Follow the snowman

Visitors to the Swiss Alps are ditching their skis to walk on the region's many winter trails. Cathy Packe strapped on snowshoes and went for an amble

It had been snowing hard all night in the village of Lauenen, on the western edge of the Bernese Oberland. Mountain pastures that had been grassy slopes or patches of muddy rock the evening before were suddenly white. Bare branches were now drooping under the weight of the snow that had covered them overnight, their twigs swollen like the fingers of a white giant.

It had been snowing hard all night in the village of Lauenen, on the western edge of the Bernese Oberland. Mountain pastures that had been grassy slopes or patches of muddy rock the evening before were suddenly white. Bare branches were now drooping under the weight of the snow that had covered them overnight, their twigs swollen like the fingers of a white giant.

By mid-morning the pistes closest to the nearby ski lifts and cable cars were starting to fill up with skiers bumping into each other in their enthusiasm to get down the mountain. Lauenen is a few miles from Gstaad, one of Switzerland's most renowned ski resorts, popular with day-trippers from the towns around Lake Geneva as well as those on longer trips. After a heavy snowfall, the slopes seethe with skiers vying for a clear run to the bottom.

But increasingly, those who want to enjoy the mountains in the winter are looking for a more peaceful way of doing so. They are abandoning their ski boots for hiking boots and taking to the mountain paths. The pace is slower when you are walking - even if you stride out purposefully. But there is more time to appreciate your surroundings: banks of icicles hanging from a rock face; logs stacked against the side of a chalet; milk churns being loaded into the back of a truck. The rumble of ski lifts and the swish-swish of parallel turns being carved in the snow are replaced by the chiming of a church bell and the lowing of cows in their winter quarters.

Switzerland has been popular with summer hikers for years. Paths are clearly marked with yellow signposts denoting village names and the approximate duration of walks; signs for more demanding trails have a white tip with a red mark.

In winter the walks take longer and not all are suitable: anything too steep could be treacherous, even if you have taken the motorist's lead and invested in snow chains to attach to your shoes. The ones that are worth attempting are highlighted by the figure of a snowman painted on the yellow sign. In the Gstaad area, pink signs also mark out the routes of the winter trails, matching up with the leaflet that is available in hotels and tourist offices.

Encouragingly, the sign shows the silhouette of an adult holding the hand of a child; presumably if the path is suitable for a child, the average adult won't have too much difficulty.

Most of the trails are hardly used, except by local residents walking their dogs, but they often restrict themselves to circuits close to the villages, so the snow further afield is often untouched. After heavy falls of snow, this can make the paths hard to follow; although hiking trails are maintained as efficiently as those for skiers, gritting mountain paths or sending snow-ploughs along them is not the first priority. Occasionally, where a farmer has been out early, a line of footprints marks out a route; this is how it must have felt to be Good King Wenceslas's page.

The problem with snow that is deep and crisp and even, is that it is easy to disappear in to. This is the time to add snowshoes to your hiking boots. What would, in different surroundings, look like elongated tennis rackets can be surprisingly effective in stopping even the most overweight of walkers from sinking too far. Their curved shape and net-like structure seems to allow you to hover in the snow, never quite touching the ground beneath.

Winter walking is never going to catch on among skiers who like to career down a mountainside, relishing the sensation of speed, or people who go to resorts like Gstaad to see and be seen. But for walkers who want to be alone to walk through fields of pristine snow, enjoying the beauty of the mountains and listening to the silence around them, this is hardly a reason to complain.

Cathy Packe travelled to Switzerland with Inntravel (01653 628811; www.inntravel.co.uk). Prices start at £645, including return flights on British Airways, from London Heathrow to Geneva, transfers and seven nights half board at the Hotel Alpenland, Lauenen