Bernese Oberland Archive

Welcome to my personal diary of the trip to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland in September 2003

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Day 6: Kandersteg to Gemmipass

The overnight rain has abated to a general drizzle, and the day's route is being debated over breakfast.  John and Liz decide to call it a day and return to the sunkissed Sud de France which they know and love.  (Any room for passengers?)  They've a long way to travel round to our start point at Meiringen, and a long drive from there .. so bon voyage!

Original itinerary | Map

Because the weather doesn't look like it's going to improve .. and because there's fresh snow at the higher levels, the consensus is that we split into two groups.  The first .. the determined diehards .. will follow the planned route, but will consent to take the cable up to Sunnbuel at about 1900m, then walk from there.  The other will travel round to Leukerbad by train and bus, then take the cable directly up to the Hotel Wildstrubel at the Gemmipass .. effectively a rest day.

As we say our goodbyes to the !!Bates Motel!! the first group, consisting of Bob, Allan, Mark, Willie and Kenny, head south for the cable station.  The second group of Ian, Iris, Andy, Richard, Diane and Miriam, together with the splinter group of Arlene and Brandon who're going to do their own thing, and the Sud de France sunseekers, head north for the train station. Our route is efficiently timed with the customary Swiss precision, and the tickets purchased for the whole trip with the customary half-price Swiss Card.

We travel through the long tunnel from Kandersteg to Goppenstein, then descend eastwards to the Rhone valley at Brig, change to the valley train heading westwards to Leuk, then take the bus upwards to Leukerbad at 1400m.  For me, this is yet another Swiss experience .. all for the very reasonable sum of SFr18.20 or around £8.50.  The bus winds its way up through the south-facing vineyards which grow the grapes for the now-we-know-it-quite-well (only available in half-litre screw top bottles) Dôle wine ... and, as in the rest of wine-growing Europe, every inch of available space has a perfect line of vine.

As we head towards the Gemmi cable station through the completely deserted town of Leukerbad (well, I suppose it IS Sunday), we hear a faint sound of laughter and merriment .. and could that be a yodel??  It's quite cool at this altitude, but the clouds seem to be moving slowly away from the tops and a little hint of sunshine is cracking through.  As the music and merriment get louder, we realise that there's a festival on in the main square .. which we settle down to watch over a bite of lunch and a beer.  What could be more civilised?

After being treated to local dances, alpine horn playing and real yodelling, we head upwards to the station to catch the 1430 cable car.  The path from Leukerbad to the Gemmipass at 2314m follows an incredible route up an apparently impassable rock face .. but we can see how it winds its way from the comfort of the car.  The cable stops within the new Wildstrubel Hotel, and our room is at the bottom of an extremely modern spiral staircase.  It's matratzenlager on 2 levels .. and very swish too.

The walkers have also arrived after a pleasant ascent from Sunnbuel via the Schwarenbach Hotel .. and after everyone has bagged a sleeping space and settled in, most head off around 3.30pm to explore the locality.

In the true spirit of a rest day, Richard and I opt to sample a beer or two and admire the view from the restaurant on the upper floor .. an incredible panoramic view of many of the biggest and most famous mountains in Switzerland.  Here's the Top 10 highest mountains in Europe (as mentioned before) ....

.... and how many of these can be seen from the Gemmi?

Answers by e-mail please!  In the clearing weather, the others had explored around the local peaks of the Plattenhorner, the Daubenhorn and gone some way towards the Lammerenhütte.  Ian and Iris checked out the path back down to Leukerbad, went the whole distance, and just caught the last cable back up .. as did the splinter group of Arlene and Brandon who had spent a romantic day together away from the confines of the group.

Dinner is well up to the standard to which we're now accustomed, and as the light fades, the peak panorama is enthusiastically photographed.  Some retire earlier than others .. with much hilarity being enjoyed by the later arrivals at the bottom of the staircase .. but will all this fresh snow be with us tomorrow??

Quote of the day:

"You'll know you're at the bottom, Nod, when you fall over!"

"That'll be me at the bottom, then, Ian!!"

Andy McGowan