Hiking the Swiss Alps Days 6-7 of 7: Ramslauenen to Oeschinensee to Kandersteg
Day 6 of 7: July 22, 2008 After eating a typical breakfast of muesli with yogurt, coffee with steamed milk, rolls, croissants, cheeses and meats, we began our last day of real hiking. The morning was damp with dense fog. We had two options: around the side of the mountain or over the mountain. On the advice of our host from the Berghaus Ramslauenen, we chose to go around the mountain, as the hiking the ridge line at the top of the mountain in the dense fog would be hazardous. Along the way, we came across a helicopter team who was grounded and waiting for the fog to lift. Once one the other...
Read MoreHiking the Swiss Alps Day 5 of 7: Alpiglen to Ramslauenen
Day 5 of 7: July 21, 2008 My first good night’s sleep was at Alpiglen! My stomach FINALLY seems to be settling down after four days of nausea and frequent bowel movements. After a typical breakfast of rolls with butter / jam / honey, coffee with steamed milk, meats and cheeses, Dave and I leave the Berghaus to hike along the Eiger Trail along the base of the Eiger mountain. We decided to hike the trail after several hikers had recommended it to us. Although thick fog mostly obscured the views along the trail, we caught glimpses of the valley and the mountains like surreal dreamlike...
Read MoreHiking the Swiss Alps Day 4 of 7: Gspaltenhornhütte to Alpiglen
Day 4 of 7: July 20, 2008 After another sleepless night with multiple trips in the dark, cold, windy night to the toilet on the side of the mountain, I climbed out of my bunk around 0630. The early morning risers had already eaten breakfast and left to summit the mountain. Dave and I left the hut around 0730 in anticipation of afternoon showers, which we hoped to avoid while on the mountain. Crossing the snowfields was perhaps the most dangerous aspect of hiking in the Alps (except for the sheer cliffs) as the snow was slippery and there was nothing to slow you down from accelerating if you...
Read MoreHiking the Swiss Alps Day 3 of 7: Kandersteg to Gspaltenhornhütte
Day 3 of 7: July 19, 2008 When Dave had asked the girl at the visitors center in Kandersteg about our planned hiked from Kandersteg (where we were) to Gspaltenhornhütte (another Swiss Alpine Club mountain hut), she laughed and stated that it was not possible to make the hike in one day. We did the make the hike in one day – 8.5 hours of mostly climbing. We checked out of Hotel Ericka before breakfast was served at 8 am so that we could make an early start up the mountain. We opted to ride the Sesselbahn (chairlift) up to the Oeschinensee to bypass the initial 1+ hour climb. During...
Read MoreHiking the Swiss Alps Days 1-2 of 7: Zermatt and the Matterhorn
Days 1 of 7: July 17, 2008 My friend, Dave Tipler, and I spent a week traipsing through the Swiss Alps in July. Dave was in Darmstadt, Germany for business, and I was in Roth, Germany for the Quelle Challenge. The timing worked out perfectly! On Wednesday, July 16, I took the train from Roth (near Nurembourg) to meet Dave in Darmstatdt (near Frankfurt) and we drove down to Randa near Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. To get to Zermatt, we took a car train from Kandersteg to Goppenstein via the Lötchberg Tunnel. The train was able to carry tourist buses in addition...
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