After a leisurely start, we departed the Matterhorn Valley Hostel in Gasenreid and headed up to the Bordier Hut (2886m). On the bridge that crossed the glacial river, our noses caught the scent of freshly BBQd meat.
It was as if we were in a Bisto advert; we floated across to the picturesque lake (despite our weighty rucksacks!). Unfortunately the distraction resulted in us being on the wrong path... (to be fair, we have subsequently discovered that there were only three signs pointing us in the right direction!) Despite this, we only realised that we were on the wrong path at the head of the valley. At this point, the sides of the valley towered over us, so we had a dilemma - retrace our steps or scramble 150m up loose moraine. We chose to scramble. We chose badly...
That said, this did lead to a beautiful secluded Alpine meadow - ideal for a wild camp. We rejoined the path and headed onwards and upwards, but I was feeling the effects of the altitude.
The top of the zig zag path joined the Europaweg which lead to the base of the Ried Glacier which we needed to cross to reach the hut. Halfway across we refreshed our crevasse rescue technique - just in case...
We reached the Bordier Hut just in time for tea :) This small quaint hut is in a remote and wild setting under the upper glacier downfall.
As we were tidying up after our hearty meal, we were joined by some Steinbock who were enjoying licking the salt off the rocks.
With the sun setting and a storm rolling in, we planned our route for the next day and jumped in to our cots for the night. Zzzz
It was as if we were in a Bisto advert; we floated across to the picturesque lake (despite our weighty rucksacks!). Unfortunately the distraction resulted in us being on the wrong path... (to be fair, we have subsequently discovered that there were only three signs pointing us in the right direction!) Despite this, we only realised that we were on the wrong path at the head of the valley. At this point, the sides of the valley towered over us, so we had a dilemma - retrace our steps or scramble 150m up loose moraine. We chose to scramble. We chose badly...
That said, this did lead to a beautiful secluded Alpine meadow - ideal for a wild camp. We rejoined the path and headed onwards and upwards, but I was feeling the effects of the altitude.
The top of the zig zag path joined the Europaweg which lead to the base of the Ried Glacier which we needed to cross to reach the hut. Halfway across we refreshed our crevasse rescue technique - just in case...
We reached the Bordier Hut just in time for tea :) This small quaint hut is in a remote and wild setting under the upper glacier downfall.
As we were tidying up after our hearty meal, we were joined by some Steinbock who were enjoying licking the salt off the rocks.
With the sun setting and a storm rolling in, we planned our route for the next day and jumped in to our cots for the night. Zzzz
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