Haegendorf to Oensingen, not the fastest way

A hike to take advantage of the lovely sunny day.

We start under fog in Hägendorf and head through town and into the Teufelsschlucht (we've done this before). The bottom parts of the gorge are nicely dramatic in the fog and we enjoy that bit a lot. Emerging into the sun under Allerheiligenberg is still great though. Up to the restaurant (lots of cars parked here!) and clinic, and then a short bit along the ridge before starting to descend (and losing the sun! boooo!) to Bärenwil (lots of cars parked here!), and then up through the woods towards the ridge. Food break enjoying the sun and Alp views on the Stelli and then along the ridge in the sun above the impressive ruins of the Alt Bechburg, past Tiefmatt (lots of cars parked here!) and then up onto the Roggen. More nice walking through forest, a bit of cutting of green stuff for christmas decorations, another food break in the sun with good Alp views, past the Roggenflue (one pair of climbers scrambling over the railing as we arrive, another climber topping out behind them), then down to the Roggenweid. Past the restaurant (*lots* of cars parked here!), and then down, down to Neu Bechburg, we've done this before in the other direction. From here it's down, down, down to Oensingen. 

We do a bit of jogging along the way after seeing a sign saying that it's 30 minutes to the train station when we have 20 minutes to the next train, but we make it with a couple of minutes to spare and then grab the train that starts us on the way back home. Corona note: the trains we took really weren't particularly full, even on a sunny Sunday morning/afternoon.

Track:

Stats: 20.6km, 1040m up, 1010m down, 5:24 elapsed

Climbing above Klus

 The weather forecast was remarkably good, so we decided to do a weekend trip: climbing above Klus, a hotel night in Balsthal, and then more climbing either above Clus or above Balsthal.

We ended up spending both days at the "Alter Klettergarten" (been here twice before) It all worked out quite nicely: both days the fog burned away from the crag by the time we got there and then it was nice and sunny. There were plenty of people, but it never got crowded enough to be uncomfortable.

Routes we did (it turns out that the grades are quite different between our version of Plaisir Jura and the SAC guide, so I list both)

Saturday:

• Geneigter Verschneidung (5a/5a)
• Geneiger Pfeiler (5b+/5c+) we both agree that this was 5c+... there's a tricky move in the slabby bit that feels well above 5b
• Zaff (5b+/5b)
• Kleiner Überhang (5b/5b+)
• Kante (5c+/6a)
• Körnige Platte links (?/5b+)
• first part of Stifthakenplatten then Körnige Platte links (5b+?)
• Körnige Platte rechts (5a/5a+) greg also did this in approach shoes
• Tag du Arbeit (?/5a) greg did this in approach shoes, but it would have been more fun (and less athletic) with climbing shoes

Sunday:

• Schutzalter Sieben (5a+/5b) it was tricky for both of us to get into it today, so this felt harder than that
• Gelbe Backstein (5a+/5b+)
• Rissverschneidung (5a+/5b)
• An unbolted line next to Rissverschneidung in top rope
• Delago (5b/5b)
• An unbolted line next to Delago in top rope (A only)
• Bohrhakenüberhang (5b/5c)
• Halbschräg: (6a+/6a) in top rope.

This was great climbing and a super mini-vacation.

Gear note: this was greg's first weekend in his new approach shoes: Hanwag Lime Rock GTX

Climbing the Balmfluechoepfli take 2

We had been hoping to get in another good multi-pitch climb for the last couple weekends, but the weather just hasn't played along. That finally changed this weekend so we went back to the Balmfluechöpfli. 

Given the popularity of the routes, we once again started early (made easy by the fact that time changed today!) and hiked in pretty quickly from Oberdorf. This time we managed to lose the path at some point, so we did a bit of back-tracking and some "let's just go straight up" to get back on the path just past the first ladder. Onwards, past the beginning of the Sudgrat, to the start of the routes. Here there is one group climbing and two groups waiting. shit. Ah well... we wait a bit and climb when it's our turn. At least there aren't a ton of people waiting behind us (only one group when Andrea starts, two more come while she's climbing the first pitch). With the waiting (the team in front of us isn't fast) it's not efficient climbing, but it's still tons of fun. The sun even comes out at some point. :-)

don't follow the yellow dots...through the fog..

We opt not to do the tower again this time (next time) and enjoy the last 5b pitch. Food break in the sun up top and then along the trail to the two 4a pitches along the top ridge, which we do in our approach shoes. Aside from the very beginning (wet and slippery) these are once again super fun.

finally in the sun

After finishing up we take up the rope and then head to the very top to pack our stuff away (here we run into someone from the old gaming group, which is just totally random). It's cool and windy, so it's not a long break. Then it's off along the ridge and the nice trail that takes us back down, past the trail to the Eulengrat, to rejoin the trail to Oberdorf. We aren't quite sure how long it's going to take to get back to Oberdorf, so we start off pretty quickly and even do a bit of jogging (downhill it's super fun) before seeing the "40 minutes" sign; there's no way we're going to make that in the 9 minutes we have until the next train, so we slow way down.

fall colors

Back at Oberdorf we get the very pleasant surprise that the restaurant in the train station has reopened and is now a Tibetan place, so we get to enjoy some momos while waiting for the train. Yeah!

Track:

Hiking around Wenslingen

According to the forecast it's supposed to be rather cool and cloudy most/all of the day, so we abandon the idea of climbing and opt for a hike in Jura. We don't really have much of a plan for this aside from a start point and visiting a waterfall... the rest we'll make up as we go along.

We start in Sommerau (well, really outside of Sommerau since the bus which is replacing the train doesn't go all the way into town) and then head up the valley along a nice forest road which eventually hits the stream, and then turns into a trail. Nice walking through the Stierengraben takes us to the waterfall at the end of the valley (dramatic amphitheater, not much water though). Then up and out of the gorge and through the fields to Rünenberg. Through town here, past at a farmhouse where they have are selling freshly pressed apple juice (of course we dump out both Nalgenes and fill them with that), then further across the fields before heading down into the next narrow valley. Past the shooting range (active today) and then up and along the other side of the valley. Cool cliffs at the top of this, and a pretty sizable cave (the Bruderloch, possibly worth going back to visit with headlamps and helmets), then a bit more through the forest before finding a nice bench for a food break.

waterfall at the end of the Stierengraben

On through Wenslingen, through the fields with nice views, another food break on a bench in a stand of old oaks, then onwards to the forest. Here the trail takes us down into the next valley, through Rothenfluh, along the valley through Ormalingen,  and then finally into Gelterkinden where we get the train back to Basel.

across the fields near Rünenberg

As always, it's fun to do a nice Jura hike. :-) This would be a good area for sunny days in the spring: lots of nice open rolling terrain to enjoy the sun.

above Bettstigi...so green

Track:

Stats: 19.6km, 470m up, 500m down, 4:30 total time.

Vacation Dolomites

Sunday 20: Climbing at the 5 Torri

Thanks to a misunderstanding we didn't have the trad gear with us, so we were a bit limited in what we could climb. Still a beautiful weather day.

We climbed in the klettergarten-like zone on the NE face of Torre Latina. Was kind of cold and dark.

We did many of the routes in the sector - a mix of 4s and 4+s maybe a five. Seemed steep and harder than the grades.

Monday 21: Kleiner Lagazuoi  

Settore Destro: the 8 leftmost routes.

G climbed the leftmost 4b normal and then top rope with approach shoes and the second 4b only lead in approach shoes.

Beautiful climbing; the 5b's didn’t seem hard at all. Super fun. 

Rained like hell, with hail, as we were heading back to the car.

Tuesday 22: Kaiserjägersteig and down through the tunnels 

Questionable weather today with low clouds and a forecast of rain in the early afternoon. Still a nice easy alpine hike up the Kaiserjägersteig. Pretty much no views from up top because of the low clouds. Really cool trip back down through the tunnels. Minor rain starting as we head back to the car.

Wednesday 23: rain and indoor climbing in Cortina

 

Thursday 24: Kl. Lagazuoi and Hexenstein

Once again somewhat questionable weather, but we decide to do a multi-pitch route on the Kl. Lagazuoi West face. Greg decides to bail after the first pitch of this due to the low clouds and wet rock (in retrospect this probably wasn't the right call, but it seemed right at the time). Afterwards we have lunch in a tunnel entry, do some random scrambling looking for a possible scrambling route up the Kl. Lagazuoi, then head over do some climbing at the “Sass de Stria” crag on the Hexenstein. 

Routes: 

• Gatto Vecio 5a 
• Welcome in Padania 4a, greg only, in trail running shoes 
• Semi de Papavero 5b 
• The slabby bit next to that in top rope (greg only) 
• Non Stringere 5b, Andrea did this in the rain 

Lovely rock, but the pockets were all still wet from all the rain.  

 

Friday 25: rainy day 

 

Saturday 26: Hiking at the Passo de Giau

We park at the pass and then start out in the snow and wind (it's cold) around the N side of the massif. Fortunately we are out of the wind after not too long. Nice hike to the Rif. Cinque Torri then up to the Forcella Nuvolau and back on the S side of the massif to the car. Nice hike in wintry conditions.

Sunday 27:  Lago di Sorapis hike

Park at the Passo Tre Croci, walk past all the cars (!), and then follow the nice path  (there's even a bit of sun), passing loads of people to the beautiful Lago di Sorapis. It's pretty quiet when we get there, but within 5 minutes there's a crowd (!)... this has got to be an instagram spot. :-) 

Back along the same trail for a bit and then up, up away from the crowds and around the shoulder into the dramatic and snowy bowl under the Cime del Laudo. Across the bowl and up to the Forcella Marcuoira, then along the ridge and down to the other side. Here the trail isn't really clear because of the snow, but someone has been this way before, so we can follow the tracks. Following the trail back down, through the woods, and back to the car. Decent weather at the beginning of the day, but things definitely deteriorated as the day went on.

 

Monday 28: rainy day (not climbing because the gym wasn't open) 

 

Tuesday 29: Lagazuoi hike

Not the best forecast, so we opt for another alpine hike. Take the gondola up to Lagazuoi and then hike down the other side across the bowl and through the snow towards the Forcella del Lago (repeating, backwards, the last part of our trip in 2004). The plan is to go up through the pass between Fanes and Gr. Lagazuoi, but by the time we get to the base of that couloir it's pretty obvious that it would be a bad idea in these conditions. So back along the way we came and then around the corner (in the sun now, yeah!) to the Forcella Travenanzes. From here we decide to go ahead and see if we can get up to the pass (and bivac there) from this side. So we follow the trail through the snow up to the Forcella Gasser Depot (mostly pretty easy going there despite the snow... one dodgy bit towards the end due to ice falling from above) and over into the next bowl. Here the snow is deeper, but we still make good progress and eventually make it to the pass. We can't find the bivac (which is a bit weird), so we find a wind-protected place and have some food and then head back the way we came. From Forcella Travenanzes we head back down the 402 to the parking lot and our car.

 

Wednesday 30: 5 Torri climbing

Finally decent weather! It's not super warm, but it's warm enough and the sun is shining. Off we go to do some multi-pitch.

• Torre Quarta Bassa Normalweg (III+) 
• Torre Inglese Ostwand (IV-)  
• Torre Grande – Westgipfel, Bergfuehrer weg : stopped after the first pitch because the wind was really unpleasant and there was a super slow team in front of us (but mainly because of the wind)
• Torre Latina Normalweg (III+) 

 Nice climbing.

Thursday 1: Lagazuoi climbing 

We've got good weather again so we head back to Lagazuoi and (finally) do a multi-pitch up the Kleiner Lagazuoi: the Via del Buco (IV) in the left sector. There are two Austrians there in front of us, but they let us go first and don't end up causing any stress. Super fun, easy alpine climbing. Not loads of protection in place, but the belays have bolts and there are enough bolts along the way that it's generally not too hard to find the route. We even get to use the occasional cam or sling along the way. Once we top out we have a food break and then walk down the second half of the Kaiserjägersteig and back to the car.

We definitely didn't get lucky in terms of the weather on this trip and didn't get in nearly as much climbing as we had hoped. Still, there were some super fun days and the crap weather and snow had some drama of its own. ;-)

We could probably spend two full seasons in Cortina and not exhaust all of the possibilities for doing fun alpine multi-pitches... definitely need to head back and do some more!

The Schwalmere Southwest Ridge

We found the description of this on the SAC Tourenportal earlier this summer, yesterday was the day to do it.

We got a super early start (train at 5:20 from Basel) and did train-train-bus to Kiental. Amazing how many people were on that train from Bern (standing-room-only between Spiez and Reichenbach) and how many of them wanted to go to Griesalp (glad we weren't on either of those two buses). Anyway, we were underway shortly before 8.

along the Spiggebach

The route starts gently up out of town, then a lovely stretch along the Spiggebach (sooooo nice!). Up, up, through the woods (we're taking it slow today) and the first food-and-view break shortly before the Schindlere. It's super quiet, we see a few trail runners headed to the Schwalmere, but otherwise no other hikers. Now along the forest road a bit until the path turns steeply uphill (the normal route to the Schwalmere continues straight). Up, up through the forest until we run out of trees. Past the alp at the p1952 and another food/view break (the views are soooo good, the conditions are soooo good) and then further along the path until it meets the end of the SW ridge of the Schwalmere. Here (after 8 km and about 1000m of vertical) we leave the marked path and start the ridge itself.

views

At first it's easy hiking up through the grass, past two other people finishing up a break at p2228 (they end up continuing into the face and traversing to the normal path), and then the first scrambling followed by some steep grass to get to the Britterehöreli. The rock isn't really great (slate, pretty loose in a lot of places), so the scrambling requires quite some concentration, but the grass is nicely stepped. From the peak we have a nice view further along the ridge (and all around... this is really a fantastic ridge for views; of course it's also a T5 ridge, so enjoying those views means stopping!) and are comforted by the description telling us that the intimidating next tower is a lot easier than it looks. 

quick break before the crux

The descent from the Britterehöreli is normally the crux of the tour - quite steep grass, really exposed - but someone has outfitted it with a rope (which is even in good shape) and that takes a lot of the scary out of it. Onwards we go, mostly staying directly on the ridge, until the Glütschhöreli, which we first go around (there's a long overhanging rock section) and then climb up the side to regain the ridge. 

views along the long ridge to the Schwalmere

Onwards we go over p2511, and then we're on the final bit of ridge up to the Schwalmere. Up, up, with some good scrambling mixed in, until we reach the peak. We've been taking it slow all day (7.5 hours to the peak with breaks, the description calls for 6.5) and have a deadline to catch the last gondola/bus back, so we keep the food break and view enjoyment (the panorama really is spectacular) pretty short. We've got 2.5 hours and the description says 3 hours, so we switch into fast-descent mode and head down along the red-white trail. 

descent on the red-white trail

It's a nice descent through a lovely landscape (it's weird to be totally alone on a red-white path in a landscape like this!) and we make good time. Past the lovely Lobhörner, past the first other people we see below Sousegg, and down to the buildings at Suls. Here we take a short break to refill a water bottle and cool off hands and heads before continuing down, down, to the gondola at Sulwald. We're there 15 minutes before we need to be... we made good time.

past the Lobhörner

This was a great (though quite long) ridge tour. It's a bit surprising that we didn't know about it until this year, but I suspect this won't be the last time we do it. :-)

Track (this is drawn by hand, not clear what happened with the track from my watch):

Stats: 19.6km, 2090m up, 1519m down, 9:45 total