On the rare occasion it happens that I have some holidays where hiking is not the main topic at all. Such a thing happened at the end of July, where I spent a week in Slovenia without lacing up my boots for a single time. :) Returning from that lovely trip, I had one spare day before having to work again and well, you don’t have to guess what I used that day for. :) For quite a while now, I had wanted to check out some of the most popular landmarks of the Alpstein: the Altmann, the Lisengrat and the Säntis. While I’ve been on the Säntis last year already, today's plan was to visit all three of them and if you want to know how that turned out, just keep on reading. :) To have as much time as possible for that Alpstein traverse, I arrived at the designated starting point in Wildhaus at around 08:30 in the morning. Eager to see what the day had in store for me I started to walk right away and headed once more towards the cable car of Gamplüt. This time however, I spare you with the details of the first part, as I already covered that in my blog post about the Wildhuser Schafberg. Exactly using the same route, I obviously knew what was awaiting me. Nevertheless there were a couple changes compared to the last time: a construction site in the first ravine that wasn’t there the last year, the flowers that were mostly dried out instead of blooming and naturally there was almost no snow left, which made the going in the higher reaches way easier than the last time.
Eventually reaching the turnoff to the Altmannsattel, it was time to cover some new ground. For a start, a steep ascent in a rocky slope awaited me and while the beginning was made of slippery rubble, the first scrambling section over jagged rocks appeared shortly afterwards. It was fun to head up that challenging slope, as the upper parts were pretty craggy as well and I had to use my hands more often than not. :) Coming upon a first saddle once the rise had been conquered, the view opened up and the Altmann as well as the Säntis could already be seen ahead of me.
Not only the mountains showed their best side however, but also the fauna was keeping up, as a whole group of ibexes were grazing on some rocks a little bit further ahead. Slowly making my way towards them, they weren’t shy at all and remained exactly where they were. Unfortunately, numerous clouds were already covering the sky, but right when I was closest to the ibexes, the sun suddenly appeared, giving me the opportunity to get some good shots. :)
Once the photo session was over, I took some more time to observe those lovely animals, before I eventually had to move on. The path now followed the mountainside, always with the Altmann in sight ahead of me. Challenging (but not too challenging), providing a few gentle scrambling sections in between, as well as boasting some superb views, it simply was a fantastic trail to walk along. On top of that, I hadn’t seen any other hiker so far, very well aware that that was bound to change once I got to the Altmann.
Approaching the end of the blue and white section, I came upon a junction where I kept walking straight ahead and eventually got to the Altmannsattel about 15 minutes later. While the Altmann had looked impregnable from afar, that certainly wasn’t the case anymore when I stood below the final ascent. The slope wasn’t as steep as anticipated and next to the iron bars that helped ascending, there were plenty of rocks to hold on to. Having read some reports about the final climb beforehand, I actually was a little bit disappointed, as I had expected it to be more difficult than it actually was. Well, I enjoyed the scramble anyway and just before the top, a polished soap stone took care of that missing rush of adrenaline. :) Reaching the summit a bit before noon, it was time to sit down and have some lunch. The view from the top was beautiful, even though it was disturbed by some low hanging clouds. It would have been nice to see the entire panorama, but as that didn't happen, I guess I just have to come back one day. :)
45 minutes later I descended back to the Altmannsattel, taking good care on my way down from the Altmann, as the slippery stones were definitely more of a challenge than on the way up. From the saddle I retraced my steps to the junction, taking a right turn there, this time heading towards the Rotsteinpass. Being a red and white section, I expected a gentle descent, but the trail was surprisingly challenging. A very steep slope led down at first, luckily providing plenty of ropes to hold on to, as well as loads of iron steps that were hammered into the rocks. It didn’t stop there however, as also the traverse to the Rotsteinpass was full of ropes and steps to help me through the steep mountainside. The icing on the cake were the views towards the pass and the Lisengrat, they were simply fantastic, the clouds giving the scenery kind of a mystic atmosphere.
Walking past the hut on the pass, I took the trail towards the Lisengrat and wondered what would be up next. An easy path had to be followed at first, before a rather steep slope began to lead upwards. Taking a break during the ascent, I took a look back to the Altmann and didn’t wonder anymore why the descent to the Rotsteinpass had been that challenging.
Moving on, the ascending slope eventually ended and ahead of me the heart of the Lisengrat unfolded. And what a marvelous place that was! A narrow trail led over the ridge and again there were plenty of ropes and steps to help you safely through the difficult parts. The sun and clouds made the whole traverse quite a spectacle, which unfortunately ended way too soon, as the best part of the ridge crossing only lasted for about five minutes. I definitely could have had more of that. :)
Well, not to say that the rest of the Lisengrat wasn’t beautiful as well. Scaling a rise shortly after the narrow trail had been left behind, the Säntis finally came into proper view and with all its buildings and antennas, it was another impressive sight to behold. Not much later, I was back walking on another narrow path and spontaneously deciding to take a break, I scrambled up the rock wall to my left and sat down on top of it to have some rest.
The view towards the Säntis was simply fantastic and while I was enjoying my break, a rather huge group was passing ultra slowly through a narrow gap just underneath of me. Once the gap was free again, I headed down there as well and encountered once more what was pretty familiar by now: ropes and iron steps. :) It was the last challenge for the moment, as a short ascent later I was on the Säntis, heading straight into the restaurant for a well deserved summit beer. :) Of course, there also was enough time left to check out the peak and its surroundings, but unfortunately, like the last time, the clouds dominated the sky and barred most of the views into the distance. Well, I enjoyed it anyway and was sure that I would have some more luck the next time. :)
Like always, the time ran short and too soon I had to start with the descent. For a final time I was curious what was awaiting me, as I was about to descend along the infamous trail to the Schwägalp. Probably nothing could have prepared me for that first slope though, as I definitely never went down anything like it. While there had been plenty of ropes and iron steps before, nothing really compared to what I was facing now.
Having brought behind that ultra steep slope, the trail remained challenging enough, especially because most of the rocks were rather slippery, polished by thousands of boots that have walked across over the years. It made the whole descent quite difficult and even though I had a bus to catch at the Schwägalp, I took my time in that part, not wanting to risk an injury. All in all, the trail was good fun however, the lovely scenery of course helping to keep the good mood. :) Coming upon the hut of Tierwis after a while, I assumed that the gorgeous views would be ending here.
Checking the signpost at the hut, I noticed that I was quite a bit behind schedule, so I decided to do the rest of the descent in one go. Luckily it turned out that my assumption was right, as the views during the descent weren't too spectacular anymore and therefore I was able to lay my focus solely on the trail itself. For the best part it remained pretty steep and rocky and certainly wasn’t the easiest path ever. Only in the latter parts, where the slopes eventually got gentler, I was able to walk a bit faster to catch my bus. That worked out perfectly and before long I was on my way home, tired but happy. Doing that traverse had been a lot of fun, even though the weather could have been a tad better. But as mentioned above already, that gives me a good reason to do it all over again some day. :)
Highlights of the day: the entertaining trails, the ibexes and the view from the Altmann
This hike is for you if:
- you want to visit three Alpstein icons in one day :)
- you’re looking for challenging trails
- you want the best views over the Alpstein and its surroundings
- you don't mind to walk on many different grounds
This hike is not for you if:
- it’s your first hike ever in the mountains
- you’re looking for remoteness
- you have vertigo or can’t handle narrow paths/ridges
- you’re not a fan of ropes and iron steps :)
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