Ski tours

As tempting as the photos are, one thing is clear: ski tours in open terrain involve risks. If you set out alone, you should adjust your tour to the current snow, weather and avalanche situation. Safety always has priority. Away from the secured slopes and paths, you are responsible for yourself. Therefore, carry complete avalanche equipment with avalanche transceiver, probe, shovel and a cell phone. Ideally, you should also carry an airbag backpack that will keep you on the surface in the event of an avalanche. For ski tour beginners and anyone who has no knowledge of avalanches and snow, we recommend a mountain guide.

If you'd like to find out if you enjoy ski touring, a trip to Pischa is worthwhile. Every Tuesday and Thursday, the mountain guides from Davos Klosters offer a taster course on Pischa, showing you how it's done. This is a great way to get started with ski touring. You'll also learn what equipment you need, how the techniques – such as kick turns – work, and how to properly assess alpine hazards in open terrain.

Especially in spring, the Flüela Pass has long been considered a ski touring paradise by those in the know. No wonder: With peaks like the Flüela-Schwarzhorn, Radüner Rothorn, Sentischhorn, Gorihorn, and the access to the Grialetsch Hut, rewarding ski touring destinations are all within easy reach. You can drive to Tschuggen – although parking is limited. A classic tour in Klosters is the circuit around the Madrisa: This day trip takes you from Klosters into Austria and back again.

Lots of fresh snow is a delight for freeriders, winter hikers and snowshoe hikers. For wild animals, however, this means one thing above all: a naked fight for survival. Because what deer, stags, chamois and ibexes normally scratch out of the snow to eat is now under a thick blanket of snow. Wild animals are therefore forced to use their energy sparingly. If they are disturbed and put to flight, their survival is at risk.