Gänsekragen 2914m

With a full day of sunshine and no threat of afternoon storms, it was time to get up into the higher mountains. The village of Grise, is only a ten minute drive away, but gained us a lot of uphill so that we could begin our hike from the highest possible point. The cool of the forest, early in the morning was a lovely temperature, and we were well on our way by the time the sun crept over the mountainside. The air was crystal clear, and the previous rains meant perfect clarity for the views.

Half way up to the hut and above the tree was a tiny little chapel! A  long way to walk for a Sunday service!

A few more zig-zags followed on a good path before we reached our first resting point - The Winnebachsee Hutte.

The overnight residents were just getting boots on and setting off on their respective journeys when we arrived, but the warden was friendly and allowed us to stash our climbing gear in the boot room, so that we could climb our peak as lightweight as possible.

We were moving pretty fast and overtook one couple just above the hut. From then on we seemed to have the mountain to ourselves as the path turned into more of a rocky scramble.

There were all sort of flowers on the colourful hillside and lots of Moss Campion.

We put our trekking poles away for the final summit scramble, which is straight forward and well marked.

Then suddenly, the summit cross appeared!

A lone summit, on a cloudless day and with a wooden bench to sit on and enjoy the view! Perfect!

Attached to the cross was a 'Summit Book', so we recorded our ascent for the historical records.

For about 20minutes, we sat and enjoyed the view, until we were joined by a couple who had climbed a ridge from the other side of the mountain on a more technical route. 

At nearly 3000m high, we cooled down quite quickly and despite the sunshine, soon had jackets and warm layers on.

When the next team arrived at the top, we decided to set off (especially as we could see a big team on their way! - it's only a small summit!)

We descended a short way, then climbed a subsidary summit that had a flat grassy top - perfect for sitting on and checking out the view. Clare spotted a big herd of Chamois on the improbably steep cliff, jumping from rock to rock. 

They all crossed this snow patch - I've zoomed in but they still look like ants! Must have been about 40 of them.



With a well stocked hut just an hour and a half below us, we relaxed and ate the rest of our food and drank our water while soaking up the air and spotting flowers.

It felt good heading down to the hut (just out of sight to the left of the waterfall), after all the uphill!

When it came into view, we found that there were nearly a hundred people outside all tucking into lunch!

It was so busy, that we had to find a space at a table inside to order some apple strudel and drinks to stave off a headache. 

The wait for it to arrive was rather agonisingly long as we were hot, tired and hungry, but eventually it came and we wolfed it all down!

Just below the hut, we had read that there was a small cliff that was bolted for climbing on, so once rested, we reclaimed our ropes etc and went off to find it.

Despite initial appearances, the climbs were great and for the first time on this trip, the grades felt right!

We climbed a couple of the slab routes, which were both very enjoyable. (Note, the slab on the left of the crag looked brilliant, but we only had a 50m rope and the routes needed a 60m).

The rock had some interesting geology too!

From then on it was all downhill. Clouds had covered the blue sky which cooled the descent nicely and there was even a drop of rain as we reached the car, but nothing to worry about.

A huge day! 13.8km distance travelled. 1445m of height climbed and three rock climbs done as well! Very glad that showers, food and a sofa were only 10mins drive away!

Peak:

Gänsekragen 2914m

Winnebachseehutte Climbs:

- Yoho, 4c

- Glacier, 5b

- Manitoba. 4

Start/Finish at Grise.