Back to civilisation

I had hiked four glaciers and conquered two mountain tops. But now it was time to get back to normal. Unfortunately!

The morning after my Mönch adventure I woke up, took it easy, packed my stuff and said goodbye to the very kind lady at the campsite reception. And then embarked on the trip to normality.

Dramatic skies guide me on my way to the railway station

Originally I would be one day longer in the mountains, get back to the campsite, and then the next morning get up really really early, and go directly to Geneva airport. With the changed plans, though, I could take it more easy; I would get to Geneva the night before my flight, and could have a lie-in.

Soon after I entered the train to Interlaken the rain was hammering down. I had left in time! All the way to Geneva the trip was otherwise very uneventful. In Geneva, however, I had to somehow find my way to the camp site. There were issues with a bus you had to phone; the camp site was quite remote. And there is a lot that can go wrong with that. To summarise: the trip that should have taken me half an hour took me about two and a half hours. But I got there.

Not Switzerland at its prettiest

I got to the very quiet camping and pitched my tent. Soon later a chap in a caravan offered me a beer. A beer! Chaps in caravans might not necessarily be best met with encouragement, but I craved a beer… and it was even nice to have a beer with the guy, and chat a bit. He also showed me the river next to the camp site. But that had probably been too much; I spent the rest of the evening actively keeping to myself, as he got too pushy to my taste. I figured until then I had been quite lucky with who I’d met…

My tent on the final campsite

The next morning the chap was gone, and I spent my last hours with another tourist from the UK, who occupied the tent next to me and who was on biking holiday. That was better! We helped each other finishing our supplies (he would fly back that day too), and together burned off my excess fuel (not necessarily in accordance with strict H&S standards, but hey, it worked). And then it was time to go to the airport…

I used an abandoned check-in counter to weigh my backpack. It was 1.2 kg too heavy! Luckily my pots, pans and filling were 1.2 kg, and I had space in my hand luggage, so that was easily solved. And then I could read Dostoyevsky until I touched down on UK ground again.

Neil had kept his Saturday free for me, which was great, but it was only Thursday. Luckily he texted inquiring after my whereabouts that very evening; his activities for the night had been cancelled, and he had time for me! So my bag was left half-unpacked, but only a few hours after reaching Plymouth I knocked on his door. It’s not the same as standing on a 4000+ mountain, but it’s very good as well! I think I can get used to being back…

On top of the conference

The INQUA conference (INQUA stands for International Union for Quaternary Research), which was the reason I came to Switzerland in the first place, had decided to turn the Alpine skyline of Bern into its logo. To be more specific; they used the characteristic silhouette of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. So a week after the conference I was standing in the middle of the logo! I liked that.

Climbing the Mönch

The text message from the hike organiser with the name and contact details of my mountain guide for the next adventure made me believe I would be negotiating the thin air with an actual Swiss this time. And indeed! As he didn’t have to come from far away we gathered at the same place where I felt I had met my glacier companions ages ago, but this time at 9AM. This meant taking the busy train up. And soon I shook the hand of Daniel, the guy who would lead me beyond 4000m. And soon as well the hand of Maria, the Brazilian lady and other participant. Minutes later we were standing outside.

The view from station Eigerwand; it's Grindelwald! This is the window I could see from my tent.

The surroundings of Jungfraujoch were bathing in sunlight again. Notice in the distance a grid of tents; this was some encampment where equipment by Mammut, which celebrated its 150th anniversary, was tested.

With no chance of starting at 7AM we had missed the firm snow. In the heat we geared up; this time we would be wearing crampons from the beginning. This time I had made sure I had brought my summer gear; a thin shirt and white sleeves. No sunburn, but no heat exhaustion either!

Ready to climb!

Maria is helped into her crampons

Maria was loudly wondering why on Earth she had gotten herself into this predicament, so she got roped in in the middle. Daniel kept a very short stretch of rope between us; I would spend quite some moments fearing I would get Maria’s crampons in my face or through my hands, but it never happened. And we were off. From Jungfraujoch you can just walk to the ridge of the Mönch that leads to the top, so soon we were trudging through snow with steep slopes on both sides. But it would get better; here and there the rock peeked out through the snow, and that had to be climbed with crampons on. A bit awkward! But you get used to it fast.

 The view soon is beautiful.

After a few intervals of snow and rock Daniel announced a break. I decided it was a good time for a cup of coffee, and made it happen. While we were thus engaged one rope group after the other came past; on such a beautiful day many people venture up. One man leading a group started sniffing conspicuously when he came past: he smelled my coffee! I offered him some, which he happily accepted. Daniel didn’t want any; he said it would make him need to go to the toilet. A fair comment; it was already two hours since Jungfraujoch, and I was already starting to feel the pressure. A narrow ridge at altitude, however, is not a good place to do something about that, and Daniel wouldn’t let me. Luckily I have a strong bladder.

Many rope groups on the ridge

Climbing on crampons; the bloke in the stripey hat is Daniel, our mountain guide.

Soon we were on our way again. More snowy ridges, more clambering over rocks; sometimes doing a little rope-avoiding dance where many rope groups going in both directions met. But climbers tend to be kind and social people and all was well.

Going to the top!

I have to look where I'm going and can't look into the camera, but that doesn't stop me from taking pictures. Accidentally also of a Japanese rope group just behind me.

One has to make sure not to stand on these overhanging slabs of snow...

Fairly soon we were up. 4107m; my personal record! Only 145m higher than the Äbeni Fluh, but still, a record. We wouldn’t stay long; it was way too busy there! But there was time for mountain top kisses (that either is a Swiss tradition, or Daniel made us believe that; either way, I’m Dutch, I’m not complaining), some pictures, some admiration, and something perhaps to eat and drink. And then we accepted the way back.

The view from the top! Once again the Aletsch glacier.

Mountain guides always go on top; on the way up they lead, on the way down they guard the rear. That meant I now was the bellwether! I liked the job. I soon got a feeling, through the tension on the rope, how fast i should go so Maria would be comfortable too. The snow was really soft now, and we did a fair bit of sliding, but nothing disconcerting.

Some bits are steep

When we reached the first climb down I realised halfway Daniel wanted us to abseil down, instead of climb down. I preferred climbing, but I am an obsequious girl and sailed down the steep rocks at high speed. And as walking down the snowy ridges is easier than walking up we made good headway. In a way it was a waste to rush down; one should enjoy such a mountain! On the other hand, I was getting fairly fried by the relentless sun in the thinner-than-ever air. And around 2.30 we were down again. I made sure the first thing I did was empty my bladder.

Daniel had other things to do, and was off after some more kissing. I was hungry by now, and wanted to have some lunch with the stunning view, which I would soon have to leave. Maria wanted to be out of there.

Back down! We started at this flag.

Eating my sandwich I noticed I had really been blasted a bit too much by the sun. I decided to not stay long, but instead head back to the railway station. When I reached it I saw to my dismay that half the world seemed to want to have that train; obediently I took my place in the queue, waited more than half an hour, entered the packed train, and tried to sit down without hurting anyone with my crampons and ice axe. The adventure was over!

The dark tunnels bring solace from the bright sun

I wasn't the only one who wanted to go down again...

I ended up chatting with a Genevese couple, which was good as I had decided to go to Geneva the next day, and around 6PM I was back in Grindelwald. I managed to give my equipment back at the officially closed office, and acquired some information on Genevese camp sites. Mission accomplished! Time to go back to the camping.

At the camping people gave me strange looks. When I looked in the mirror I figured why; my eyelids were massive. I looked like I had been crying my eyes out! I really had been fried by the sun. It didn’t feel very comfortable. When I got a text message after having gone to bed the looking at the radiant little screen made my eyes hurt, and made them water even more.

The having-cried-all-night-look I ended ip with...

I think I need new sunglasses... I had had a good time, and these should not be the last glaciers and mountains I roam! But next time I should come off looking like I’m actually enjoying myself. Since I am!

Glaciers as far as the eye can see II

(Continued from the previous post)
It was midway my post-conference glacier hike, I was lying in a bed in a hut at 3240m, while before this Alpine adventure I had never been higher than 3000m, and I had another restless night. Not only because there was a snoring German about 1.5 metre away; mainly because of the thin, dry air. I woke up with a headache. Gordon, our Scottish adventurer, felt even worse. Stephan didn’t suffer from the altitude, but he was burdened by his imminent return to work, and both men decided to skip the next leg of the hike: to the Äbeni Flue and back. I just drank my headache away with coffee and was ready to rock. Kristin even didn’t need to drink anything away; by 7AM Stefan the mountain guide had roped up his ladies and we were go. This day the landscape was even whiter and more magical than before.

From the hut you could see the Mont Blanc bathing in the pink morning light 

 We were gone by 7, but another rope group managed to be gone even earlier

The first part of the route was steep

Stefan's girl-only rope group 

The fairytale landscape we traversed

At this early hour the snow was still hard and easy to walk on, and at ~9.30 we were at the top, at 3962m. The view was amazing! We admired it for an hour, eating and drinking something as well, and then we went back down. Kristin was in the lead and she legged it. Even though it was a hot day (I was grossly overdressed but didn’t dare take anything off in fear of sunburn), the snow didn’t get mushy until we were within a few hundred metres from the hut. Before midday we were back!

Way before the top the view was already stunning

At the top!

There was a trail made by a party on an earlier day, but we had made a prettier one with more zigzags

Almost back!

Crevasses can be really pretty.

We were greeted by the sight of Gordon and Stephan in deck chairs drinking beer. They didn’t expect us back that soon! But minutes later we had a beer in front of us as well. And then Stefan vanished; on this hot day he wanted to give a snow shower a try. I’m spreading the faith! Of course he liked it. I took the next turn; just in time, or just too late, for good manners; I was just dry when a rope group appeared around a bend. Not sure how sharp their eyes were but I made sure I hurried on some underwear...

Sitting in the sun sipping a beer Stefan, who knew I was up for another glacier hike after this one, said he thought I shouldn’t. He said it would be too boring; I should go climb a 4000+ mountain instead! The same organisation that offered the glacier hikes also offered guided ascents of the Mönch, and he said I was a strong woman and do that instead. I was flattered, saw his point, and got the relevant phone number off him. The lady on the phone quickly figured who I was and uttered her surprise at my initial choice, and agreed with Stefan that Mönch would be a better idea. They climb Mönch with one or two tourists per mountain guide; one on one is unaffordable, and they didn’t have anyone lined up for the coming days. I would have to phone later...

The altitude and the heat had taken it out on me; I decided to have a siesta, and by the time I reappeared a game of Cockroach Poker was already laid out. And then dinner followed. And more beer and an evaluation; we were all quite happy with how things had gone! For Stefan it was a first timer to have a mixed German-and English-speaking group, but all had gone well. And on that note we did some more cockroach-related lying to each other, and then it was time for bed. And indeed reader; another restless night with dry mouth and fast heart rate. Oh well. Next day the coffee would sort it again.

The view in the early morning

The coffee did what it was supposed to do, and the next day we were again on the move at 7AM. Our itinerary would be simple: just down, down, back to civilization. And it went fast; again the snow was still hard. Where the snow vanished and the ice appeared we put on our crampons for the first time; the ice was rather rough, but here it was so steep that some extra grip would not be superfluous. Still in the shadow we walked the last ice of this fading glacier. And soon after we reached the sun we not only found the first flowers, but also reached the terminus of the glacier. It was majestic; the ice opened up in a wide vault, through which a stream flowed. I was in awe. Stefan saw me look, and asked if I wanted to go in. Go in? Is the pope catholic?

In what way is a melting glacier different from an abandoned mine? They both are inherently unstable. And so far I get away with running around in both. The tunnel was spectacular! I was in my element, taking pictures with my otherwise hardly needed waterproof camera. And soon the glacier gave a warning; with deafening roar part of the wall collapsed. Not a part near us... but it was a reason to not linger too long.

The pile of ice is the stuff that came down while we were there!

Once out of the glacier I changed into my shorts, and had lunch. And then we were off again. Stefan seemed to smell the stable; he marched to the nearest hamlet with determination. Maybe it was the beer served there that urged him on; thanks to his speed there was just time for one bottle before the bus took us further down. The hike was at an end! Sad. But that’s how it goes.

The glacier had made way for a stream, and the jackets for T-shirts

Back into the gratuitous Alpine flowers!

And then it was over; I took this picture from the bus stop in Fafleralp...

The bus took us to the train, and the train took us to separation. In Spiez Gordon, Stefan and I got off, waving the Germans goodbye. Gordon stayed in Spiez while Stefan and I had to go on to Grindelwald, so he was the next to be hugged goodbye. And then there were only two. In Grindelwald I suggested a final beer, which was met with enthusiasm, and then we went together to the office where we could give the equipment back, and where I could inquire after the Mönch climb. And it worked out! They had found another woman, and we would go up the next day. Excellent! It did mean I could immediately take back the crampons and the harness...

Excited I said goodbye to Stefan, bought some extra strong sun cream, and went back to the camping. I pitched my tent again on the now very full camp site, ate something, and went to bed early. Finally, a night below 1000m! I was in bed by 9. And I woke up again at 10.15. It was August the 1st; the Swiss national day! Fireworks lit up the evening sky. I admired them for a few minutes and went back to bed. I was glad these Swiss celebrate with poise and constraint! Undisturbed I slept off the first part of my Alpine adventure. I needed strength for the second...

Glaciers as far as the eye can see Part I

On the day I would start my 4-day glacier hike it wasn’t raining. A good start! I got up, had breakfast, packed the stuff I didn’t need up there and stored it in some room kindly provided by the campsite, and went to the railway station. The route is very scenic, until it goes underground. It does have, as the window in the Eiger bears witness to, some stations with a viewpoint. I sat next to some Germans, who had done a similar route the days before, and who showed me some very enticing pictures. I hoped I would see some of that too... at one of the stations one of them got out, went to the viewpoint, came back, said “nur Nebel” and sat down again. Hmm.

The railway station where it all started

With lots of Asian tourists this is in practice the view

The last viewpoint before Jungfraujoch I gave it a try too. We had ended up above the clouds! The weather was brilliant. This might be better that I had expected. And when I got out at Jungfraujoch it was brilliant still. I enjoyed the view for some minutes before I went to look for the guide we would meet there. When I arrived at the meeting point I saw a very outdoorsy guy; it turned out not to be the guide, but it was one of the other participants: Gordon, a Scot. Minutes later another outdoorsy guy appeared, accompanied by a ditto woman, and he introduced himself as Stephan. The guide, this time? No; another participant (or rather two), just by coincidence carrying the same name. This was a married couple from Frankfurt; the lady was called Kristin. The next to show up actually was the mountain guide, who announced this was it; we would be 5 in total. He quickly distributed crampons, snowshoes, and whatnot, took us outside, tied us into the rope, and led us into das Weisse hinein.

The view from station Eismeer; that's more like it!

Jungfraujoch with its railway station and observatory

The rope group kitting up! From left to right: Kristin, Stefan, Gordon, and Stephan.

The first day we would just walk down the Jungfraufirn to the Konkordiaplatz, where four glaciers come together, and above which the Konkordia Hut towers. The sky was clear, the view stunning, the walking good. Gordon turned out to be an excellent crevasse detector, to his slight embarrassment, though it never got dangerous. Stefan made stepping over the crevasses, whether clearly visible or not, look easy with his long legs, but I soon found out it actually was, even with short legs. What he can step over I can jump over! I was a bit intimidated by the relentless sun and the thin air; I needed to keep drinking to avoid a headache. But it was beautiful!

My view forward

And my view back

We didn’t walk straight; in order to avoid having to cross a substantial stream at the glacier surface we kept to the northeast, crossing the Ewigschneefäld. And then we were close to our goal! The Konkordia hut was built in 1877 right at the glacier, but in the 134 years that had passed quite some ice had melted, and now the hut was perched on a bone dry rock about 150m above the glacier. A steel staircase had been bolted into the rock, and every few years they had to add some more to the base. It was quite a climb in the thin air, but then we were rewarded by an amazing view! And a beer. What more does one want.

The stream we wanted to avoid. It's difficult to guess the scale, but one could easily kayak on it...

Gordon negotiates a smaller stream

The hut is in sight!

I'm happy...

Pretty glacier table

What it takes to get to the hut. I guess they disn't see this coming in 1877...

The view from the hut: the Konkordiaplatz!

Well-deserved!

Soon it was dinner time. I managed to wash before then; a luxury, as there is hardly any water there, but there was a wash cabin with a small trickle. Enough! After dinner I did find out another disadvantage of the location of the hut: drinking water was CHF 5 per litre! With my normal water consumption pattern this would turn out to be a very expensive trip. But what can one do.

Some sort of Alpine bird you see a lot around these huts. I saw a dormouse too!

From the hut you could see the Aletsch glacier snake its way through the valley

I didn’t sleep very well that night. Maybe it was the thin and dry air. But the view was enough to keep anyone motivated, regardless of their sleep record. We were on our way early, and we started out on a very even part of the glacier, meaning we didn’t initially need the rope. Freedom for taking pictures! Nice, given that the glacial streams, glacier tables and middle moraines were very photogenic, especially in the continuing sunshine.

After a while we reached the part of the Grosser Aletschfirn with crevasses; that meant back into the rope. We could by then see a small blob on the horizon that was the next hut, and menacing clouds piling up behind it. These stayed there, though; we continued our hike though sunshine in a white world. Soon we were at the hut; 20m away from it Gordon found his last crevasse, and then we were in. This hut was standing in the snow, so I could have me a proper snow shower (to the amazement of the others), and of course the after-hike-beer wasn’t lacking. As we had started much earlier than the previous day we were in much earlier as well; there was time for drinking Apfelpunch, reading, writing letters, playing Cockroach Poker and whatever else we felt like. It was very cosy! It got even cosier when it started to snow. Inside it was warm and dry. And we were already halfway down the trip... to be continued!

In the distance one can see the hut with a backdrop of dark clouds

The view from the Hollandia Hut

Stephan and Stefan know how to celebrate arrival

A warm bowl of Apfelpunch in the cosy hut

This is what late July looks like at 3000+ m

Dinner time

Well-organised sleeping quarters... of course, we're in Switzerland!