The Arete des Sommetres

Good forecast, though maybe a bit cold for climbing shoes, so we picked a long ridge that you can do in the boots: the Arete des Sommetres.

It's a longish train ride to Le Noirmont, but the stretch from Glovelier is great for getting into the "it's a beautiful day, it's going to be so great to be out in the sun moving"  mood. :-)

The approach is easy and pretty short. We put the gear on in the sun and then set off. This time we both have gloves with us, so the initial bit of climbing doesn't result in frozen fingers - once we're in the sun on the ridge everything is fine.

We really enjoy the scrambling and having the ridge mostly to ourselves (the only other person we see is a guy doing it solo) in the awesome weather. Again: this is certainly doable without the rope, but it's good practice and it is comforting to have during the couple of bits where you have to downclimb in fairly exposed positions. We're done in about 3:10, including a lunch break along the way.

After a longer rest to enjoy the sun on the peak (there are other people here), we continue along the ridge past the hut and then down towards Saignelegier. We do the last bit of this at a decent pace since there's a chance of catching an earlier train, but when that doesn't work out we just enjoy the hour sitting on a bench in the sun.

Really fun scramble on a very nice day.

Track with the approach and descent:
Stats:

A stroll from Lausen to Sissach

We needed to be back in the late afternoon so that G could catch a flight. We wanted to climb. The forecast was for good weather, but maybe not warm enough for climbing shoes, so the original plan was to go and do the Brueggligrat. Then we discovered that, due to construction, the trains weren't running the whole way. Including the bus in the trip or going the long way around ended up being too much travel time, so we redid the plan and switched to the Gerstelgrat (would have been exactly one year since the last time). Then we got the tram times wrong in the morning and ended up at the SBB 5 minutes after the train left, with 55 minutes until the next one. So we just got on an S-Bahn towards Olten and made something up in the train.

We ended up doing a nice hike from Lausen to Sissach via the Sissacherflue. Extra training bonus for wearing the big boots (this is one for running shoes) and having the pack full of climbing gear. :-)
Thing neither of us remembered: you can see the Alps from the Sissacherflue.

Track:
Stats: 10.7km, 530m up, 490m down

Greg's first marathon

The logical extension of the loop to get the marathon distance.

Track:
Stats: 4:56, 42.8km, 926m up and down.

nice sun rise along the way

Full moon hike

It was almost full moon and the forecast was good, so on Friday evening we made the spontaneous decision to do a full moon hike.

Greg got up early to make hot beverages and porridge and we left the flat at 3am on Saturday under a bright, bright moon and the occasional thin cloud and set off towards Allschwil. It's insanely bright outside, with super sharp moon shadows. We start off along the Bachgraben and continue through Allschwil. We decide to go through Schönenbuch so that we get out into the open sooner, and enjoy the moon as we walk through the fields (this is one of g's normal running routes).

Back down the hill through the woods to rejoin the other running route, up the hill, and then through the fields along the broad top enjoying the views. We take a short break to eat a bit and have tea and coffee before heading into the woods. Through the woods, past a woman walking with two dogs who were not happy to see us - the only other person we really see on the whole hike - and then down, down into Biel-Benken. The really muddy bit down the hill is pretty dark and not-quite frozen, but we still manage without headlamps (fun!). Through Biel-Benken then up onto the broad ridge and along (in the open again, yeah!) until we get to Flüh. We had toyed with the idea of stopping at a bakery here, but end up not walking past one, so we skip that. Onwards up, up, past Mariastein and then to the start of the climb up to the Blauen. By now the moon is quite low in the sky and the eastern horizing is definitely starting to get light. Another very short break before starting this to eat some dried fruit and then up, up, along the trail. At some point towards the top we opt to just go cross country instead of switching onto the forest road and head up, up, through a snowy bramble, until we hit a road just under the ridge. Along this for a bit (we aren't 100% sure where we are relative to the Metzlerenchrüz at this point, but it doesn't really matter) and then we just head directly to the ridge again so that we can catch the sunrise (it's 7:30!). We follow the trail on the ridge a bit more towards the east until we find a perfect bench with a great view and a bit of table. Here we stop, have breakfast, and enjoy the sunrise while appreciating the views (we can even see the very top of what is likely the Alps on the horizon). Soooooooo good!

We don't really have anything more concrete planned for the hike, so it's all improv now. After breakfast we head back along the ridge, past the Metzlerenchrüz, and then continue along the ridge for a while before heading down to Challpass. Here we pick up another trail and head down, down into the valley. Through Burg (with its cool castle on a sharp ridge), and then along the trail through the woods along the border. Another food break when we find a good bench in the sun above Metzerlen, and then the last bit along the trail to Rodersdorf, where we get the tram back to Basel.

This was really fun and definitely something we should do again!

Some notes:
- We weren't moving slowly on this walk. The average pace, including breaks, was below 15min/km.
- Heading down the other side of the ridge from Metzlerenchrüz to Laufen would have allowed us to get back quicker.
- We talked about heading down towards Kleinlützel but opted not to do this because the timing to get a bus would have been tricky (they only go a few times a day).
- Continuing past Kleinlützel to Delemont (another nice route that g has run before) would add about another 8km to the overall distance - probably 38km in total - and would also be a nice way to finish. We'd see more early sun that way too.
- The route we did would also make a nice run. Could be extended to return to Basel (this ends up being around 45km)

Track:
Stats: 29.7km 1165m up, 1028m down

Along the Walensee

The forecast was better in the east, so we opted for a hike along the Walensee. We weren't 100% sure what conditions were going to be like, so we left ourselves some flexibility with what exactly we'd do and brought along the ice axes just in case we did decide to head up high or maybe go through the Gocht couloir.

We start at the beginning of Amden and head east along the trail and down to Betlis. Past the Seerenbachfälle (really pretty and impressive area) and onward. Up, up through the Rüsteliwald, lunch break in the sun (!) with a view near p918, and onward. At the fork near p932 we opt not to take the high route (there looks to be plenty of snow up high and we are enjoying just walking) and head on and then down to Quinten. Here along the lake shore (nice!), past Gand and Josenhaab, and then heading up, up again past Engen and Frachtina. Here we opt to walk down to Walenstadt rather than the shorter stretch to the Walenstadtberg and the bus (according to the radar we have time to make it down without getting too wet), so down, down we go. Another short food break at the park on the lake outside of Walendstadt (still looks good on the radar!) and then through town (some kind of Fasnacht thing going on) and to the train station for the trip home.

This was a really nice walk (would also be a good run, though plenty of vertical in it) and a great way to spend the first day of February. :-)

Track:
Stats: 19km, 1000m up, 1200m down, 5h20 total time with breaks, 4h40 moving time (there weren't a lot of breaks)