Vaud, Leysin
Distance: 5.90 km.
Walking time: 1h 25 min.
Elevation gain: 359 m.
Highest point: 1,820 m.
Access: Car or train.
Parking: at Les Chamois road - 46.342570, 7.000120. Or near Pafandaz restaurant - 46.342121, 6.990896
Train: to Versmont Leysin. Additional ~25 min walk and ~110m elevation gain.
Our friends kindly invited us to their mountain chalet around New Years. After a nice, evening celebration in Leysin, we woke to a bright, warm sun. The air was so fresh and the sun rays so bright, it felt like a perfect day for a hike.
It was our first hike of the year and we really enjoyed it. This walk took us up to Refuge de Solacyre Leysin restaurant (operated by volunteers), where we had a lovely break enjoying the views from the terrace. Most of the hike has stunning views towards the alps and lake Léman. During our hike, there were many clouds hoovering just above the lake, while we were exposed to a beautiful sun. We only used our winter hiking shoes, but we passed people with snow racquets (snowshoes). The pathway was rather popular and we also came across people sledging down or running.
We didn't start from the beginning of the official hiking route - we took a shortcut from Prafandaz restaurant. There is a BBQ point and a viewpoint nearby the restaurant towards lake Léman. If you start from the same point, bare in mind that it may be confusing to figure out which way to follow. The shortcut was an already formed singular path, which connected to the main hike. The main pathway was on prepared single way road. Majority of the route allows stunning views at the mountains and lake Léman. At times, the route went between the trees. The last incline up to the Refuge chalet was rather steep, but definitely worth it to experience the magnificent views from the top.
There is a possibility of going up to La Riondaz summit but the pathway seemed a rather thin route with high snow.
More information about hiking routes can be found on SchweizMobil website here.
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