Yet
again, I went into the mountains this weekend. It's simply not
possible to be in the Alps too often, each visit is as enjoyable as
the last. The Erasmus Student Network organised a hiking weekend in
Kandersteg; a tiny, alpine village in Berner Oberland – close to
the cantonal border with Valais. A beautiful mountainous region not a
million miles away from the well-known areas of Interlaken or
Jungfrau.
The
valley seen from the west face of Bunderspitz.
We
arrived in the village on the Friday evening, giving us the chance to
fire up the Finnish sauna cabin that we had to ourselves. Definitely
a good shout – and I could really enjoy the sauna, although had it
been after the hike – my sunburn would've probably made me suffer.
Sunburn, which I have to add, that only seems to have got to my nose
and ears: not a great look!
Steinbock
sighting.
The
hike itself was pretty decent, good weather and conditions and the
route was cool too. We headed up to the summit of Bunderspitz before
traversing around the east face of the mountain and descending to the
west via a pass – where we witnessed a spectacle. A lone steinbock
(a rare alpine mountain goat), which strolled up to a cliff edge
beside us and simply jumped down – running down a vertical crag –
not only without dying, but with grace!
The
scree slopes of the eastern face of Bunderspitz.
On
the Sunday, before heading back to Zurich, a challenge awaited us:
Jacob's Ladder. A simple task of climbing a set of wooden ladders,
the catch being that the rungs began at one and a half metres apart
and the gap increased incrementally. It certainly sounds easier than
it was in practice. An uncomfortable challenge complete with many
compromising positions – spectating was definitely more
entertaining.
The
Jacob's Ladder challenge: everyone in the group managed, some found
it more trickier than others.
Again,
another great time in the mountains. Now that the Summer is upon us,
I'm sure I'll get some more hiking done too.
