Rothwald-Wasenalp

Twenty minutes along the Simplon road and you're at the lifts of Rothwald. No cable car, no car park building: you drive right up to the piste and get on. This is old-school skiing as it was meant to be in the 1970s, the first lift dates from 1975, the second from 1983, and that's exactly what makes it so popular with anyone who's had enough of crowds.

Twenty-five kilometres of piste between 1,750 and 2,270 metres, served by two drag lifts and a children's lift. The split is twenty per cent easy, sixty per cent intermediate and twenty per cent difficult, and the season runs roughly from late December to late March, with a day pass costing around CHF 44. There's no queuing anywhere. Freeriding is the speciality here: the terrain beside the piste is generous and rarely tracked out, and Berggasthaus Wasenalp, at 1,960 metres, organises ski tours and courses for anyone who wants to learn properly.

The Rothwald Trail snowshoe route is special: 6.26 kilometres from 1,752 to 2,223 metres, around three hours, straight through what's considered Europe's highest-altitude larch forest. In autumn that same forest turns a deep golden yellow, and then this might just be the most beautiful spot in the whole area.

In summer you can walk from Wasenalp to the small mountain lake Wasmerseeli, or follow the Alpenpassenweg towards Rosswald and the Simplon Pass. Above the Berggasthaus lies a climbing and abseiling area open to complete beginners, from June to November, with guided sessions from around CHF 650 for four to six hours. Experienced mountain walkers can set their sights on the 3,245-metre Wasenhorn and, further afield, the Bishorn. Two mountain restaurants, Mäderlicka and the Jagdstübli, keep the day pleasant.