Slowly but steadily, the end of 2023 was coming closer and even though I had been out and about a lot, I somehow didn't manage to visit a “Highest Point” this year. As you might know, I’m trying to reach the highest point of every canton in Switzerland and to keep at it, the goal is to visit at least one each year. Already approaching the middle of October, my luck was, that the autumn so far was much too warm and as there was absolutely no sign of winter yet, I decided to take the chance and cross another one off the list. :) Two of them were in my mind for a while already: one was the canton Schwyz with its mighty Bös Fulen, while the other was Liechtenstein with the impressive Vorder Grauspitz. Yes, I know, Liechtenstein isn’t Switzerland, but as they are so close and because Appenzell Inner- and Ausserrhoden are sharing their highest point, I thought it a good idea to include it as well. :) Besides, the Vorder Grauspitz is one of the “Seven Summits”, which was one more reason to check it out anyway. After some consideration, I decided to try my luck in Liechtenstein and so, on a beautiful Friday morning, headed to Steg, my designated starting point. It was a fairly long journey and I was glad once the bus had dropped me off at the closest possible bus stop. Unfortunately, it was still pretty far away from today's goal and at first, a few kilometers along the bottom of a valley awaited me. Following a wide street in the beginning, I passed a lovely lake and shortly afterwards ventured into the forest, where the street gave way to a gravel road.
For the next 15 minutes I walked along that road, until it turned left to cross over a river, while the hiking trail went straight ahead and I finally had a proper path under my feet. The trail followed the riverbank and when the trees started to thin out again another 15 minutes later, the Alp Valüna soon appeared ahead of me. So far, the way had been flat, but that was about to change once I had passed the Alp and its restaurant. The ascent eventually started there and in the beginning led gently along another gravel road.
The steepness of the slope soon intensified however and even though the road was leading upwards along some serpentines, the gentleness from before was definitely gone. Coming upon a little hog house with plenty of pigs scurrying around, it was time to leave the gravel road behind for good and to ascend an even steeper rise on a lovely hiking trail. Reaching the end of that rise before long, it wasn't only the end of the slope, but also of the valley. Well, the end of the valley if you wanted to follow the official trail, if you wanted to scale the Vorder Grauspitz however, the end was far from being near. :) Seeing a rope across the unofficial trail I intended to take, I soon figured that it was only there to keep everyone else on the correct path. So, I stepped over and started to walk along an arid mountain river. Naturally, as from now on, there were no markings anymore, but as the path was well-trodden, there was no difficulty in finding the way. Taking a left turn shortly afterwards, another steep slope had to be conquered that led onto some sort of a crest, where I had a nice view back into the valley from where I was coming from.
Five minutes later, the crest was already left behind and the trail now led towards a wide alpine valley, where I suddenly saw another hiker descending. Wow, where had he been so early? As he passed a bit further away, we only greeted each other and there was no possibility to ask. Well, my curiosity was soon gone anyway, as the path I had been walking on abruptly had vanished and my focus shifted to find it again. :) Fortunately, there was only one possible direction in that part and after a few minutes of gentle ascending, the path eventually reappeared.
What followed now, was a walk over a vast field of stones and while I made quite some progress in the flatter area, the closer I got to the Ijesfürggli, the steeper the slope and the slower the walk became. Before long, serpentines began to lead the way upwards and taking a few breaks in between to catch my breath, I naturally used the time to enjoy the already fantastic panorama. :)
In the meantime, the ridge ahead of me had come closer and closer as well and I was glad to see that the only gap where I could go through wasn't too far away anymore. Nevertheless, the last part before the gap was the most challenging one so far, as it wasn't only steep as hell, but also very slippery. Taking my time on the unstable ground, I brought that challenge behind me unscathed and eventually arrived on the Ijesfürggli. For the first time, the view opened up towards the other side of the mountain range and a boundary stone informed me that I was looking into Switzerland. :)
At long last, I also got to see the sun, as before, she had been blocked by the surrounding mountains and I had solely walked in the shade until now. Enjoying the warmth on my skin, I took a short break and strengthened myself for the upcoming challenges. The very first one, presented itself at the gap, as I somehow had to make my way up to the ridge itself. A steep rock wall stood in between, but as the rock was pretty craggy and there was plenty to hold on to, the scramble wasn't the most intense one I ever had. :) It was over after five minutes and eventually standing on the ridge, I was simply blown away by the views that unfolded. What a change that was to the view on the Ijesfürggli!
Moving on before long, I soon was able to make out the peak of the Hinter Grauspitz, which I had decided to include in today's hike. Fortunately, it turned out that the summit could be reached without too many difficulties, as the ridge wasn’t too exposed and there were only a few short scrambling sections in between. Surprisingly enough, there even was a proper trail to follow and together with the stunning views in every direction, the part from the gap to the peak turned into pure enjoyment. :)
Arriving on the top of the Hinter Grauspitz, a break was well deserved and I used the time to not only stretch my legs, but to check out some things as well. Beforehand, I had read a lot about the best way to reach the Vorder Grauspitz and now I wanted to see how it looked like in reality. From where I was, there basically were two options: the first one was pretty straightforward, as I had the possibility to just keep following the ridge. The second one however, was a bit more intricate, as it would have meant to descend on the southern side of the Hinter Grauspitz, walk along a mountainside full of scree and then ascend again to the ridge, like this avoiding the most difficult parts. The first option definitely was more challenging, involved quite some scrambling and was rated as T6, which is the highest possible rating. The way through the scree was less difficult, less steep, less technical and therefore rated with "only" a T4. So, at first, I had a good look at that second option to see if it would be doable and indeed it was.
It wasn't the only thing I saw though, as I could make out three people on the scree, ascending towards the ridge. Well, as I was on my own, I guess it wasn't that bad that I wasn't the only one to head to the Vorder Grauspitz today. :) Knowing now that I would be able to reach my goal in any case, I had a closer look at the first option as well. Climbing down a few meters, I had the whole ridge ahead of me and happily noticed that the descent seemed absolutely doable. As you might can imagine, the long detour through the scree wasn't really appealing to me and because I always enjoy a good scramble, the decision to try my luck with the T6 option was taken instantly. :)
Returning to the peak, I waited until the three hikers below were out of range from falling stones and then started to climb down. Having gone only a few meters more than before, the most difficult part already was waiting for me. A narrow gap led into a short rock wall and as there was almost no space, it made the scramble quite challenging. Fortunately, there were plenty of rocks to hold on to and in the end the only thing that really bothered me, was my backpack scraping along the sharp rock wall. :) Well, just like me, he survived the climb and once I was through that section, the going got easier. Nevertheless, I took my time, as the ground was pretty crumbly and any stumble would have been disastrous. Enjoying that part a lot, it only got trickier again towards the end of the descent, where I had to scramble over and around a couple huge boulders. Having overcome that challenge as well, I found a flat rock to pause for a moment, took a deep breath and suddenly heard a noise above me. No, luckily it wasn't the noise of falling stones, but one of the three guys just had started a drone. :) While the other two headed towards the summit, the third one was standing on a small platform filming their ascent. Well, even though the noise was kinda irritating, it wasn’t the first time to hear it, nor would it be the last time and so I just shrugged my shoulders and started to ascend as well.
Just like before, the ridge remained rocky and exposed and therefore the going was still slow, but compared to the previous descent, the ascent to the Vorder Grauspitz didn't really pose a challenge anymore. Steadily walking upwards, I came upon the third guy before long, who hadn't moved at all and still was flying his drone. “Sorry for the noise, but I’m at work at the moment”, he told me when I stepped on the platform. “I can see”, I replied, as there was a camera with a microphone lying on the ground as well. Waiting for him to step aside so I could pass, he didn’t move an inch, but instead invited me to have a look at his drone monitor. Seeing his two friends walking along the ridge, while the stunning landscape featured as the perfect backdrop, I instantly forgot the noise and just marveled at the incredible image. When the other two eventually got closer to the peak, the drone wizard started to walk as well and I followed him a few paces behind.
“So, for whom are you filming for?”, I asked, as I was curious by now. “One of the guys up there is André Schürrle and the other one is Sukkhadas, an instructor of the Wim Hof method and I’m documenting their attempt to reach the Seven Summits.” As I had played football for about 20 years of my life, of course I knew André Schürrle, who had won the World Cup with Germany back in 2014. Never ever would I have expected to meet him and his friend on the top of Liechtenstein. What a surreal turn the day was taking. :) The photographer introduced himself as Maximilian and as I didn’t want to disturb his filming, I didn't try to overtake, but just walked slowly behind him until we had reached the top. The spirits up there were high, as it was the third summit they had conquered on their quest so far. Shortly afterwards, Maximilian stopped filming with the drone and standing there with the three of them, I almost felt a little bit lost. :) “Just tell me if I have to get out of the way so you can do your pictures”, I told them and as the summit was wide enough, I placed myself to that side where I wasn’t in their way. Watching with interest what they were doing, Sukkhadas and André had to leave the peak and climb up once more, so Maximilian was able to document their "summit moment" from the ground as well.
Afterwards, André also had to jog up to the peak and while I was alone with Sukkhadas, I asked him which mountains they already had done. “Zugspitze and Grossglockner, but the two of them weren't as demanding as today had been.” Oh, okay, I wouldn’t have expected that, but as far as I understood, both of those peaks are fairly overrun and therefore it’s not too much of a challenge anymore to get up there. Well, after all the filming was done, everyone sat down for lunch and while we ate and enjoyed the beautiful weather, two elder men arrived on the top as well. They were in full climbing gear and had planned to do the whole ridge from Mount Falknis to Mount Naafkopf. Wow, my biggest respect to the two of them as that is a very difficult undertaking.
Seldom had I shared the summit with such illustrious people and with curiosity I listened to the stories of the climbers, as Maximilian had planned to do the ridge as well one day and had asked them about their experience so far. The time on the peak was flying and with everything that was happening around me, I almost forgot to enjoy the gorgeous view. :) Before I started to retrace my steps to the Hinter Grauspitz, I asked André for a picture, after all, when would I meet a World Champion again on one of the Seven Summits? :) Saying goodbye afterwards and wishing them the best of luck for their challenge, I started to descend, following the two climbers who had left a few minutes earlier. Heading back to the saddle, I really was looking forward to redo the climb from before, as going up usually is easier than going down. It wasn't different today and while I still had to pay absolute attention on where I placed my feet, the climb upwards was as much fun as it had been downwards. :)
Arriving on the top of the Hinter Grauspitz for a second time today, I had a short talk with the climbers, before they continued towards Mount Naafkopf, while I sat down and enjoyed the stunning scenery for the next 45 minutes.
Unfortunately, (and yes, I know I’m repeating myself in about every blog post :)), the 45 minutes passed way too fast and therefore the time to head back to Steg came way too soon. Promising myself to revisit the two peaks someday, I made my way to the Ijesfürggli, all the time enjoying the last panoramic views of the day. Having reached the gap before long, I headed down into the alpine valley, where I retraced my steps along the unmarked path.
Arriving back at the junction of the official hiking trail, I opted to not take the same way again, but to follow the trail on the left hillside. That meant that I had to ascend once more and by now I definitely was feeling my legs, so I was glad once the slope leveled off and eventually began to gently lead downwards. Gently, for sure was the right word, as at first it didn't feel like a descent at all. :) While initially there were some nice outlooks towards the surrounding mountains, the trees took over before long and made sure that there was no view anymore. Reaching a hamlet about halfway into the descent, it was the only time where the forest gave way and I was able to enjoy one last outlook towards the mountains on the other side of the valley.
After the hamlet, the steepness of the slope intensified, but as I was mainly walking on a gravel road, the going was rather fast. It was actually a bit faster than usual, mostly because I wanted to catch the hourly bus, but also because there wasn't that much to see. :) Arriving at the restaurant Sücka, I took the turnoff towards Steg, brought the steepest slope of the whole descent behind me and was back at that morning's bus stop, perfectly on time to catch the bus. Well, what a day that has been! Not only the scenery, the scrambling and the weather were mind-blowing, but the encounter with Maximilian, André and Sukkhadas absolutely made my day. As you can imagine, the Vorder Grauspitz will definitely go down in my hiking history, not only because I ticked off another highest point, or stood on the first of the Seven Summits, but also because of the people I met along the way. Cheers! :)
Highlight of the day: everything that happened between the Ijesfürggli and the Vorder Grauspitz :)
This hike is for you if: - you want to reach one or all of the Seven Summits
- you’re looking for a challenging alpine trail
- you want one of the best views over the Alps of Liechtenstein and Switzerland
- you don’t mind scrambling and following an unmarked mountain trail
This hike is not for you if:
- you have no climbing or scrambling experience at all
- you have vertigo or don’t like to walk along exposed ridges
- you don’t know how to move over different sort of ground
- a long and steep ascent/descent is too much for you
P.S. If you want to know how André, Sukkhadas and Maximilian are doing with their challenge, you can find all about it on their social media (Insta: andreschuerrle / sukkhadas / maximiliangierl). And there is a great video on Youtube about their day on the Vorder Grauspitz, feel free to check it out here.
Comments