Wednesday January 12, 2022 -- This was our first real winter hike of the year, with lots of cold and crunchy snow!
Of course the reason that the snow is crunchy is because it's COLD!!! Temperature-wise, zero degrees isn't really that cold compared to some other places, but even though we had lots of sunshine, there was an icy wind blowing. And I thought I might be too warm with stockings under the pants. Turns out that would have been a good idea.
We chose to do a loop hike starting in the resort town of Sörenberg in the Entlebuch Region of Canton Luzern. This is a popular hiking trail which usually boasts a lot of sunshine especially on the upper moor called Totmoos. The motor-vehicle road which connects Sörenberg to Giswil via the Glaubenbielen Pass is closed to vehicles in winter, and gets converted into part of the loop trail. We have wanted to do this winter hike for some time, but when the winter is mild, the snow disappears from the road and you walk on asphalt, which is no fun.
So right now it's cold enough for the road to remain covered in snow, which is ideal for a winter hike. The problem is that the road is at the base of the Brienzer Rothorn Massif, and in January the sun is not high enough to provide sunshine at the valley bottom. So besides the cold icy wind, we walked at least half of the 10-km hike in the cold shadow of the mountain! (Nevertheless, walking along the Waldemme River was pretty, even in the shade).
At least there was no fog.... which was a distinct possibility, as most of the area to the North had fog for at least half the day.
 |
| Trail no.601: The 10-km loop trail is officially known as the "Glaubenbielen Pass Loop Trail" (although it doesn't go all the way up to the pass). We've been interested in walking this for a few years. |
 |
| We started at 11:00 in Sörenberg and headed straight uphill. In retrospect, we might have been better off starting along the river, as there was probably more sunshine there in the morning. But we didn't know for sure, and we also prefer to walk uphill at the start of a hike instead of after 3 km of a flat section. |
 |
| Winter hikes are always detailed on pink trail markers. We're headed uphill to Totmoos, which is where the trail loops back downhill again. That's a little over 4 km, and we had sunshine the whole way, but an icy cold wind. |
 |
| This is the only way I like to do winter hikes: The trail has to be covered in snow and the snow has to be cold and squeaky under the shoes. Then I don't even mind if it's a wide trail on a road. |
 |
| Looking down at the South part of Sörenberg Village, and the Brienzer Rothorn range. This is the canton border between Luzern and Bern. It looks like there might have been some sunshine along the river below, but it's hard to tell. |
 |
| Below me is the resort village of Sörenberg, and in the background is the Schrattenfluh Massif, a large region of Karst geology |
 |
| We found a great shelter out of the wind, where we had our picnic lunch! |
 |
| Here where we had our picnic lunch was a rare spot where the wind wasn't blowing |
 |
| It's pleasant to walk in forested sections when the trees are covered in snow, and the sun shines! |
 |
| Around the corner we now get a view of the Giswilerstock, which is the main mountain at the Glaubenbielen Pass (which is to the left). On a previous occasion, we did a hike from the other side and over the saddle with the the power poles, and walked down to the pass from there. |
 |
| A close-up view of the saddle over which is a hiking trail from the Lungernsee (Lake Lungern) side. |
 |
| Now we're at the sunny plateau near Totmoos Moor. But it's cold! |
 |
| The trail bends through the Totmoos moor and now heads down toward the Panoramastrasse (the motor-vehicle road which goes over the Glaubenbielen Pass). This is the Brienzer Rothorn Ridge, which forms the Canton Border with Luzern (this side) and Bern (other side). |
 |
| The trail markers show us that we have come 4.2 kilometers from Sörenberg, and have another 6 km to go. It took us about 90 minutes to get to this point, and another 90 on the downhill section back to Sörenberg. |
 |
| In winter, the Panorama Road over the Glaubenbielen Pass is closed to vehicle traffic and becomes a winter hiking trail! |
 |
| Looking down at a farmhouse before we get to a bend in the road. You can see the trail continue at the back. |
 |
| The little storage house at the farm, how cute! Shortly after this we got into the shadow of the mountain, and didn't have any sunshine for the next two kilometers! |
 |
| It was very cold in the shade, and we covered the two kilometers quickly, in about 25 minutes |
 |
| Finally back in the sunshine! From here it was another 2 kilometers along the Waldemme River, which has its source on the North Flank of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and flows all the way North to join the Kleine Emme (Little Emme) at Schüpfheim, on its way to Luzern. |
 |
| Final stretch to Schüpfheim. We made it there with 30 minutes to spare till the 3 p.m. bus. At that time, the shadow was just reaching the village, so the timing was good. |
 |
| The suggested time for this 10-km loop done on snow-covered trails is 3 hrs 35 minutes. We managed it in 3 hours, which is the time it would take on regular trails! When it's cold, you walk faster! |
 |
| The orange trail is the one we did this day. The one in 2019 is when we walked from the summit of Mt. Brienzer Rothorn over the saddle and to the Glabenbielen Pass. It seems like we come to this area about once a year! |
Photos of the 2019 hike from Brienzer Rothorn to Glaubenbielen Pass can be found HERE.Photos of the 2020 hike from Glaubenberg Pass to Glaubenbielen Pass can be found HERE.
Photos of the 2021 hike from Glaubenbielen Pass to the summit of Mt.Nünalpstock can be viewed HERE.
Here are a few photos from the bus ride back out of the Mariental Valley:
 |
| Leaving Sörenberg |
 |
| Heading North along the Mariental Valley |
 |
| Another interesting massif called Schwändliflüe |
