It's hot in the Rhône Valley. Temperatures are once again breaking old records this summer - or even exceeding them. High time to flee to cooler heights. We prefer to leave the 35 °C forecast for the day far below us in the valley.
The drive from Savièse to the Morges valley is quite a long one - it feels endless. But it's by no means boring. The view keeps wandering over to the spectacular Bisse du Torrent Neuf built into the rock face, which is still pleasantly shaded at this time of day. The suspension bridges that characterize this extraordinary hiking trail already have me dreaming of the next adventure.
The road first winds its way through dense mountain forest, which gives way to flowering alpine meadows as the altitude increases. In summer, these present themselves in an unparalleled riot of color. We soon reach the charming Hotel Sanetsch, which shines like a hidden gem in the imposing mountain world - overlooked by the Glacier de Zanfleuron and the bizarre rock formations of the Lapis de Zanfleuron below.
At the top of the pass, we are also greeted by a sea of color that is simply stunning: fluffy cotton grass, white eyebright, yellow trollflowers, red purple gentian and deep blue bell gentian - a firework display of alpine flowers that I can hardly get enough of.
I wouldn't say no to cooling off by the sea now, as the heat hits me as soon as I open the car door just a crack. Even here on the Sanetsch Pass at 2,252 meters, it is surprisingly and almost uncomfortably warm at this early hour. There is almost no wind and so the sun heats up the breezy air a little more every minute. We don't want to lose any time and prefer to gain altitude quickly. So we shoulder our rucksacks and turn our backs on the pass road. Towards the east, the hiking trail winds its way up the Arête de l'Arpilles. Always following the gentle ridge, we climb the first few meters of altitude and immerse ourselves in the impressive mountain world around the Wildhorn.
Scree and desert feeling
As the altitude increases, the flowery alpine meadows disappear and rugged, screey flanks take over the terrain. The vegetation becomes sparse, the landscape more barren - but no less impressive. At the only signpost on this tour, we turn off onto the white-blue-white marked mountain trail, which winds around a flank and brings us closer to the Arpelistock over even more loose rock.
The sun is getting pretty serious by now, and the steep scree slopes at almost 2900 meters make us work up a sweat. The stones have long since warmed up in the sun - and I'm starting to feel a bit like I'm in the desert.
In the meantime, the only flower we still come across from time to time is the charming alpine flax. With its delicate purple flowers, it adds a little splash of color along the path - and the open flowers cheekily stick out their orange tongues at us, as if they are giving us a mocking smile. This robust plant feels right at home on scree and rubble, loves the sun and is even at home at altitudes of over 3000 meters. The path to the Arpelistock seems tailor-made for it.
We leave the perky little plant behind us and master the last short but crisp, steep section - and then the time has come: the summit is reached.
Change of canton at 3000 m
Valais - Bern - Valais - Bern. I can't help it: The summit cross stands exactly on the border between the two cantons, and I have fun circling it twice. The matching coat of arms is emblazoned on each side - no confusion. Great!
So: hop over to the canton of Bern, unpack the sandwiches and enjoy the spectacular panoramic view that awaits us up here.
To the east, the Wildhorn rises imposingly into the air, and hidden somewhere below it is the Cabane des Audannes, which we recently visited on a trail run. Deep below us to the northwest, Lake Sanetsch shimmers, while Les Diablerets and the Glacier de Zanfleuron gleam in the sun to the far west. The karst landscape, which the ice releases a little further every year, is impressive - it is definitely still on our wish list for an upcoming tour.
A little further away, we can make out the striking peaks of the Tour de Mayen and the Tour d'Aï. And right in front of us, to the south, Le Sublage stretches like an oversized runway over the Rhône valley. The panorama that unfold across the southern flank almost go beyond the scope of this report: Mont Blanc, Grand Combin, Matterhorn, Dent Blanche - the really big names are here to do the honors. And once again, we feel pretty small in the face of this backdrop.
But at some point, every point of the compass is photographed, the sandwiches are eaten - and we set off on our descent. With every meter of altitude we lose, the thermometer feels like it climbs one degree. The idea of simply staying on the summit suddenly seems quite tempting. We head back over the stony flanks to the Arête de l'Arpille, where we take the gently sloping ridge under our feet.
Flying artists and wishful thinking
Out of nowhere, a shadow suddenly flits across the path. I stand rooted to the spot, put my head back and scan the sky with my eyes. “Over there! Do you see him?” - Falko is quicker than me and is already pointing in the right direction. And then I spot it too: a huge bird circling majestically above us.
It glides effortlessly over the mountains, seemingly floating weightlessly on the warm updrafts to ever greater heights. Falko is not quite sure yet, but for me there is no doubt: this is a bearded vulture - not uncommon in the region around the Sanetsch Pass. The light-colored belly, the yellowish neck, the diamond-shaped tail and the widely spread hand wings speak for themselves.
We watch its artistic maneuvers in the sky for minutes until it finally disappears into the distance. And me? I suddenly wish for nothing more than to glide the last 200 meters down to the pass as elegantly as he does.
But this wish remains a wish. So we shoulder our rucksacks, defy the increasing heat and tackle the last stage with tired legs. Only one thing helps now: a cold shower - and a large ice cream sundae.
