DAY 11_HOTEL WEISSHORN TO GRUBEN

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DAY 11: HOTEL WEISSHORN (7667 FT) TO GRUBEN (5978 FT)

(Alternate Stage 11a; via Meidpass, 9154 ft)

For the second day in a row we slept very well and woke up at 6:45am. Ate a huge breakfast at the hotel: bread, jam, (lots of) butter, ham, salami, cheese, muesli, corn flakes, yogurt, tea, coffee, Ovalmaltine, hot chocolate, and very nicely cooked soft-boiled eggs. The stay at Hotel Weisshorn was by far the most expensive of our trek, but it was a worthwhile splurge. If you go, just don’t expect a fancy room or decor. Character, it has some.

The weather was sunny and warm as we set out around 9:15am and remained that way for the remainder of our trek. The approach to Meidpass (9154 ft) was mostly snow free except for the last few hundred feet. Because the itinerary for today’s hike was relatively short, we took many more breaks than we usually do and arrived at the top of the pass around noon. There were magnificent views of the Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, sneak peaks of the Matterhorn, and even a glimpse of Mt. Blanc in the distance. We ate our usual lunch at the top of the pass: sandwiches (salami and cheese), apples, and chocolates. There was a large group of guided hikers, and also a middle-aged Korean couple with an older American man and their young guide.

Meidpass marks a linguistic boundary between the French and German-speaking regions of Switzerland. So it was “Bonjour!” going up and “Gutentag!” on the way down. The descent from Meidpass was not terribly steep but very snowy, with some spots colored dark red by an alpine fungi (a phenomenon known as “watermelon snow”). We took a short detour to a crystal clear tarn, where Fan was tempted to take a dip but ultimately dissuaded by the freezing cold water. Bleeping sheep grazed nearby, just out of sight.

We strolled into the small village of Gruben (5978 ft) around 2:45pm and checked into Hotel Schwarzhorn. Our room was at the attic level with a nice south-facing view of the Turtmanntal valley. We relaxed with a beer and Rivella in the hotel garden. The concierge kindly made a reservation for us at Pension Walliserkeller in St. Niklaus for tomorrow night, and we ordered two picnic lunches to go for tomorrow.

We were starving by 5pm but had to wait until 6:30pm for dinner at the hotel: vegetable soup, salad, beef and mushroom stew over perfectly cooked rice, and caramel flan with whipped cream to finish it all off. Fan sipped a glass of pinot noir with restraint and occasionally glanced at Jie with a slight hint of disdain as she wolfed down her courses one after another like the uncivilized person that she can be when extremely hungry. The steep mountains that hugged the Turtmanntal valley slowly melted away in the fading rays of the sun. Flickering candle light danced on the dining tables. Going back upstairs after dinner, horrendous smelling muddy hiking boots and wet socks along the hallway guarded the entrance to the sleeping quarters. We went to bed early around 8:15pm.

5.6 miles, 5.5 hours.