What to do? Michael, right on cue despite his fatigue from the previous day, “OK, well, we could go over <here> and do a climb, or we could do some cragging <here> and…”. I shot him a “you gotta be kidding” look. Michael kinda giggled, but, you know what, I felt pretty good, I could do another climb. I just didn’t feel like doing something that caused to much mental strain. A couple of hours later, after we’d returned my rental gear, hopped the train, and picked up the car, “You know what, I think I would like to do another climb, so long as it’s just a fun day out, nothing to strenuous or stressful.” Michael suggested Furka Pass. He described a few climbs for me, all very moderate. Sounded good!

We made a long pleasant drive around the east side of the Bernese Alps, stunning views of meadows, villages, and high peaks the whole way, to Furka Pass, which is at the terminus of a long glacier. Here, there’s a spot called “Belvedere” with a stupid glacier tourist trap attraction and an aging Victorian era hotel. That place had too much of a “Shining” feel to it. We drove on, looking for places to sleep. I was intent on spending the night out, especially after the pricey hotel from the night before, but, more importantly, I just like sleeping outside now. For once, it was early enough to not fret too much about a place to sleep. We found numerous ones around the pass, all very exposed though. The forecast was a bit unsettled so we decided to turn around and return to the village of Oberwald, the last village in the valley before the road climbed steeply to the pass.

In Oberwald, we had a lunch/dinner (it was around 3pm and then just lounged in a small park). I continued reading “The White Spider”, Michael reading his Stephen King. I took a break and wandered a dirt road outside of the town and stumbled upon the perfect camping spot. A hidden spot, next to the river, under a train tressel. This would work perfectly. The river would lull us to sleep, the tressel would protect us from any rain. Plus, again, I liked the idea of being a bum and sleeping under a bridge.

(above) Comfortable accommodations. This spot is also out of sight of anyone walking on the road.

We each took individual hikes to relax and look around the town. Michael went for dinner and I stayed in the park reading and listening to music. After Michael returned, near dusk, we packed up a few things and walked to the bridge. Thankfully, only one more train passed by, but it didn’t seem too loud. We were able to sleep soundly until the next morning, around 6:15 AM, when the first morning train came thundering, violently shaking us awake. The skies were blue though. “Let’s go!”

At the top of the pass, however, the weather had changed its mind. Dark clouds and fog had moved in and rain was threatening. What upset me the most was that we wouldn’t have views of that stunning glacier. However, the beginning of the climb, on the Kleine Furkahorn, wasn’t far away. We decided to at least hike up to it.

(above l-r) We hiked by a mysterious fort. It looked almost brand new. Strange. Michael said, “The Swiss are serious about defending their mountains!” The second picture is the best shot I could get of the glacier in the early morning fog.

It was hard to find the start of the climb in the fog. We fumbled around a bit, but Michael found the title of the climb (I can’t remember…something like “Han’s route”) scrawled in thin red paint. No wonder I couldn’t find it (red-yellow color blind)! Rain still threatened, but we took on the attitude that the route was easy, bolted, and we could always retreat. Michael took the first pitch. While I was belaying, the rain began to pitter-patter.

“Hey, Michael. Can you feel the rain?”
“Yeah. Whaddya wanna do?”
<pause>
“Put me on belay. I’ll come up.”

(above) Michael’s photo looking down pitch 1. The next one is my photo looking down pitch 2. Hey, the weather is clearing!

The climbing was pleasantly easy, maybe 5.4 by our standards. I took off for the second pitch while the rain still threatened. At least the intensity hadn’t increased. Amazingly though, for pitch two, the rain stopped. For the rest of the day, the clouds cleared and we enjoyed an easy climb. Most of the route was probably 5.2, which made for lots of talking and joking. Quotes from the hilarious “Travers” character, from the movie “Cliffhanger” made multiple appearances.

(above) More climbing shots. The climbing in the lefthand shot is way easier than it looks. The one on the right reminds me of an easy version of Mount Stuart’s north ridge, just below the Great Gendarme.

(above) Easy climbing. Oh yeah, and the background of the picture on the right reminds me of Mount Torment and Forbidden Peak.

There were only three challenging pitches:

• The 5.7, which was the longest of all three, featuring fairly thin climbing up a long slabby dihedral. I led this pitch.
• The 5.8, a short right trending vertical hand crack. Maybe this deserves to be a 5.7. Michael led this.
• the 5.9, a short but steep flaring hand crack. Not much for feet on the right side. Generously protected. Michael led this.

And despite these pitches being mixed in, I’m still tempted to just call this climb a 5.2! That’s 95% of the route.

(above) I’m about to inelegantly heave myself onto the ledge to complete the 5.9 pitch.

After a while, the climb did feel never-ending. We must have done at least 15 pitches before finally scrambling to the top. Maybe it was more than that. We simuled some, got lost in grassy ledges on some, and even hopped on a different route for a bit. So, in the end, I’m not sure what we climbed, but it was a perfectly pleasant day. Below us was the impressive glacier, and beyond was a savage looking range, we weren’t exactly sure what we were looking at, but it looked Cascadian in appearances – dark rock, jagged ridges, all protected by glaciers. Later, we looked it up on Google Earth and realized it was the backside of the Bernese Alps, home of the Schrekhorn and the Eiger. Michael is now inspired to visit.

(above l-r) The Bernese Alps. On the top of the Kleine Furkahorn.

The hikeout was likewise easy. The drive back was a blast. We cranked Therion, stopped for some (free!) delicious spring water, and enjoyed the views. Back in Munich, Michael went to work and I hung out w/ Kris and the boyz. Kris was sick and I think I caught it as well. I was lethargic for two days, doing a little bit of work, and a lot of sleeping. We enjoyed Indian chow and Cliffhanger one night. Just a lot of fun, a great vacation. Back to China!

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