Kaiseregg

Same mountain 5 days later. Last week's cold snap is history. Today was my first ascent of the Kaiseregg Pass this season. As is typical for May, I had to avoid a few switchbacks in the lower section of the Kaiseregg Pass. These switchbacks are always filled with a meter-high layer of snow for a long time. The sun barely reaches these shadowy areas at 2,000 meters, and the terrain is quite steep. Anyone who has ever been there at this time of year knows that climbing up there over the snow is extremely difficult. One step is on top, the next is up to your knees in snow. And then there's always the danger of slipping and injuring yourself on a rock. So it's best to avoid the snow. The alternative routes (off-road 😉) were dry, and the upper half of the pass was, as expected, snow-free. From the top of the pass, the summit is not far and can be reached at a brisk pace in 15 minutes. There were a lot of people out and about on this day off. Last Saturday, there was a lot of fresh snow on the left and right of the pass climb, making the detour virtually impossible. Wet snow on wet ground is simply too dangerous for slipping. To compare the situation 5 days ago, I have the same cover photo from the same location for both tours. Today it was almost 10 degrees at the summit, with no wind and 100% sunshine. Very pleasant. The temperature at the lake below was 17°C, and in the next two days it's supposed to reach 25°C at 1,000m. Have a nice 🔆 day everyone and enjoy the early summer 🥳😎 🙋🏻‍♂️ Best, Erich

Today day 2 of my short trip to Switzerland ♥️. And finally climbed the Kaiseregg. Due to my slight knee injury 🙄 I decided to first take the chairlift to Riggisalp and then up to the top. It was exhausting enough as it was. Great weather and the first snow - probably the first and last for me this season 😄. The view from Kaiseregg is breathtaking. The lake on one side, the 3000-meter peaks on the other. It was so worth it. A dream !

The pictures are a bit jumbled, but no matter - it was a beautiful day! The bag, or rather the contents, are collected trash from people who forgot that you really shouldn't leave anything behind in nature. 😉

Sunset at Kaiseregg with Patrick Göser Photos taken by Patrick

Somehow my cell phone thought I was in France

Today was once again a classic of mine on the program. Already at the start at 10:15 a.m. it was warm 20 degrees 🥵. I left the destination open because at this time of year there is often still a lot of snow on the steps just before the Kaiseregg Pass. And there was still a lot of snow in the lower area. When climbing up, I usually avoid this area on a large scale in the dry to the right of the steps. But that takes longer because it doesn't have a path. The snowfields in this steep terrain are rather dangerous as a slip could go far down. The rest of the path on the back of the summit was free of snow 👍. When descending, I chose the other side of the steps and had to fight through a short piece of snow almost at the bottom of the steps. Sticks would have been welcome😖. For the last part of the hike I added a small detour via Riggisalphütte and "Unter Euschels" (Ùndera Nüüschùs) alpine hut.

Already at 4 p.m. in the Schwarzsee - that's enough for a nice after-work round. That's why we're going to Kaiseregg again today, of course without luggage. This makes it easier 😅👍🏻. Reached the summit after 1h 40'. Although it was still raining until mid-week, the paths and pastures were dry throughout. Ideal for a bit of cross-country running. Cross-country skiing is almost always possible from the 3rd week in September. A number of dairy cows at Alp Riggisalp ended their alpine summer last week because the quantity and quality of grass was no longer sufficient to produce Gruyère mountain cheese. Cattle are still there. Other Alps have moved their animals to the Vorweiden (Vorweiden = pastureland that is a little lower and is only occupied by cattle at the beginning and end of the season). The cattle from Kaisereggalp will return to the Schwarzsee Gorge tomorrow morning (Saturday) over the Kaiseregg Pass (300 steps). Then the path to the Kaisereggpass is completely closed again for a while 😅 The dryness of August is making itself felt. The last rain doesn't change anything, in September the grass in the mountains only grows very minimally. This is how you start a weekend 👌🏻😊

A spontaneous hike up Schwarzsee's local mountain. While shopping and trashing in the morning, it occurred to me that I could quickly climb Kaiseregg before the rain forecast arrived in the mid-afternoon. No sooner said than done. Kaiseregg is, as always, a barometer of my fitness level. So, I'll be climbing it with some exercise 😉. The signpost at the Gypsera parking lot, where I parked, indicates 3 hours 20 minutes for the 6km climb from 1050m to 2185m. But that's only how long it takes if you're climbing it for the first time and chatting with other people, stopping, and looking around often. I, on the other hand, have been to the summit quite a few times and therefore know exactly how and where to use my reserves without stopping. This is a significant advantage over a first ascent, where you don't know exactly what's ahead. Besides, I've probably reached my peak for the season, and for this third Kaiseregg tour of the year, I deviated slightly from the official hiking trail and shortened the route by about 500 meters, across the pasture, in a direct line uphill. Why am I mentioning this? Just so you understand that I have a completely different time limit than the one on the official hiking trail 😉. I completed the approximately 1160 meters of elevation gain to the summit at 2185 meters in 1 hour 35 minutes and was quite pleased with my current condition. It's just a shame that I've never managed to carry this condition over the winter into the following year 😭 The forecasted bad weather cell for the afternoon had already made itself felt right from the start. It was an extremely stormy climb, and with a headwind, you really had to battle. At the summit, you were almost blown away by the constant gusts. Afterwards, I saw that the weather station at Bärghuus Riggisalp, about 700 meters lower than the Kaiseregg summit, recorded wind gusts of 86 km/h, and on nearby peaks with measuring stations, just under 100 km/h. I wonder how much it was on Kaiseregg? 🤔 Since it's very difficult to convey this weather situation in a photo, there are videos. The somewhat shaky camera work is due to the wind 🙈😅 Kaiseregg summit panorama during a storm https://youtu.be/7uKXa9kAK9s?si=V0WaageAWn5-1NiL I was still in the storm. There were even stronger gusts than in the videos. It's very difficult to film, though, because you don't know in advance how strong the next gust will be. 🤷‍♂️ https://youtu.be/GdlOr86PelE?si=OAWx5H3ngDvvX8FO Video a little further down at Riggisalpseeli. From there, the noise was overwhelming, and I had to hurry a bit because the dark clouds were approaching rapidly. Meanwhile, it's raining. https://youtu.be/r54d8iQpRdw?si=qM8ActukYKFvNHk6