HAUTE ROUTE_2013

DAY 12: GRUBEN (5978 FT) TO ST. NIKLAUS (3697 FT)

(Stage 12; via Augstbordpass, 9495 ft)

 

We slept like logs last night and woke up at 6am to a sunny and cool morning. Breakfast was at 6:30am at the hotel and consisted of the usual.  We bought a couple of picnic lunches (sandwiches, eggs, apples, juice, chocolates) and hit the trail at 7:20am. The hike out of Gruben was steep but not too difficult. We saw several groups on the trail from the hotel and the past few days.

 

We arrived at the top of Augstbordpass (9495 ft) at 10:35am and took a short break. Fan worked on his tan for a while, and we shared one sandwich, an apple and some chocolate. From the top of Augstbordpass we had a great view of the Fletschhorn in the distance, and immediately before us a rocky valley with snow tainted by red alpine fungi. The Augstbordpass, which connects the Turtmanntal and the Mattertal valleys, marked the eleventh and final pass of our Haute Route hike. The ascent was tiring and a bit snowy, but our fatigue was tempered by the bittersweet realization that this was the last pass we would have to tackle on the trek.

 

We stopped for lunch around noon at a boulder overlooking a stream and the valley below. Ate two more sandwiches, apples, hard boiled eggs, chocolate, apple juice, and orange juice. We then hiked along an exposed rock-strewn trail on the north face of the Steitelgrat. As the trail turned south we were greeted with breaktaking views of the Mattertal valley and glacier-draped peaks. The panorama from the Twara viewpoint was easily one of the highlights of the entire trip. Tiny villages speckled the dark green valley floor, clung to steep valley walls, and the dark blue Dom (at 14,911 ft, the tallest peak situated entirely within Switzerland), Nadelhorn, and Lenzspitze peaks towered over the Ried glacier across the valley to the east. To the south, the Brunegghorn and Weisshorn dominated the west side of the valley.

 

The view from the Twara viewpoint was so fervently anticipated by all hikers that during the final few hundred feet of the approach a large group of French-speaking women started speed-hiking in order to beat us to the viewpoint.  We thought it was comical and gladly let them pass us to enjoy the iconic viewpoint first before taking our turns posing for the camera.

 

Leaving the Twara viewpoint, the trail descended along large flat slabs that served as a mule path. Shortly thereafter we arrived at the scene of an accident that had occurred minutes earlier. A 67-old male from San Francisco had fallen off the trail (due to fatigue, according to a middle-aged Korean couple that was hiking with him and their American guide), down a steep grassy slope perhaps 20-30 feet, and appeared to be seriously injured. The guide waved at and communicated by cell phone with a rescue helicopter as it dropped off a medical personnel. The group of French-speaking hikers rested under a tree and looked on quietly. We debated whether to stop and help with the rescue operation or continue on, and after a few minutes eventually decided to continue. The rescue helicopter was already on the scene, and we had no expertise that would have been of any use. The whole experience was a sobering reminder of the importance of hiking carefully on the trail, especially over exposed terrain.

 

We continued down the valley and passed through the tiny village of Jungen, where Fan chatted with a friendly white goat behind a wooden door. During the final descent to St. Niklaus we saw an ibex perched on a cliff above a small alter (one of many we saw) carved into the rock.

 

We arrived at St. Niklaus around 4:45pm and happened upon a wedding at the onion-domed 17-th century church.  Pension Walliserkeller offered us a cute room with a sink, shower, two single beds, and a view overlooking the Monte Rosa restaurant, which is where we ended up for dinner after a relaxing walk around historic downtown.  (St. Niklaus is the home of several famous guiding families of the Golden Age of Mountaineering and, naturally, a mountain guide museum. Unfortunately the museum was closed during our visit.) For dinner we had a beer and Rivella to start, then steak with mushrooms, veggies, and rosti (Fan), and rosti with two eggs and green salad (Jie), all washed down with glasses of pinot noir and dole. The food was delicious, and we really enjoyed the slow relaxing dinner.

 

 

We asked the host at Pension Walliserkeller to make a reservation for us at the Europa Hut for the day after tomorrow, because it’s supposedly very popular and vacancies quickly fill up. Washed up and went to bed around 8:45pm.

 

10 miles, 9.5 hours. Fantastic weather, sunny, low 80s.