Snowshoe trekking
Parcours du Mont Châteleu
La Brévine–Le Mont Châteleu (France)–La Brévine
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Parcours du Mont Châteleu
La Brévine–Le Mont Châteleu (France)–La Brévine
It is (hopefully) only cross-border in sporting terms: the challenging snowshoe hike from "Siberia of Switzerland" to France. From La Brévine, the route climbs over snow-covered pastures, through secluded fir forests and up to Mont Châteleu for some long-distance views.
With minus 41.8 °C, La Brévine hit the Swiss frost record in 1987, which is why the farming village in the Jura is also known as "Siberia of Switzerland". From the village centre, the trail starts off heading north, straight across the pastures to the forest. After reaching the first trees in Chobert, the route climbs uphill, quite steeply through the fir trees, continuing towards Vieux Châteleu on the other side of the French border. From here, the summit is still about an hour away.
Initially, the trail follows the edge of the woods before plunging into the depths of the secluded forest. Across the snow-covered pastures, we soon reach the vantage point on Mont Châteleu (1,300 m.a.s.l.). A great 360-degree panorama awaits us on the Jura mountain ridge: to the north we can see the Val de Morteau, to the east the peaks of Uri, to the south the Alpine chain and to the west the French massifs.
The return route follows the same course, except for a section of just under 1 km right after the national border. If you feel like it, you can stop at the historic inn Auberge du Vieux Châteleu just before the border to warm up. This is followed by the last forest section, which ends back in La Brévine.
Initially, the trail follows the edge of the woods before plunging into the depths of the secluded forest. Across the snow-covered pastures, we soon reach the vantage point on Mont Châteleu (1,300 m.a.s.l.). A great 360-degree panorama awaits us on the Jura mountain ridge: to the north we can see the Val de Morteau, to the east the peaks of Uri, to the south the Alpine chain and to the west the French massifs.
The return route follows the same course, except for a section of just under 1 km right after the national border. If you feel like it, you can stop at the historic inn Auberge du Vieux Châteleu just before the border to warm up. This is followed by the last forest section, which ends back in La Brévine.
It is (hopefully) only cross-border in sporting terms: the challenging snowshoe hike from "Siberia of Switzerland" to France. From La Brévine, the route climbs over snow-covered pastures, through secluded fir forests and up to Mont Châteleu for some long-distance views.
With minus 41.8 °C, La Brévine hit the Swiss frost record in 1987, which is why the farming village in the Jura is also known as "Siberia of Switzerland". From the village centre, the trail starts off heading north, straight across the pastures to the forest. After reaching the first trees in Chobert, the route climbs uphill, quite steeply through the fir trees, continuing towards Vieux Châteleu on the other side of the French border. From here, the summit is still about an hour away.
Initially, the trail follows the edge of the woods before plunging into the depths of the secluded forest. Across the snow-covered pastures, we soon reach the vantage point on Mont Châteleu (1,300 m.a.s.l.). A great 360-degree panorama awaits us on the Jura mountain ridge: to the north we can see the Val de Morteau, to the east the peaks of Uri, to the south the Alpine chain and to the west the French massifs.
The return route follows the same course, except for a section of just under 1 km right after the national border. If you feel like it, you can stop at the historic inn Auberge du Vieux Châteleu just before the border to warm up. This is followed by the last forest section, which ends back in La Brévine.
Initially, the trail follows the edge of the woods before plunging into the depths of the secluded forest. Across the snow-covered pastures, we soon reach the vantage point on Mont Châteleu (1,300 m.a.s.l.). A great 360-degree panorama awaits us on the Jura mountain ridge: to the north we can see the Val de Morteau, to the east the peaks of Uri, to the south the Alpine chain and to the west the French massifs.
The return route follows the same course, except for a section of just under 1 km right after the national border. If you feel like it, you can stop at the historic inn Auberge du Vieux Châteleu just before the border to warm up. This is followed by the last forest section, which ends back in La Brévine.
Length | Number of stages
9 km
| 1 Stage
Ascent | Descent
420 m | 420 m
Hiking time
4 h 00 min
Fitness level
difficult
Arrival | return travel
Season
Winter season
The winter season is usually from mid-December to mid-March.
Snow report
For the latest information on the snow situation see category «Raquettes»:
www.neuchatel-snow.ch
Signalization
Routing
Due to snow conditions, the locally signposted route may differ from that shown on the SwitzerlandMobility web map. If in doubt, follow the local signs.
Hints
Contact
Neuchâtel Ski de Fond
Clos Roghon
2406 La Brévine
Tel. +41 (0)32 935 13 34
jp-schneider@bluewin.ch
www.siberiasports.ch
Clos Roghon
2406 La Brévine
Tel. +41 (0)32 935 13 34
jp-schneider@bluewin.ch
www.siberiasports.ch
