (click here) Chalet du Soldat or Soldatenhaus is now a meeting place for many hikers that want to admire the beauty of ‘Swiss Dolomites’ – Gastlosen. The tour in summer is breathtaking but surprise – in winter too
I started my hike in the village of Jaun (1050 m). You need to pass ski lift Fussmatta and continue following the trail that indicates ‘Chalet du Soldat’. Soon you will find yourself on a little parking space where you take a trail on the left hand side – not the road on the right – that is a toboggan slope. It is well marked in winter as a snowshoe trail so no chances of getting lost. And that’s when the fun starts. It starts quite steep in the forest but then you’re back on your normal cardiac pace.
Through the forest 
Sign you need to follow 
Stunning views already
When I went there, on the first part of the hike there wasn’t much snow, just when I got out of the forest the mighty Gastlosen showed their white covered beauty.
Gastlosen in the background 
From here you continue slowly your way up to Sattels (1375 m) where normally there’s a buvette meaning you can get something to eat. When I did my hike it was still closed so I just stopped for a little energy recharge with my sandwich.
Panorama 
After Sattels you’re slowly gonna reach another forest and then back on a wide winter hiking trail that will take you all the way up to Chalet du Soldat (1752 m). On the way there’s Gastlosen next to you all the time. If you’re lucky enough with your timing you will see an incredible light show in one of the holes of the mountain that is called ‘Grossmutterloch’. According to the legend, devild was really angry with his grandmum and smashed her against one cliff and that’s how this hole appeared.
shadow selfie 
Chalet du Soldat. Photo by: La Gruyère
I went down almost with the same way but instead of going down with the trail through the forest I chose the toboggan trail that you shouldn’t actually do. Don’t do it. I did and it’s not the way it should function. The only excuse for what I did is that the normal snowshoe trail in the woods was a bit slippery and icy and I do panic when there’s ice around so yes, toboggan trail was my choice.
Trail map thanks to www.la-gruyere.ch
Practical information:
Starting point: Jaun (1050 m)
Target: Chalet du Soldat (1752 m)
Hike lenght: around 12-13 km
Time: less than 5 hours
Tip: As on the map above you can start your hike on Musersbergli lift, which will make your life easier by about 3 km. When going down stick to the trail, don’t take toboggan one as I did, it is prohibited and surely, enjoy this slope but maybe on a toboggan…Check the weather info to be sure if you need snowshoes or not.
Text: Agnieszka Wajs
