Get off the 9.28am train from Andermatt to Disentis at the 2,044m Oberalppass — more a halt than a station — and you can ski from the platform edge, even in late April. As a starting point for a ski tour, it’s hard to beat: big mountains in every direction, and a valley to the south, the Val Maighels, which has enough to go at for a week and a handy hut in which to eat and sleep.

Our team of four has travelled in traditional Swiss ski-tour style, booted and suited, skis in the luggage rack, and a backpack each for extra clothing, snacks and safety gear. With the rail tracks behind us, we stick climbing skins to our skis, make an avalanche transceiver check and head for the peak of the Pazolastock. With just a map to follow, this is a proper adventure. There’s fresh snow on the ground and the skies are clear; the green Surselva valley stretches into the distance far below, and rugged views to the south reveal what’s in store for the coming days.

This is the heart of the Alps, where the weather comes from all points of the compass, and where the Rhine, Rhone and Ticino rivers rise within a few kilometres of each other, to flow to the North Sea, the Mediterranean and (via the Po) the Adriatic. The big news in the region is the linking of the lift-systems of the two nearest resorts — Andermatt and Sedrun, a SFr130m (￡104m), eight-year project that was finally completed in December 2018, creating the largest ski area in central Switzerland.