Snow and fleet in the Swiss Alps – visit or not?
A traveler is planning a trip to Switzerland in 2 weeks, aiming to visit Mt Rigi and Mt Titlis. They're concerned about the weather forecast, which predicts snow and rain, and are looking for advice on whether it's suitable to go to the mountains under these conditions.
- Check webcams for real-time visibility at the mountain peaks before your trip.
- Utilize your Swiss Travel Pass for free access to Mt Rigi and Pilatus, optimizing your mountain experience despite the weather.
- Don’t rely too much on long-term weather forecasts, as Swiss weather can change unexpectedly.
AI-generated summary-
Hi,
We’ll be visiting Switzerland in about 2 weeks time. We are planning to go to Mt Rigi and Mt Titlis. But the weather forecast says ‘a little bit of snow and fleet’ as well as ‘intermittent snow and rain’. Would these types of weather be suitable to go to the mountains? (although I know it’s still too early to say as the weather might change.)
Thank you!
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In such conditions, I would not expect you would have any views, unless the peaks were above the weather, in which case you might see a sea of clouds below you with mountain peaks sticking out of it. I have attached a couple of photos taken from Titlis in such conditions.
You can check visibility at the top before going up by looking at the webcams:
http://www.rigi.ch/en/Informa tion/Webcams
http://www.titlis.ch/en/ski-resort/webcams
It might also be worth checking Pilatus if the other two have poor visibility.
http://www.pilatus.ch/en/nc/l ive/
Alpenrose
Thanks Alpenrose for the pics. It looks great if it can turnout that way on a cloudy/rainy day. I’ll take whatever chance I have since we will be there. Got to put the Swiss Pass to good use since we have bought them. If the forecast says snow, ice and rain for the day, usually for how long would it last? Would going out very early in the morning be a good idea?
Sorry Alpenrose, I left this question out. Does cloudy means foggy? I’m wondering if cloudy would represent something like your pictures in Titlis.
>> Does cloudy means foggy? I’m wondering if cloudy would represent something like your pictures in Titlis.
Yes, those clouds from above were fog at “ground level”. A few more pictures attached showing the foggy conditions at the beginning of the ascent to Titlis from Engelberg that day. On the same day at the top of Pilatus, visibility at the top was absolutely zero.
>> If the forecast says snow, ice and rain for the day, usually for how long would it last? Would going out very early in the morning be a good idea?
It could last all day, especially in December, but you never can tell. You might get lucky.
>> I’ll take whatever chance I have since we will be there. Got to put the Swiss Pass to good use since we have bought them.
If you want to do a mountain trip regardless of the weather, you could pick the ones that are free with your Swiss Travel Pass, i.e. Rigi and Pilatus. Going up will still be an interesting experience.
Alpenrose
Thank you for the advice Alpenrose. When did you make that trip to Titlis and around what time did you take that gondola ride?
>> When did you make that trip to Titlis and around what time did you take that gondola ride?
It was at the end of August last year, around 10 am.
I had originally wanted to go up the day before, but decided not to, because even the top was in the clouds. So I went for a train trip over the Oberalppass instead. If you are interested, I wrote a trip report about it:
http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/train-across-the-oberalppass-on-a-gloomy-day
Alpenrose
Don’t rely on the weather forecast 2 weeks out. Swiss weather is notoriously changeable.
In May this year we arrived expecting average temperatures of 17C and struck a 3 week heatwave. Very nice apart from the redundant suitcase of cold weather gear. Just saying . . .
Thank ypu Alpenrose and Rockoyster. I guess the best way is to check up on the weather the day before and the very morning. Hope the clouds will clear up to make way for the sun from the 10th Dec! 😉
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