16 June 2011

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A fairly sunny morning as we head for the cable car just after 9.30. An extra bus is disgorging primary school kids who are also due to go up.They can't stop talking, but are otherwise well-behaved. At 10 o'clock, we're up on Belalp and head west towards Alpe Bel. That area too is built up with new chalets, and others are going up as we walk by. There is no road to Belalp, so all building materials are carried up on the cable car or ferried in by helicopter, which is happening today. At the Kelchbach cable car (not operational today), a labourer points us in the right direction for the path to the Foggenhorn, which we intend to climb today. We go down to the Kelchbach river and then commence the relentless ascent. Many pretty flowers, and path refurbishment in progress along the way. We have to make frequent stops to regain our breath. Two young men are improving the drainage off the path. The view is phenomenal, if restricted by low cloud. This slowly lifts from 8000 to 10300 feet, meaning the Grisighorn appears out of the mists from time to time, as well as the high-level ridge east to the Sparrhorn. We also catch sight of the Aletsch Glacier, Tyndall Monument and Hotel Belalp. Just after 1pm, we crest the ridge between the Hofathorn and the Foggenhorn at 8500 feet. Our assumption that this is the peak in question is wrong. The view stretches into the Gredetschtal, immediately to the west, with the ridge to its west rearing starkly up to 10000 feet, with many patches of old snow. The plucks of cloud which occasionally shroud the mountain tops, make it even more impressive. The Nesthorn, which is 12300 feet high, closes off the Gredetschtal to its north. To their west, the Grisighorn and Hofathorn plunge steeply down into the valley below. The northwestern perimeter of the valley is closed off by a series of ridges and glaciers. After lunch, we proceed in a southerly direction, around one more mountaintop before we reach the Foggenhorn at 2.30pm. A walkers' sign and crucifix adorn its summit. It is cool there. Two men are standing there talking to each other. On descending, we encounter a flock of sheep. By 4pm, we reach Alpe Nessel, and can return north, to Alpe Bel and Belalp. The weather is beginning to close in, with a deepening haze descending over the area. Back at Alpe Bel, the helicopter is delivering cement. We just make the 5.20pm cablecar down, and on arrival in Blatten it starts to rain. A warm shower helps to ward off the chill.


Alpe Bel


Tadpoles in a puddle on the path to the Foggenhorn


Old snow


The path


Hofathorn (foreground) and Grisighorn


View of the Gredetschtal


The higher reaches


The flock of sheep


Alpe Nessel