The long flight home

So I had a 7:15 flight from Geneva this morning.  All seemed to be going well because the City Hostel have me a free transport pass, the train station is a six min walk from the hostel and there were at least two possible trains that I could take. 

I got to the airport in plenty of time but I was really tired as I hadn't slept well. The room was pretty warm. 

I caught my flight. I arrived in Amsterdam. It was pretty far to where I needed to go. However I seemed to make it in a reasonable time. I even went through passport control pretty quickly. However I then needed to go through two addition screenings. I am not exactly sure what they were but they moved very slowly. Iade it on the plane with only a few minutes to spare. 

Once on the plane I realized that my sub port and my entertainment system were not working. The captain announced a 30 minute delay due to weather. After that he announced that we had a hydrolyic  problem.   He moved our plane off the run way. They checked to problem and determined that we had lost all the hydrolyic fluid in one system. They then said that they needed to locate the part and fix it but there would be a problem with crew time (they would exceed the limit) A Delta representative then came in the loud speaker to say that it would be a three or four hours delay. We could get off the plane but we couldn't get another flight because they are all booked. We couldn't wait in the terminal because we would all have to go through customs. I tracked her down to ask three or four hours from when she made the announcer or three or four hours from the original flight departure time. (By this time Inhad been sitting on the plane for over two hours l). She side that if we weren't in flight by 1:19 the flight would be cancelled. That was slightly more than an hour. I figured  I could tough that outbb

About an hour later they asked for volunteers to step off the plane so that a second crew could ride in the plane and take over from the crew that would be over their time limit. I volunteered. I received a 1st class seat the next day, a hotel room and food, and a choice of 600 euros or Delta credit for 800 euros I took the 800 euro credit to fund one of my next trips. I am hoping to have a better ride in the next flight. It was a hassle but I think that maybe the flight didn't even leave anyway. 

I caught a shuttle to the hotel when it finally came. The driver started putting luggage in the van and it started rolling away. He hadn't put on the parking brake   The funny thing is that the same exact thing happened at our hotel when unloading. 

On the way I asked about the strange road markings. The red lanes are bike lanes one for each direction. The middle lane is shared by cars going in opposite directions. I find this to be a very  unique system.   The driver said that when only one car is on the road it goes very fast down the center. Otherwise cars go very slowly and are part in the center and part in the bike lane. FYI in Amsterdam any accident between bike and car is blamed on the car even if the bike driver is drunk and driving the wrong way

Zermatt

With a day and a half to spare we hoped to do some of the great hikes in the Zermatt area. Unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating. 

We had hoped to hike up to the five lakes hike that begins at the top of the Sunegga funicular. Unfortunately we woke to rain. The rain slowed and stopped and we got a nice view of the Matterhorn from our hotel 

The weather forecast thunderstorms and rain at 11 so we (Leah Peta Arielle Ethan and my self) took the funicular up to the trailhead.  A funicular is a very steep train like device often enclosed in a tunnel to take you up the mountain. It was not my favorite transportation form for sure. We did the 9km hike around the lakes and got glimpses of the Matterhorn as we hiked. 

The weather was quite variable. Raining one minute and sunny the next. At one point a wall of low lying cloud moved in below us. It was really surreal.  We asked a kind gentleman to take this shit when that happened. 

We eventually made it to Stellasee. It is a famous lake where many photos of the Matterhiorn are taken. Just as we arrived the cloud rolled in and we were lucky to see ourselves. 

Hoping for it to clear we waiting but the cloud did not leave. We walked down to the funicular and hung out for a couple of hours. During this time clouds came and went in front of the Matterhorn. We tried to get a nice photo which entailed hopping up every so often and running over to the other side of the deck to get a photos. It was quite the sport. 

Eventually we took the funicular back down to town. I bought my train ticket to Geneva for the next day. We talked to the tourist info about what hike we could do the next day. We visited the mountaineering museum. There we learned about an early mountaineering accident and the controversy surrounding it. We also visited the mountaineering cemetery. 

The evening was quite fun as all the people we had met on the trail got together to have a drink and eat at our hotel. There were at least fifteen people swapping stories from the trail. It was good fun. I really hope to meet up with these people again. We took a group photo but it was on a camera so Incant post it yet.  Goodbye Haute Route and my trail friends. I hope to hike another day with you. 

Haute Route Final Day - Europaweg

It was a steep climb (but isn't it always in Switzerland) up to the viewpoint at Grat. On the way up I saw two groups of Chamois. I was lucky to see the first one because it was moving fast. In fact I actually heard them before seeing them.   There was also a nice view of the Reid glacier.  I could see the Matterhorn in the distance. 

After Grat the terrain became more challenging with immense drop offs, scree, falling rock/ ice hazards and boulders to deal with. These I knew about. What I didn't know about were the goats. Not only were they knocking rocks down in my general direction, they also made weird noises ate and got in my personal space. At one point they were leading me down the trail. Then they were following me down the trail until I got to a section that so eroded that there was not much trail left. There was a rope across it to make it feel more secure. 

The rest of the trail included a number of obstacles such as falling rocks to avoid, large boulders to clamber over, eroded trail, possibly rotten wooden walkways, very exposed trail, worn and broken ropes along the trail and a suspension bridge. 

The positives were great views of the Weisshorn, the Matterhorn in the distance and  the Hobarg glacier above me. 

I had a quick snack of berry apple cake and diet coke at the Europa Hut. I could see the very long unusable suspension bridge in the distance.  Then walked down into Randa and took the train to Zermatt because the next section of the Europaweg was closed. 

Haute Route Day 11 Gruben to Gasenreid

As usual it was an early start. We came upon some of our trail friends camping site. Their tents were surrounded by cows. It was so funny 

We hiked up to a lovely pass called Augustbord. Once there a number of trail friends converged. We discussed climbing Swartzhorn peak. Only Olga and I were game. There was supposed to be a trail but much of it was scrambling over boulders and scree. There was also a little snow. Olga encouraged me and waited for me all the way. I fully credit her with my makin it to the peak. The view from there was awesome and I  so glad that I did it. 

When we got back to the pass I met a few other trail friends. Leah had continued on down the trail with the guys from Oklahoma. I walked for awhile with Peta. Then on my own until I caught up with Leah. We walked down down down. We got a few good photos from a view point overlooking the valley. 

The day was pretty warm and we were facing some pretty downhill. So we took the cable car down. This could have been free for us because they only sold tickets at the bottom. However instead of jumping off and walking away we hung around while I used the bathroom and empties my shoes thus giving the cable car guy a chance to ask Leah for a ticket. Lesson learned. 

Then we caught a bus up to Gasenreid b we were lucky to catch it because we were told it was at 5:15. Being my fathers daughter I got there early. Good thing  because the bus left at 5 and I think it was the last one for the day. 

While riding the bus we amused a local who kept laughing at us and correcting our pronunciation. 

Once we got to the hotel we weren't sure where to go. Leah walked into a room labeled matratzenlager. I told her that I thought that meant dormitory. After I heard her talking I followed her in. She was talking to someone behind the curtain. The person behind the curtain was saying something about being the only one. Leah asked if he worked there. He said "no it's Hank I'm taking a shower". Yes it was a dorm and yes this was one of our trail friends who recognized our voices and was trying to help us out. 

We then went upstairs and found the owner/manager. She didn't have our reservation. It turns out that we had a reservation at another hotel. She sorted it out for us we got a pretty sweet room. 

We went out to dinner and Hank helped us translate the menu. It was good except they charged 2.50 for a carafe of plain water. That did not impress me. 

Haute Route Day 9 and 10

Leaving Cabane de Moiry was slightly sad as it was so beautiful. We had thought that we would start a little later but a number of early risers woke us and we headed out early.  The light on the glacier was very pretty and so was the lake below the glacier.  Leah did not enjoy the trip out any more than the trip in but the rest of the day did not have challenging footing. We did,however, miss a turn and walked all the way down to the lake parking lot.  We then took a trail that we didn't know and gambled that it would intersect with the trail that we needed. The gamble paid off. 

We walked above Lac Moiry which was a stunning shade of turquoise.   We saw a family of chamois. I think I finally got a few good shots on my camera. Then we hiked up and over Col de Sorebois. We had some nice views but it was cloudy so the views could have been better. 

We walked down to the cable car and caught a few ride down to Zinal courtesy of a card given to us by the cabane. 

We had a fun dinner and drinks with some trail friends and headed to bed.

The next morning there was a mixup. Leah had put her clothes in the drying room. She was worried that the room was locked. I suggested she go check. Then I went to the bathroom. She texted to ask if I was checking. I said no bathroom. She took this to mean her clothes were locked up. She told me to go ahead and she would catch me later.   (We didn't figure this out until she arrived in Gruben)

My walk to the Hotel Weisshorn was great. It was cool and the masses were not yet out. I scared a family of chamois which took off down the mountainside. 

The hotel was old and historic. I had a soda and did a bit of Internet. Then I headed over the Medipass. The view there was phenomenal. 

The walk down was pretty but one of the guys that I was with twisted his ankle twice. I am beginning to think that I am a jinx.  

We all made it to Gruben and stayed in a hotel there. We had dinner with all the people we had met over the last week or two that were also at the hotel (the only one in Gruben) 

The Haute Route is drawing to a close. I am sad to see it end and know that I must return to reality 

Haute Route Day 8 Cabane de Moiry

A big shout out to our accomadation in La Sage.   It was called Cafe Restaurant L'Ecureuil.  They were so great. There was a hang out room. The showers were hot. Dinner was super. They made omelettes for us with potatoes and veggies and a nice dessert of vanilla ice cream with a berry sauce. It did have creaky floor boards.  Also they let us have breakfast whenever we were ready because it was self serve. 

We set out early and climbed 3800ft in 3.6 miles to Col Tsate. I had a very close encounter with a cow when it got very very close while I was seated on a rock waiting for Leah. We were a little confused at one point but saw someone walking towards us. Turns out he is a Californian working as a cattle shepard in the Alps despite being a Swiss physicist. One of his grandmother's lives near Napa and has a cattle range. His other lives in Tracy near where I live in Mountain House. It was an really random coincidence. We didn't see anyone else on the trail today until we got to the Moiry Glacier Parking lot. 

On the other side of the pass we carefully picked out way down. At one point I looked up from my feet to see this huge boulder wobbling. It was huge - at least five feet across. At first I thought it fell from somewhere but as I got closer I realized that it had dislodged from its place in the snow and had moved down the slope. 

At the bottoms of the slope was a collection point for water from the glacier.   The water had that blue green color. Silt was being removed from it before it became part of the water supply held in Lac Moiry. 

It was a big uphill from the lake. It was 1800 ft up from the lake in 2 miles. We walked for a time in the ridge of the lateral moraine.  We crossed a very narrow wet ledge with a sheer drop off. Luckily there was a chain to hold on to which gave me some comfort but Leah didn't feel comfortable but went anyway.  Then we crossed a steep snow field.  It kinda of worried me a little because a slip would put you in an icy lake with a iceberg in it. Luckily there was a rope to hold to. Leah was still apprehensive and has rope burn from hanging on to the rope to tightly. We also had to climb over a number of wet rocks and boulders which made her day. 

She was so focused on the way up that she didn't see a small dog on the trail and skewered him with her pole. I think that despite being vegetarian she was going to roast him on the fire because it was a wiener dog. Just kidding. She only hit it on the head (lightly).  It poor owner did not look very fit and this probably didn't need this to happen. 

We eventually made it to the hut which literally overlooks the glacier and it is incredible. 

Unfortunately there is no diet coke for me or sparkling water for Leah. Also the water is not potable. I plan to filter some instead of paying out the nose for water. I did have a yummy brownie. Leah had a hazelnut berry cake that wasn't as good.

We had dinner with lots of friends at the hut. It was super fun 

Haute Route Day 7 Cabane Dix to Col Roux to Barrage Dixence

The hut guy was really cool. We were able to have breakfast at whatever time. Many climbers were ipa no about before 4am. I am a early riser but not quite that early. It was nice however to be able to have breakfast early without haggling. 

I headed out and crossed a very icy snowfield. The glaciers receedvbehind me and  Lac Dix emerges in front of me. There was a raging waterfall dumping into the lake. Flowers abounded. I walked happily around the lake and bumped into Katy and Jordan. We had a bit of a catch up. After I left  them I climbed up to Col Roux. I stopped by a little hut along the way that was run on the honesty policy. You say or buy water you pay. I was amazed and delighted at this. Then I headed up to the Col. I didn't go quite all the way but I great views of the lake and many surrounding glaciers. From there I descended and walked to Barrage Dixeon. It is world highest gravity dam. I had to walk through many tunnels to get to it. At the start of the first tunnel there was a digging machine. That was a bit ominous. Some of the tunnels were so long that they had lights in them. You had to push a button for lights. The first on I didn't and I stepped in several puddles. 

After the tunnels I emerged at the dam. I chose to walk down but there was a cable car option to shorten the time  at the bottom I picked up a series of buses to get me to La Sage to continue the Haute Route traditional sequence. I bumped into Elise and Jim on the bus. 

Haute Route Day 6 Cabane de Dix

I hiked solo today. Leah considered the risk factor to high.  The weather seemed to have turned overnight and the day was chilly and clear. I hiked up past the Taijiore Nouve Glacier. The views were great. I caught sight of an ibex running over a hill they sure are photo shy. 

I climbed up Pas Chèvre and then down the notorious ladders. These have been improved and were no great problem. Past there I picked my way along a sketchy trail which often had a chain to hold on to. At one spot only half of one foot fit on the trail. I was nervous but all was well. I picked my way over boulders and scree - some icy. Then as I aproached the glacier I bumped into a couple of my friends from Cabane du Mont Fort- Elisa and Jim from Seattle. I was so glad to see them. It turns out that they went down to Louvie Hut and then walked down to the valley. They took a bus to The dam at the end it the lake and hike up to the Cabane Dix (my destination today).  They gave me info on crossing the at times slippery Glacier and I gave them advice on heading to Arolla. 

I also told them that Leah was still in Arolla at the same hotel they had booked and suggested they stop by and say high.  Then I slid and picked my way across the glacier and followed the orange painted rocks to the Cabane Dix

As I travelled I heard the glacier cracking which was amazing. The hut is placed atop a big hill across from the glacier. I don't think I have ever seen such a nice view. The people in the hut are very nice and I got a bottom bunk. 

I bumped into someone else that I had met on the trail and we traded war stories over lunch. Then he he headed off and I washed some clothes. 

I hiked up to a big hill above the hut and took some photos. While there I spotted the top of the Matterhorn in between the clouds. 

Haute Route Day 5 Arolla to La Sage

Due to weather conditions we decided to to an easier later stage hoping the weather would improve. 

Trail had ups and downs but was much easier than some of the other days. We hiked past a brilliant blue lake fed by a waterfall. Then a working milk and cheese farm. Initially it appeared closed. We took a few photos of the buildings. Then an old man came out and we thought that he wanted to show us his establishment. We tried to politely refuse and move on. He then became insistent and started pointing to a sore on his finger. We considered if he needed help but we knew that he was not far from a small village where he could get help. As we moved on with apologies he continues to talk insistently at us. I guess that he wanted money for the photos that we took. I am not sure. 

From there we passed a village and then a beautiful blue lake fed by a waterfall. 

We then walked through Les Haudres and in to La Sage. In La Sage we tried to go to the tourist information center. After walking up the steps of some private home we were politely told that it closed five years ago. 

We then checked out the local shops. It was very small and didn't even carry cold diet coke (or any other cold soft drinks)

I bought a pen and reconfigured the remainder of our itinerary based on our bit of bad weather. I decided to walk tone stage in the opposite direction and take the bus from there to La Sage where we booked a place to stay while we were there.  

From La Sage we walked to Evolene which has the only ATM machine in the region. The first thing we came to was a grocery store. It was quite a nice place with a little of everything. I got some cold diet coke and a few bars to eat on the trail. 

Almost everything else was closed until 1:30.   The door to the bank was closed and locked and we thought it was closed until 1:30.  A nice young guy saw us sitting there and told us the bank was closed for the weekend. I couldn't understand how the only ATM in the region was not accessible on the weekend. Grouchy I moved off down the street. He caught up with us and explained that there is a button to push to open the door to use the ATM. We thanked him and Intold him that I was so happy that I could kiss him. He said I should and when I did on the cheek he told me that in Switzerland it is three kisses so I did. It was embarrassing and funny. 

In the end I got cash out although it seems that my Charles Schwab card isn't working.  

I have been seeing small outdoor oven from time to time. There was one in front of a restaraunt. There was cheese in front of it either to be melted or smoked it I am not sure. 

 Then we went to the pharmacy and I got more ibuprofen. The lady in the shop was so nice. 

As Leah and I waited for the bus we discussed why a metal bar with a circle on the end of it was sticking out of the mountain. The gentleman next to us let us know that it is artwork representing climbing equipment. I am not sure but I think it might be called a piton. 

Our bus journey back to Arolla was uneventful. Once there we saw several people who had preserved in the day before. They had all successful made it with some scraps and bruises. It seems that the trail was pretty difficult with 3 hours of snow walking. I am pretty glad that we made the decision that we did.

Tomorrow the forecast is again rain. I am hiking up to Cabane de Dix. Leah is taking a rest day and avoiding treacherous conditions that I may face. 

Haute Route Day 3 and 4 addendum

I think that I overlooked a few things in my blogs for these days. 

Cabane Du Mont Fort

We had the worst service and food here. I think this was because the poor guy was understaffed. Most of the time it was just him doing everything. However it was probably some of the worst pasta I have had. In addition there was no bread or seconds offered. No advice or help about the trail was offered despite poor weather conditions. We were often chastised for asking anything - like a cup of water. I have since bumped into Hank who I met at Col du Forclaz. He had a great experience. The guy made pizza for everyone since Hank can't eat pasta. He was given advice but I am not sure how good it was as Hank almost fell to his death. 

The trail

I think I forgot to mention that we saw several ibex or chamois. I am not sure which. For some reason they didn't seem to want their photo taken so I am not sure any of the photos that I took in my phone will turn out. 

Haute Route Day 3 Cabane Mont Font

We got up early and headed off. We were cranking it up the mountain making great time. Then we were looking at the book and realizes that we were on the wrong trail. While we were walking through the town we took at turn that was marked Cabane du Mont Fort. However the book specifically said to not take that turn. We had gone 1.2 miles and 1200 ft in the wrong direction. I rarely swear but quite few choice word left my mouth as we then walked 1.2 miles back down. We found the junction were we made the error and walked in the correct direction. 

The views were beautiful. We had great mountain views. 

I will say that we did a lot of up hill -6500 ft over 11.6 miles.   We made some new friends and help each other navigate as needed.  At one point we were an intersection that had a sign that indicated that we should turn right to go to the town that was out next destination. A runner on the trail told us to go the other way as well.  However, the direction seemed seemed to indicate another direction. We did a vote between us and made a decision to go left which was correct because 20 min later we came to the next landmark. 

However it was a stellar day and the hut sat on top of a big  hill on top of the mountain. It was stunning. 

We spent the afternoon discussing our plans for hiking tomorrow. We have decided to leave early and walk together for safety. 

Tomorrow we will go over three passes. 

Haute Route Day 4 Bad Weather

A group of us banded together to try and beat the weather odds. We set out as close to 6:15 as possible. We hiked at a brisk pace but it began to rain before the first pass that we needed to cross. We needed to cross three passes. Two of our group dropped out then. We forged on in full rain gear. It was going well. We had nice views and went over the first pass (Col Tremin)  to see a very pretty lake -  Lake Louvie. We continued along the trail towards Col Louvie. The rain was unrelenting and then the thunder and lightening started. Then we crossed a couple Boulder fields and snow fields. At this point our hiking mates, Katy and Jordan, determined the location of the next pass. It had a lot of snow. I was deeply regretting my decision not to bring any type of traction devices. Leah and I decided that it was not safe to continue. Katy and Joedan debates for awhile but came to the same conclusion. 

The hike back was slippery on the Ricky's and snow. Leah took a little slide on one snowfield.  No harm done except a major adrenaline rush. We hiked slowly and carefully back over the pass. After we went over the pass the weather improved. In fact the views were better than when we went out. It was very spectacular at this point Kary and Jordan debated trying to go over the passes again. My feeling was that the weather was different over the pass on the other side of the mountain. Leah and I headed down as did Katy and Jordan.  We met some of our other new friends on the good weather side of the mountain persevering on. We told them our experience but they were going for it. I hope to meet them later on the trail and hear of their experiences. I may have to come back and do that section on its own 

What to do next was our next question. As the weather forecast looked terrible for the next day as well we decided that staying was not on the cards. Leah and I took an amazing cable car ride down the mountain. To get down it took four different lifts. We saw how steep what we climbed the previous day really was not was amazing. There is no doubt that we are two tough ladies 

Then we took two trains and a bus to Arolla. I really wanted to do the section of the hike from  Cabane de Prafleuri  to Arolla. Leah go to talking to a super nice guy on the bus that had been hiking the same route as us but in the opposite direction. He has given us some good advice and we will attempt to do the hike in the opposite direction and then take the bus back down. This was a piece of great luck bumping into him. He also helped us find a really nice place to stay in Arolla. 

Haute Route Day 2 to Les Chable

Today we attempted to combine two stages. While this made sense in many ways it was also a bit of a reach. 

The trail from the hotel begins as a gentle stroll and quickly turns into a steep grade with many sketchy situations. We saw a helicopter fly over and it appeared to be searching. This did little for our confidence as we had heard that the pass was a little slippery with snow.  We scrambled over boulders and inched our way along eroded steep trails. All the while our trek was overshadowed by the incredible Trient glacier. It snakes down the mountainside with a blue tongue.  Others may disagree but I found the challenging trail well worth it. 

One disappointment was the large school group at the top. They took over the pass and were exceptionally loud. They diminished the experience slightly. 

The trip down the other side of the pass was slippery due to scree and small gravelly rocks. Next we walked over a snow field. It was not too bad. Then we had to clamber over a boulder field following red and white markings on rocks. This went in for awhile and was not the greatest fun.   We leaped frogged with a few people on the trail. 

We finally made it to the Relais Arpette hut. We stopped and had some cool drinks. The waitress also nicely called the Cabane Mont Fort and made reservations for us. That was one thing off my mind.  We bumped into a couple of people that we had leapfrogged in the trail. They were done in. Despite the fact they beat us to the hut. They said we had a pretty good pace. 

We headed down to Champex. We found out about transportation and Leah bought a replacement visor to replace the one that she left at the hotel. We tried to take a photo of the lake but were yelled at for being on private property. We were allowed to take a photo but then we quickly exited. 

We decided that 8 more miles was a bit more that we were up for. Instead we hoped to hike to Sembrancher and catch the train from there to Les Chable. 

We hiked down and got confused at a junction in the trail. Luckily a local lady named Margarite happened by and pointed us in the right direction. We chatted quite a bit with her. In the end she convinced us to walk down to Orsires and catch the train there. We almost ran down the mountain as she told us the last train was at 5:08. We were panicking when we got there at 5:06. However all was well we were able to buy tickets and the train didn't come until 5:15. The train was great- very easy.  

We got to Les Chable and a nice man helped us find our hotel. The Hotel La Poste was great. They were very accommodating.  They even laid out breakfast for us so we could leave early.  Our room was very nice.