Logbook 6: Lidernenhütte
Distance: 8.04km | Elevation Gain/Loss: 705m | Total Time: 3:35
Built in 1944, the Lidernenhütte sits halfway up the southern wall of the Riememstaldner valley near Sisikon. It is a classic SAC hut with cedar siding and pine-paneled interior spaces.
I visited the hut as part of a ski tour to the Chaiserstocksätz summit ridge southeast of the hut. The approach to Lidernenhütte is significantly shortened by utilizing the gondola and is easily accessible by families from the top gondola station.
Views from the gondola up to the start of the ski tour. Bluebird skies sit high above the valley fog layer.
The early-season snow pack, or lack thereof, made the approach challenging as we had to go around numerous small bluffs, exposed rocks, and plenty of ice from the thawing / freezing cycle.
Massive 300m cliffs hover over you as you approach the summit ridge. On this day, there were a handful of climbers going for a summit on Chli Chaiser.
The summit ridge has a small spot to rest, eat, and transition skis but it quickly filled up with about a dozen people when we arrived. The views to the north looked over Lake Lucerne with Gitschen poking up in the foreground and Pilatus dominating the background.
You can appreciate the bear that the approach proved to be with the various small bluffs and rock outcropping in the foreground
To the southeast, the summit ridge drops off quickly into the Seenalperseeli alpine plateau.
The descent along the eastern face of the Lidernen is nice with an intermediate slope angle. Some avalanche fields provide a bump here and there. The lower part of the descent was tricky to navigate as the rocky humps that created extra effort on the way up became a maze on the way down.
As you come around the northern edge of Schmalstockli, the hut comes into view (see below image on the lower left) and a dramatic multi layered view of the alps to the west forces you to snap a photo.
We skied down to the hut through another maze of rocks and pine trees.
After enjoying a well-deserved apple tart and rivella, we headed home.
