Haute Route Day 10

03-08-2016   Haute Route Day 10

      
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Zinal to Grüben

12.3 Kilometers

Lodging: Hotel Schwarzhorn Gruben 43 Suisse Franc for a dorm and half pension (Dinner and Breakfast)

Haute Route Day 10 Google Earth File

Click on the link above and download it to your computer.  Then, open Google Earth and manually open and you can see the trail in 3D.

Zinal to Grüben

Today we have a big push up to another col, but are going to get a little help.  We started with a very tasty breakfast in the hotel, packed our gear, and headed to the bus station.  Anne and Thomas had to catch the bus, and make a few connections to end up in Geneva, which is were they are going to get their flight back to Paris.  When we made it to the bus stop, we said our quick goodbyes, and we parted ways.  Katherine and I took one more leg of the bus journey to the funicular in Saint-Luc.  

This was the fastest goodbye ever!  We jumped off the bus and then got on another instantly.  

The funicular is something that is new to me.  First of all, I have never heard the word before and have never seem something quite like it (even though Katherine says I have because they were in Lisbon.)  A funicular is a cog rail system for ascending and descending the mountain.  The track is geared and the train cars keep the same steep pitch the entire time, so the train cars are built at an angle.  If you were to put it on flat track, everyone would be standing at about a 35 degree pitch, kind of like the old V8 vegetable juice commercials.  I was surprised at how quick the ride was.  We just scooted up the mountain with our ears popping.  Once at the top, we donned our backpacks and headed to the Meidpass.

Little lunchtime action!

This is how you do it in the Suisse Alps.

We hiked up through a ski resort area again with the trail winding around a few lifts, but we were soon out of them and into our private wilderness.  Lunch was a delectable assortment of meat, cheese, crackers, nuts, and grape beverage.  These views I can get used to!

Ahhhh... by ourselves on the Meidpass!

I hate taking selfies, but here you go. 

Once we reached the pass there was no choice but to descend the rest of the way to Grüben on our tired knees, so I went slow and used my poles appropriately.  After another hour or two, we “landed” in Grüben.  Our lodging was at the only hotel in the area.  The giant Hotel Schwarzhorn has several floors with private rooms and a dorm on the top floor.  Grüben is a remote town, but caters to backpackers very nicely during the summer season.  

Katherine posing by the Meidsee

This dorm arrangement is not as bad as you might think.  All the travelers are pretty much courteous and behave themselves appropriately.  Well, the lesson is earplugs, and don't be afraid to open of close the window as you wish.  

The dorm was a machine.  They get a large number of hikers coming on a daily basis. Luckily, there was enough room for us.  We had to call and email ahead to secure a reservation, but they are so busy they do not always call or email back to let you know if you had a spot reserved.  Our dorm room on the top floor had slanted ceilings and beds lined side to side packed into each room like sardines.  There was not much room for our gear, so I couldn’t go GMAN style and sprawl out all over the place.  Our packs were kept in the hallway and since we had planned to depart early, we packed them in the evening to make a quick getaway in the early morning.

There was a little problem.  The room had a few empty beds… Yes, plenty of room for Anne and Thomas.  We already missed them!

Uhhhh, where are our Parisian friends?  There is plenty of room here!

During dinner, we talked with our Boston friends with their 11 year old son, Jack.  I gave them my email, but have not heard back.  I plan to create a little video of our journey and want to share it with them.  Jack is quite a hiker at his age.  He has been leading their group up and down the cols asking for more at the end of the day.  We have a little mountain climber there!

The little village of Grüben.

Tomorrow, we head to Zermatt, and to get a full day in the village, we will skip staying the night in St. Niklaus.  We plan on riding a cable car down from Jungen to St. Niklaus and then catching the train to Zermatt.  It would be nice to walk the last leg of the trek, but I also think a day in such a beautiful village will be worth it.  As the Canadian hikers said to us, “At the end of such a beautiful trek, you don’t want to go home, even though it has been tough as Hell.”  They are correct, the mountain beauty surpasses the pain in our legs.  

Haute Route Day 9

02-08-2016  Haute Route Day 9

      
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Cabane du Moirey to Zinal

11.6 Kilometers

Lodging: Hotel Auberge Alpina 120 Suisse Franc for the "Royal Suite" which slept all four of us comfortably.

Haute Route Day 9 Google Earth File

Click on the link above and download it to your computer.  Then, open Google Earth and manually open and you can see the trail in 3D.

Cabane du Moirey to Zinal

Today we woke up early for breakfast in a restaurant with the best view ever!  I ate my bread and jam while drinking coffee looking out the window at the giant ice fall.  My legs were tired, but used to the pain, and the breakfast got my blood flowing for the massive descent that would be soon to come.

Our friend we saw on the way down.

Katherine and I left a little before Anne and Thomas, since we go quite a bit slower down the steeps.  On the way down, we had stellar views of the valley all the way down to the lake.  My favorite was this knife ridge walk that wasn’t really scary, but just felt really fun.  It really forced you to feel where you were and how small we really are.  Anne and Thomas soon caught up with us, and Thomas continued down the trail at break-neck speed.  We wondered where he was going until we came to a little glacial lake and saw the crazy man going for a morning swim.  The air temperature was nowhere near warm yet, probably in the upper 40s, but the lake must have been just above freezing.  That will wake you up!

Little knife ridge.

We continued back along the path from yesterday until we almost arrived at the parking lot, where the trail split, and Anne and Thomas took the lower route.  They decided to take the bus around to Zinal and meet us at the next location, while Katherine and I took the trail that paralleled the lake about a thousand feet above.  We still had to cross another col, but it was supposed to be a light climb.  To us, that wasn’t really the case.  It was still a grind, but we took it slow and admired the views and pressed on.

Water troughs for the cattle.

Looking back towards Lac du Moiry.

After about 7 kilometers, we arrived at the trail down to the “barrage” or dam.  We took the trail up to Col de Sorbois.  On the top, it was a little windy and we pressed over into the ski resort.  This is where we met up with day hikers and found a hidden area in the grass for our celebratory col crossing meal, or lunch as most call it.

Col de Sorbois

With our tired legs, we made it down to the top of a giant cable car that brings people up to the ski resort from the town of Zinal.  We had a cold beverage and took the car down to save the weight on our legs.  The attendant at Cabane de Moiry gave us a card for the area which had access to free rides.  Since neither of us like the down hills the choice was a no brainer and we happily took the car down to Zinal.

Oh, the cable car ride!

The ride was quick and smooth offering views of the giant mountains.  What would have taken us 2 hours to descend, now took 10 minutes in the cable car.  That puts things into perspective.  The marmots were in the grass of the steep hillside, so we could see them running around under our ride.  

Little Village of Zinal, with Thomas representing!

Our Hobbit house.

At the bottom we were happily greeted by Thomas and Anne.  He did his timing well and knew our pace, so he guessed correctly which car we would be on.  He told us all about the “Hobbit” house we were staying in that night and wanted to do a grocery run for the next day.  

The "Hiker Guy" sticker was everywhere, and that was one way to know you were on the correct trail.

Wazzup hiker dude!?!?

Our chalet was past the center of town in a quiet peaceful area.  I hit my head a few times inside and had to stay hunched over for most of the time, but it was nice to have a private accommodation.  The bathroom was interesting, and I will leave it at that.

We had dinner in the front building of the complex.  No low ceiling here!  We sat down with other hikers and had a feast.  The owner was quite interesting with an entire rum display of homemade concoctions.  It looked like a laboratory experiment with spices in clear jars and many various colors.  Everything in the eating area was a little quirky.  Maybe he has been cooped up for too long in his mountain hideout?

I laid down for bed under my drying laundry with the space heater on to dry out the air since it was very humid.  As the night went on, it got warm, but our clothes were dry. 

The store had an epic chocolate aisle. 

Tomorrow, we will head to Gruben and say goodbye to our French hiking buddies.  They have to get back for work, which is understandable, or is it the German speaking Switzerland that weirds them out?  I don’t know.  Their French has helped us along the trail for sure.  The French-German speaking line in Switzerland is quite precise.  Tomorrow’s hike, over the col, defines the language boundary.  We will miss Anne and Thomas.  Hiking together has been an absolute blast, and we can’t wait to plan another trip soon.

Charge 'em up!

The laboratory. 

Haute Route Day 7 and 8

31-07-2016 Haute Route Day 7

      
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Rest Day in Arolla

Today we slept in, did laundry, ate, shopped, and rested more for the following day’s hike.  Our legs were really tired and rest was just what the doctor ordered.   We sampled some interesting chocolate from the grocery store and a few rain clouds passed over.  We all needed a day off and enjoyed every moment of the nothing we did.  Tomorrow’s hike is no easy matter as we have to gain altitude, cross over the Col du Forclaz and then ascend again to make our way to the best hut on the trek:  Cabane de Moiry.  The hut is situated high on a perch overlooking a giant ice fall at 2800 meters.  Rest up!

Ibex "European Mount" in the hotel restaurant

One of the fighting cowbells on display in the restaurant.  We later found out that they can cost around $800-$1200.  Wow!

01-08-2016 Haute Route Day 8

Arolla to Cabane de Moiry (omitted the walking stage from Arolla to La Sage)

 10.7 Kilometers

Lodging: Cabane de Moiry 83 Suisse Francs for a dorm room, Dinner, and Breakfast

Haute Route Day 8 Google Earth File

Click on the link above and download it to your computer.  Then, open Google Earth and manually open and you can see the trail in 3D.

Forclaz to Cabane de Moiry

Today’s trek included a little help from a vehicle.  We did not realize August 1st is Suisse independence day, and all the lodging in La Sage was booked when we called 3 days before.  The only place with room required a 2 night stay and wanted to charge a ton of cash.  Since we were unable to find lodging in Le Sage we stayed 2 nights in Arolla, allowing us a much needed rest day yesterday, and bypassed the walk from Arolla to La Sage.  We began hiking a little past Le Sable in the village of Forclaz.  Our hotel owner lady (I didn’t get her name) drove us to the trailhead.  The entire time she talked with Anne and Tomas about the history of the area.  She even took us past our destination to show us a little more than we expected about the buildings and give us some information about her childhood.  I knew for sure that these mountains influence people in many ways, and she was telling us all about it.  

Once we departed, the hike started off steep and wet.  We were in a cloud most of the time and  we kept wondering if we were going to need our rain gear or not.  Luckily, the rain only threatened as we kept heading uphill towards the col.  

Anne and Thomas navigating through the cows.

Quickly, we arose out of the treelike and were in a stand off with cows.  No surprise, these were the familiar bell toting, behemoth, swiss gems.  They were right in the trail!  So, we nicely walked around them and went on our way.  They never really bother you, but some have pungent smells.

The entire morning we saw a false summit.  It is always discouraging to think you are almost at your goal only to see you have more to climb.  We tried to keep our spirits high when we crested the fake col and kept trudging.  

After reaching the Col du Tsate, we had a bite to eat in the wind shelter of rock.  Still looking for edelweiss, we continued down the trail towards the Lac de la Bayenna, which  was small and filled with fresh snowmelt.  Yes, another time to fill up our water bladders. 

Katherine descending from the col.

Our first good look at the icefall.

Once we started our descent we could see the lake of the Moiry Glacier, and WAYYYY up hill was the Cabane de Moiry looking at us and grinning!  We had to descend to the lake, and then gain all the altitude again heading right for the cabin.  This is a place where day trekkers can park or take the bus to start a wonderful day trek.  That means, lots of fresh hikers with strong legs on the train while beat up dudes like us slowly trudge by.  Kids, dogs, and people of all ages were on the trail.  

Katherine making the trek across the snowfield.

The whole hike up, I was thinking about how cool this cabin must be.  I had seen pictures, but it is worth so much more to get a glimpse in person when you have “earned the view.”  Taking the last switchback, of what seemed like 1,000, we made it to the cabin.  The crumbling ice field was in view and quite a massive glacier.  This was totally worth it.  Anne and Tomas came up behind and basked in the view.  

Thomas coming up the grueling ascent. 

Our room was a comfortable group dorm of 12 beds.  The 4 of us took the top bunks and laid out our gear and headed down for dinner.  Dinner was served at long tables in a room with floor to ceiling glass windows looking towards the ice field.  It was a great place to watch the setting sun.  It doesn’t get much better than this!

Our view from the edge of the patio.

This particular cabin is a giant stepping off point for alpine mountaineers.  They drive, or take the bus to the lower parking lot, make it to the cabin for the night, and then have a wonderland of climbs to set off upon.  On our particular night, there were only a few climbers, but I can see this place filling up when the conditions are great.  I can surely see the appeal of these huts, even though you pay for it!  Food and supplies are flown in by helicopter, so the price is actually fair I guess. 

This was our seat for dinner. 

Tomorrow’s hike takes us back along the lake and over a col to Zinal.  Anne and Thomas have to head back to Paris, so tomorrow will be our final full day together.  It will be lonely on the trail without them after all the good days we have had, but when work calls, I guess you gotta go!   

Haute Route Day 6

30-07-2016  Haute Route Day 6

      
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Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla

 17.8 Kilometers

Lodging: Hotel Aiguille de la Tza 100 Suisse Franc for a double room, shared bathroom, and breakfast. We stayed 2 nights.

Haute Route Day 6 Google Earth File

Click on the link above and download it to your computer.  Then, open Google Earth and manually open and you can see the trail in 3D.

Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla

We left Cabana de Prafleuri at 6:05am after accidentally waking up our roommates and eating a quick breakfast.  We slept in a 7 person dorm with a couple from Boston with their 11 year old son whom we first met at Cabana du Mont Fort.  Katherine awoke 10 minutes before our alarm was set to go off and gave it to me.  When it rang I thought I turned it off and left the room to go downstairs and clean up.  What I did not know is that I left the alarm on.  It went off, and only Thomas was still in the room, but the other group of 3 from Boston were still sleeping.  Oops!  Thomas finally woke up, not from the alarm that had been going off for 10 minutes, but from our roommate searching for the source of the sound.  Thomas finally turned it off and we got the heck out of Dodge.  I don’t think we made any friends this morning.  Sorry Boston friends! 

Our trek today took us up to Col des Roux and over the ladders of Pas de Chevre.  It was a long demanding hike with a short, steep col crossing right out of the cabin area.  The second pass has had Katherine nervous for a few weeks.  It previously had a serious of four ladders up a vertical rock face that look pretty scary in photos, but was the better, easier option than the very loose natural col.   We heard that there are now 2 new ladders connected with platforms that were completed in 2014. I guess we will see what’s up there since we have no option but to cross over the saddle one way or another.  

We passed the first col 20 minutes after leaving the hut.  As we crossed over and saw lake Dix, and we heard the high-pitched chirp of some ibex.  They sound a lot like birds, but very loud.  We were caught between a mother and her baby.  I thought this might be a bad idea, so we kept moving quickly past so as not to spook the mother.  I did not want to find out how useful those horns are. 

Lac des Dix

A stern looking ibex!

As the trail took us around an artificial lake we ran into many fighting cows.  Their bells were creating quite a racket and some squared off to us in the trail.  There was a Japanese couple on the trail with us for a while that asked us to take their photo.  I think they were some of the “wild campers” we saw in the distance.  The rule in Switzerland is that wild camping is illegal, but we saw a few tents out in the early morning.  If you get up early and pack up the tent you can evade capture!

At the south end of the lake we saw the exit of the water from the hydroelectric facility.  The glacial melt from the surrounding area created a giant rush of water.  It was an awesome sight.

Our little marmot friend.  These guys were all over the trails in the mornings. 

We slowly made our way across a barren area and up to a little platform.  Then the slug began.  The trail suddenly got difficult to read and the pitch greatly steepened.  We were almost to the pass, but first had a 50 meter class 3 scramble.  The Danish couple in front of us kicked down a few rocks and was having a rough time, even letting out some “yelps” as their footing slipped.  Earlier in the day, we could see the new ladders and platforms through our binoculars.  They looked much less scary than the old ladders.  We thought, “We’ve got this.”  Anne and Thomas were in front of us and made it to the top without  a problem.  Ss we approached the ladders, Thomas came down without his pack to kindly help Katherine with hers.  We were lucky, the ladders steel was super secure, not wet, and not cold.  That was ideal.

On the top… we got our first glimpse of the Matterhorn, many miles in the distance.

The top of a difficult col is a place to talk, eat, and celebrate!

Descending, we got a little special treat:  our first edelweiss!  After many days of strict attention to the flora, it finally paid off.  

Not my photo, but this is what a single edelweiss looks like. 

The drop in elevation to the village of Arolla was a lot of work on our knees.  We briefly stopped in a ski resort area for a chance to rest and relax.  Thomas and Anne went straight for the tarts again, which they claim is not dessert, but a meal in it’s own!  I rested in my favorite Coca-Cola lounger as the USA guided crew came careening down the switchbacks.  

Notice the slate roofs.  They were everywhere and last very, very long.

We then packed up our gear, righted ourselves, and went to the village in search of the hotel.  Thomas had a reservation, and we accidentally went to the incorrect address of the hotel’s second location.  Oops.  This meant a little more backtracking and asking a few questions.  We were beat, and needed food replenishments.  After loading up from the local market, our hotel was reached and we rested again, cleaned up, and made our way to dinner.  Anne decided that this was the night for fondue.  It’s typically a winter meal, but while in Switzerland as a tourist, it was go time!  Plus, the temperatures outside were about the typical Las Vegas winter time temperatures.  After a tasty meal we barely made it back to our rooms before falling asleep.

Anne greeting us as the rain came down.

Tomorrow will be a rest day to do some laundry and enjoy the mountains… from our porch!  

Katherine and Thomas working out logistics for the upcoming days.