Wednesday July 21, 2021 -- Taking advantage of a couple of nice days this week, we spent two days in Graubünden (Grisons) with overnight at a nice hotel right at the train station in Küblis in the Prättigau. On Tuesday we did a hike near the Flüela Pass (photos can be viewed HERE), but chose to overnight in Küblis because of the challenging hike (5 hours) which we had planned for Wednesday: A tour of the Schijenflue (a type of massif that forms the border of Switzerland and Austria) near St.Antönien in the Partnun Valley. A bus leaving the train station at 8:17 takes us in 45 minutes to the start of our hike, a connection we could only make if we left home at 5:45 in the morning!
Because we started early (at 9 a.m., and the only people starting the hike from here at that time) and still had some morning shade, we accomplished the first ascent (420m) in 20% less time than expected! In two hours we had made it to the Austrian border at the Plasseggenpass, which was what we'd expected. From there we walked for about 90 minutes within Austria, following the most fantastic karst (limestone) rock formations as we rounded the Schijenflue to the Austrian Hikers' Hostel called Tilisunahütte. The trail was well-tended and easy to walk, and we ran into very few people here, most going the other way.
The descent back to the Partnun Lake took longer than expected: It looks short on the map, but the terrain consists of lots of Karst Rock, some of them quite slippery from lots of footsteps, as we descended 520m in altitude to the Alpenrösli Hotel, where we had enough time for Urs to finally enjoy his ice cream sundae which he had to do without the day before! From there the small bus (you have to reserve the pick-up) collected us at 16:20 for the descent, and we were home by 8 p.m.!
Similar to the recent hike we did in the Aletsch Region, even though this hike was a good five hours of pure walking time, we were not at all tired. The landscape was so stunning, the trail varied, and the fact that we crossed the Austrian/Swiss border four times was a hoot! (Twice was just a tiny side-trip, an otherwise shorter route back to the lake).
(NOTE: The road that the mini-bus takes from St.Antönien to the Alpenrösli hotel is converted into a walking and sledding trail in winter. We walked -- and sledded -- that trail in January 2017 and the Schijenflue massif was so spectacular in the winter light, that we had determined then already to do this round tour some time in summer. Those photos can be viewed HERE)....
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| This is how close we were to the train station at our hotel (Hotel Terminus) in Küblis. We had just basically walked out the front door and around the corner! |
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| After a 45-minute bus ride (or rather two buses... we had to change to a smaller bus which we had to reserve ahead of time and pay a 4 SFr. supplement), we reach the back of the Partnun Valley and see the mountain massif that we are walking around. |
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| We were the only people to get off here, one stop short of Partnun Lake. The other people (about 10) were heading up to the lake. So we did most of the hike without anyone else going the same way. The massif in the back is called Sulzfluh, we descended next to that one. |
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| A look down the Partnun Valley where we had just come up by bus. A few years ago we hiked up that road to this same place in winter, as they convert the road into a winter walking and sledding trail |
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| When we were here in Partnunstafel in January 2017 on our winter hike, it gave us the idea that we wanted to walk around this mountain. |
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| The "Tour of the Schijenflue" is listed as a 4.5-hour hike, but it does take a bit longer, as the section from the Tilisuna Pass to the lake is over rocky terrain and requires some care. |
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| The first uphill section was around this cliff with the fabulous huge caves. |
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| Part of our ascent along the cliffs was still in morning shadow, so we made good time. The view is toward the peak called Sulzfluh, which is also part of the Austrian/Swiss border |
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| A marmot had peeked out of one of the holes in the cliff... |
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| Here's the little marmot hiding in the hole! |
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| The entire hillside in the background was covered in alpine roses. You can just see the pink overlay! |
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| Up on this high plateau, with the view into the Partnun Valley, the rock is limestone which is very porous, and often sinkholes such as this one are created. |
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| As we made our way to the Plasseggen Pass (to cross into Austria), we walked across a type of high plateau encircled with peaks which form the Austrian/Swiss border (this is still the Swiss side) |
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| I find this landscape absolutely fascinating |
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| It took us almost exactly the suggested two hours to reach the Plasseggen Pass at 2354m. On this photo I am currently still in Switzerland, but ahead of me, as well as behind the mountains in the back is Austria |
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| It took us almost exactly the suggested two hours to reach the Plasseggen Pass at 2354m. These slopes are now Austrian! |
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| Standing at the Swiss/Austrian border. The sign tells us we are crossing into Austria! |
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| Admiring the Austrian Alps, including the tiny toll-house.... |
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| Austrian Gentians. |
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| Austrians apparently mark their hiking trails with Blue/Yellow, but I found it amusing that here on this trail, most of the Austrian markers were painted over by the Swiss White/Red/White! |
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| We are surprised to still see snow up here! |
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| And another marmot on our trail! |
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| The trail was smooth and very easy to walk |
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| A sign indicating that we are on the Plasseggen Trail. Switzerland in the direction to the left, Austria to the right! |
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| We had another short climb to the second pass called Gruoben Pass, which we could have crossed back into Switzerland here, then the whole hike would have been about 45 minutes shorter. |
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| Just for fun, we crossed the Gruoben Pass back into Switzerland for this photo, then we returned to the trail into Austria again. Behind me is the Sulzfluh Massif, which is on the other side of the Partnun Valley which we descended from the right. |
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| These limestone (karst) rock formations are simply magnificent. |
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| Up ahead on the Austrian side is the former toll house for the next pass into Switzerland. Apparently there was a lot of smuggling going on here, in the olden days. |
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| Rounding another corner, we see the next pass that we are going to take back to Switzerland, the Tilisuna Fürggli |
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| But first we have to pass by the Tilisuna Hostel, where we hoped to fill our bottles with water from this fountain. Unfortunately the water was not turned on, and a notice claimed "Water not potable", which we think is a ruse to get you to buy drinks at the hostel restaurant! |
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| We passed by the hostel, then walked to the pass, which was only another ten minutes |
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| More of this fantastic karst landscape. |
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| Just a few more steps and we get to the sign that now says we are entering back into Switzerland! |
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| Here we are at the Tilisuna Fürggli. Behind me is the last of the Austrian landscape, before we now make the long and rather slow descent to the Partnun Lake (the karst rocks were smooth and slippery). |
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| Panorama view of the descent back into the Partnun Valley. Our trail curves back to the left and along the green slope. We came up behind that peak, which is actually a different rock than the limestone on the other side. |
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| Looking back at the Austrian/Swiss border. This descent was a bit tricky, and I actually slipped on one of the rocks. |
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| To my right the magnificent Sulzfluh massif |
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| And on the left, the crags of the Wissplatte and Schijenfluh which we passed on the other side, going the other way. |
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| First glimpse of Lake Partnun and the long trail leading down the hill. I found this trail a bit tricky, as it had a gravel surface and an incline just steep enough to slip on the gravel |
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| A look back at the trail we descended and toward the pass (upper right) |
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| Once we got to the lake, we didn't stay long. Just 15 minutes beyond the lake, an ice cream sundae and cold Panachés at the Alpenrösli Gasthaus are beckoning. |
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| At the South end of the lake, another look back at the section we had just descended |
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| Descending to the Alpenrösli hotel, where the small bus is going to pick us up. |
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| Berghaus Alpenrösli with the Sulzfluz massif as background. The 16:20 bus comes up here to pick up the people who made reservations (there were about eight of us). |
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| FINALLY, Urs gets his ice cream sundae! I prefer just the cold drink |
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| Heading back down the hill in the bus-van, we pass the place where we started our hike seven hours earlier. Past those caves and around that cliff.... |
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| Switching to the larger bus for the ride back down to Küblis train station |
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| A final look back at the gorgeous Schijenfluh. A very successful hike with the best possible weather. And not a bit tired even after five hours of hiking |
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| Altogether 12 km, 880m ascent, and almost five hours of straight hiking (we started at 09:10 and were back at the Alpenrösli at 15:30) |
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How the round-tour trail looks on Google Earth Maps. The light yellow line is the Austrian-Swiss border. The rock on the Austrian side is light limestone, and on the Swiss side it's dark Silvretta. Totally fascinating.
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| Location on the Swiss map. A little section of mountain along the Austrian/Swiss border. |
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