Spectacular Views High above the Grimsel Pass

September 29, 2019 -- Our final hike of the month, and forecast for spectacular weather all over the country.... and all of Switzerland was out hiking: The buses were all full, and long line-ups of cars on the highways...

For this excursion, probably one of the last hikes we can do this year to high alpine regions, Urs wanted to go to one of the mountain passes. (Most of the buses that we can take to the passes run only until mid-October). His preference would have been the Nufenen Pass, but since I had been there alone just the week before, and we had both been at the Furka Pass nearby just a few weeks earlier, we decided on the third pass in that region: The Grimsel Pass, to hike 600m uphill to a peak called Mount Sidelhorn (2764m above sea level, and also a European water divide) where we had some pretty fabulous panorama views over the Bern and Valais regions, all the way to the Matterhorn.

This photo was taken from the Furka Pass a few weeks ago, across from the Grimsel Pass. This shows where we hiked up to Mount Sidelhorn

It turned out to be a good choice, because from there we had a good view to the Nufenen Pass: Thick, low clouds... I would have been miffed if we had gone there.

This is what we saw across the valley, the Nufenen Pass is to the left, and the road to the dam is where I descended the week before. The clouds are being pushed over the mountains from the South.

Even though the sky was cloudless and the air clear, there was a strong cold wind blowing, very uncomfortable, even for the long climb we had planned to the top of Mount Sidelhorn, which turned out to be a huge jumble of boulders that required the use of hands and behind as well (for ascent and descent) and at one point we were sure the trail marker must have been wrong, because one wrong step and it would have been a long tumble down...

The red-white marker usually means the trail goes through here, but I thought this had to be wrong.

Surprisingly, there were lots of people at the top, including a family with small children and even a dog. 

The kids must have been from a family of climbers....

They must have taken the other way up, the way we descended, because that was definitely easier. 

This was the way down from the summit. 

Instead of returning to the Pass, we decided to walk along the old Mule Trail down to the level of the Dam, where there is also a bus stop. 

A beautiful trail, but a decision that was almost disastrous for us: Because of construction on the dam (they are building a second dam right against the first as a buttress) the bus down the valley does not stop there this year! Only on the way up. Lucky for us, we were there just in time for the UP bus driver to let us know this and take us back up to the pass, where he radioed ahead for the DOWN bus driver to wait for us! We weren't alone, two other ladies made the same mistake, but that would have been a surprise standing there and watching the DOWN bus drive right past us without stopping....

Heading back to the pass along the middle trail looked too boring, so we decided on the lower trail...  a good choice because the landscape and the afternoon lighting was gorgeous. But we should have checked the bus schedule better, because this year the bus stops only on the way UP to the pass, not on the way down.... (we could have gone home the other way, but it would have taken much longer)

These are the kinds of hikes and the landscapes we love the best. The views are so breathtaking that I take photos every few minutes, and sorting them down to only a few is very difficult...

So here are lots more photos of the hike:

Heading toward the Grimsel Pass by bus from the North, through the Haslital Valley

Behind this dam is Lake Grimselsee. They are preparing to fortify it. We descended to the Grimsel Pass road from the top left where the cable car towers are.

Our hike started at the hotel below at Lake Totensee, where the bus stops before heading down into the next valley (to Oberwald in the Goms Region)

On the North side of the pass is Lake Grimselsee with several dams. The Hydro-Electric Power Plant in this region suppplies power for over 1 million people. Instead of walking back to the Pass, we walked down to the road at the dam. 

On the way up to the top of Mount Sidelhorn: Behind us is Lake Totensee at the pass, and in the back we are getting more and more view of the Furka Pass road. 

Looking down at Lake Grimselsee and the various dams. At the back on the left is another lake (small blue lake), the popular Lake Gelmersee, which also forms part of the Hydro-Electric network in this area. 

To the Northwest we get the first sighting of the Unteraar Glacier, one of several glaciers here which form the source of the Aar River. Center back is Mount Schrekhorn, and on the left is Mount Finsteraarhorn, the highest mountain in the Bernese Alps. In the center is a Swiss Alpine Club Hostel where we spent a memorable overnight three years ago.

This is the tongue of the Unteraar Glacier. Three years ago we had to walk over this piece of the glacier to reach the Hostel higher up.

Here starts the ridge portion of the hike, all the way to the summit of that pile of rocks. This is also a Canton border: On the left is Canton Valais, on the right is Canton Bern.

This ridge is a European Water Divide. Rain that falls on the left feeds the Rhone River which heads South to the Mediterranean;  Rain that falls on the right feeds the Aar River, which heads into the Rhine River and eventually into the North Sea.

Turns out the last 120m was just a huge pile of rocks and fairly steep: This required some careful navigation. Although those people ahead fairly raced up the slope.

The climb often required the use of our hands for balance.

But we made it unscathed, although still not sure if we took the proper way up.

From the summit, the view to the East: Grimsel Pass 600m below with the Furka pass road behind that, and the mighty Rhone Glacier off to the left of the zigzag Furka Road (we hiked there mid-July)

To the Northwest in Canton Bern: Oberaar Glacier feeding Lake Oberaarsee with Mount Finsteraarhorn behind it / Unteraar Glacier feeding Lake Grimselsee with Mount Schrekhorn at the back. And below is the blue lake we walked down to before heading back eastward.

To the Southwest in Canton Valais, some of the highest mountains in Switzerland: On the left is Mount Allalin and Mount Dom (where we were a couple of weeks ago), then the Matterhorn, and Mount Weisshorn which is visible from most places in Canton Valais

Heading down the other side of Mount Sidelhorn: Although also a huge pile of rocks that also required use of hands and our bottoms, it was an easier descent than ascending on the other side.

 

Heading down Mount Sidelhorn, then over the saddle to the right to the blue late below.

Looking back up to the top of Mount Sidelhorn, really just a huge pile of rocks!

Heading toward Lake Grimselsee, hidden below

Here at this point we could have decided to go back to the pass, but we continued down to the blue lake, and then walked parallel to and above Lake Grimselsee, back to the pass road at the dam.

This wonderful trail turned out to be an old mule trail, probably used many hundreds of years ago

From here a super view of the Unteraar Glacier, Mount Schreckhorn, and the SAC Lauteraarhütte where we hiked to in August 2016.

As we headed East along the old mule trail, the view behind us kept changing.

On the right the towers from the very long cable car that starts below at the hotel near the dam, and goes all the way to Lake Oberaarsee. Because of the construction, the cable car is not running this year, but it's one we will ride soon. 

The final view westward to the back of Lake Grimselsee before the descent to the pass road. 

Before us is the East end of the lake with the dams, and the road below on the right, which is actually the goal of our hike

Waiting for the bus at the dam, this is the lower lake past Lake Grimselsee (called Räterischsbodensee). We had barely gotten here when the bus heading UP to the pass stopped to tell us we would not be able to catch the bus going down from here. He told us to get in, and called the other bus which was at the pass to wait for us before leaving.

This map shows the hike I did down from the Nufenen Pass a week earlier, as well as the hike we did starting at the Grimsel Pass, to the top of Mount Sidelhorn and then down along the old mule trail to the dam end of the lake. 

And three days later it snowed. It was perfect timing to do the hike when we did!