Area: | Oberes Toggenburg |
Base: | 900m |
Summit: | 2260m |
Skiable vertical: | 1350m |
Lifts: | 12 (6 draglifts) |
Total lift vert: | 4450m |
Slope orientation: | North-facing |
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There are three main bases to the resort, with access by bus to all three. Perhaps the most convenient is Unterwasser, with its railway leading directly up to the cable car station at Iltios. By public transport, the double-decker buses run regularly from Nesslau-Neu St Johann along the valley, stopping at Alt St Johann, Unterwasser and then Wildhaus Lisighaus.
From Zürich, the time to get there is a reasonable 1h45, but it entails a fiddly 3 (yes, three) changes - an S-bahn to Rapperswil, a train to Wattwil, another train to Nesslau-Neu St Johann and then the bus. The Snow and Rail pass for the day from Zürich (which was CHF 63) is currently (2012) CHF 74.
If you're coming by car, there are car parks at Wildhaus, Unterwasser and Alt St Johann. From Zürich it's about an hour and a half. Once you're there, an adult day pass for the lifts will now cost you CHF 57 (up from CHF 47).
Don't be fooled by the paper tickets they give you now (without requiring a deposit any more). These aren't the old-style barcode tickets which you have to fumble for at each lift, they work like the hands-free plastic cards so you can leave them in your (left) jacket pocket. But there's no deposit so you just throw it away at the end of the day. If anyone knows how these work, please let me know!
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This resort covers a fair area of North-facing slopes, with a variety of drag lifts, chairlifts and a cable car. The run down from Chäserrugg to Alt St Johann drops an impressive 1350m, given suitable conditions.
If you refuse to use drag lifts (even these friendly ones), you'll have a limited day and won't be able to explore the whole area. Beginners also might find some of the slopes a bit steep, as most runs are (easy) reds. For those comfortable with black runs, don't miss the number 10 from Gamsalp down towards Oberdorf - a super gully with lots of opportunities to play.
Navigation is relatively straightforward, with plenty of signposts for the numbered runs and major locations, and the piste map is clear and accurate. It just takes a little concentration to get across from one peak to the other, and to get to the right base station at the end of the day.
In 2012 there is an excellent fun park called "Snowland", just above Oberdorf. This is how they should be, a mix of large and not-so-large jumps, plenty of space to get back in control after landing, and there are even several metal slider boxes for those who like that kind of thing. And a dedicated drag lift if you don't want to go all the way back up to Gamsalp again. Top marks.
Most of the runs are marked as reds, so flat spots are fairly limited. The only awkward ones are the traverse from the Gamserrugg side to Iltios (now marked as number 17/19) and the number 24 running from the Chäserugg side towards Sellamatt. But both these are difficult to avoid as they form the only connections across from left to right (on the map). For the 17/19 run, the Espel draglift lets you get back across, then you can take either the Stöfeli draglift or the Chäserugg cable car right to the top.
There are quite a few drag lifts here, but most are pretty friendly. Depending on conditions, the Stöfeli lift marked as N on the map, can be quite steep and bumpy.
15 January 2012 - A busy Sunday on the slopes, with a killer queue on the Chäserugg cable car and a fairly long one at the Gamsalp lift (definitely use the single line!). Beautiful weather, and very good snow. Lots of off-piste soft.
19 January 2008 - Old snow suffering from the mild weather, although fairly clear weather and very short queues.
8 January 2004 - Some fresh snow, but not a great deal, and there are grassy patches even up at the top. The runs down to all three base stations are open, but getting rather hard and noisy lower down. Snow is good up at the top of Chäserrugg and around the Ruestel area. Lots of space to play and practically zero queues!
Resort information is at wildhausbahnen.ch, which has webcams, prices, and a now-rotten piste plan (there's a better piste plan at skigebiete-test.de). Snow'n'Rail details are at railaway.ch (at least until they move their links again). Snow conditions are at wispo.stnet.ch under "Ostschweiz".
For hiking in the area, there is a five-day hike called the Toggenburger Höhenweg starting from Wildhaus and passing through this ski resort through Oberdorf, Iltios and Sellamatt. See the Swiss multi-day hiking section for more information.
