Hiking in the Swiss Alps is a completely different experience for me than hiking in the green pastures I love elsewhere. One of my favourite landscapes here is glaciated terrain — mountains and valleys shaped by ice over millions of years, with dramatic slopes of rocky scree.
It’s a shame the main mountain pass roads here have become so popular over the past 20–30 years — though as one of the motorists adding to the traffic, I can’t really complain. Twenty years ago there were plenty of visitors, but nothing like the motorbikes, cars and camper vans you see today. Enjoying the mountains up here, far above everyday life, takes a little more patience than it used to, and getting away from the main road is the only way to enjoy them in peace.
Each time I’ve crossed the Grimsel Pass over the last few years, since I took up hiking properly, the summit of the Sidelhorn has tempted me to visit. I drove up on a sunny Sunday a couple of weeks ago and parked at one of the pass road car parks. The air was mainly warm, with just a cool breeze, so I put on my Rab fleece, loaded my rucksack with my packed lunch, and started up the road towards the Oberaar Berghaus. My map app showed the direct route to my chosen summit branching off after a few minutes, zigzagging up the steep rocky outcrop before levelling out. I was pleased to feel the gym work of the past few months paying off: last year I’d have struggled up a path this steep without frequent pauses, but a slow pace and stronger legs got me up steadily. I stopped for lunch with a view back down to the lake, glowing blue against the brown and orange landscape, sharing the route with half a dozen other couples with less inclination for stopping, who were clearly drawn up by the exercise rather than the views.
After the landscape levelled out at the top of the zigzag, I paused again near a hut before the path turned steep once more towards the summit, to marvel at the signs of freeze and thaw on the cracked rocks, at the seams of partially-glassed quartz, and at the dramatic views down to the Grimsel reservoir and across to the Upper and Lower Aare glaciers.
One of the biggest challenges in hiking, beyond fitness, is psychological — pushing towards a notable goal, which feels a little absurd when you spend most of the week at a desk. I don’t compare myself to people who do routes like this several times a week with ease, or to Swiss people who’ve hiked them their whole lives. Standing at the car, looking up at a distant summit I’ll reach later, reminds me how far I’ve come physically — especially compared to how lazy I was hiking the Lake District in the 1990s.
This time, the voice telling me I wouldn’t make it to the top won out. After about an hour and a quarter, I stopped fighting it and turned onto the gradual alternative route down towards Oberaar. The Sidelhorn isn’t going anywhere, and the fitness gains will keep building for a return visit if I stick to my routine.
I cut cross-country to a viewpoint over the reservoir before rejoining a path down to the small Trübtensee lake. I’d considered continuing on to the Berghaus, but checked online first — good thing, since it’s closed this year for renovations, which would have added an unnecessary 4 km to my walk. A cable car runs from there back to the pass road these days, but only as far as the Hospiz and not to my car parked on the summit of the pass.
My legs were fine, but my feet ached a little at this point, so I was glad of the relatively flat road back — quiet, with no Berghaus traffic this year, and just c couple of photo stops.
I’ve kicked myself before for not getting out more in autumn, my favourite season. So a challenging hike with a successful, if alternative, route at the start of September was a good way to begin the season.
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