🇨🇭 Raten (Snowkite)
Switzerland · Europe · All Switzerland spots →
Best directionSW
Wind speed4–15kt
SeasonDec – Feb
Skill levelIntermediate to advanced
WaterSnow-covered ridge (snowkite)
A flat plateau on a south-facing ridge, well-known among local snowkiters but honestly hit-or-miss — the south exposure means it loses its snow early, and wind strength or direction often doesn't line up even when there's cover. When conditions do align, sessions are genuinely good, and a restaurant sits right below the spot for the wait.
View live 5-day wind forecast →Good to know
Getting thereThere's a restaurant directly below the spot, useful for waiting out a no-wind day. No detailed driving directions verified yet for this one — worth confirming locally before a first visit.
HazardsShared multi-use terrain with hikers and cross-country skiers — crossing the ski track (Loipe) is a real problem, not just bad etiquette, and repeated complaints could get the spot closed entirely. On the rare day it actually works, expect around 20 other kiters sharing the plateau.
Best time of dayNotoriously unreliable — even regulars report only 2-3 genuinely good sessions out of 30 attempts, since the south-facing slope loses snow early and wind strength or direction frequently doesn't cooperate. The nearby Hörnli reference station reads considerably stronger than what actually arrives here (a 40km/h SW reading there might mean only 10km/h on-site), so a plain station forecast is misleading — a 900hPa-level forecast accounts for that topographic weakening better. A roughly 8kt SW forecast for the wider region, in good weather, gives a reasonable shot at real 10-15kt here.