Here's the last couple photos that I've got from the summer.
This is from my Overnight Climbing Workshop that I ran in the last couple of weeks with Joe (UK). We (climbing is always run with two people so we can have two ropes) had a German group who didn't speak much English, but we had some fun anyway. We hiked up to the Upper Hut - the mountain hut that the Centre owns at 1890m - in the afternoon, stayed overnight in the freezing cold (there was snow on the roof when we got there). The hut is only heated by a small wood fire and warmed up by cutting wood to make it fit. Then in the morning (as you can see it was glorious) we went out for some bouldering on nearby rocks, had some lunch back at the hut, and did some climbing (with ropes) and hiked home. I was a great 2 days of firsts for me - first 'real' time in the hut, and first outdoor climbing of the season (even though I didn't really get to climb properly).
On of my days off I went with Steffi (DE) and Eliza (AU) up to do Jegertosse (about 2100m) and then across to Doldenhornhutte (sorry it's in Swiss-German). Kind of the reverse route I did with Sara (IT) a few weeks before. We had some great views of Balmhorn (3698m) and Altels (3629m), and down the Kandersteg valley. Steffi broke the cross at the top, not realising that the only thing holding it together was a Swiss scarf, and we signed the book.
A couple of days after this I had another day off, so I decided to the Stand-First Traverse on my own. This is a guided hike that's really nice, with awesome views over the Kandersteg valley. It's quite a hard hike, that takes a long time (well it would unless you've been hiking for three months - it took me 4 hours), and it has some cool exposed bits and some scrambling. The hike passes the Buddhist monastery at the bottom and I walked past a monk outside, who Ithen met at the top! He'd gone the opposite way round to me and recognised me at the top, which was pretty cool. And - this is for my sister - I saw some donkeys on my way down.
Finally I've got some pictures from Staff Day Out. This is the day when all the staff (Long Term and Short Term) have a day off together with a whole load of stuff to do. So first of all we when up the funicular railway to Niesen to have some breakfast at the top and take a group photo. The views are pretty amazing from the top, and it was pretty cool to be able to name most of the mountains. Then in the afternoon we went rafting down the Aare River (for obvious reasons I don't have any pictures of that), though it was more of a float as there wasn't much white water. We went swimming, had a mini campfire on the boat and tried to push our river guide in - was awesome. Then in the evening we went to the Hotel Victoria for a slap-up meal - the name of this type of traditional Swiss meal evades me at the moment - and for the staff awards. It was an awesome way to say goodbye to everyone.
This season was the best thing I've ever done, and I loved every second of it, it's hard to put it into words. The place, the views, the job, and most of all the friends I made were are incredibly amazing, and I hope that I'll see everyone again at some point. I wanted to say thank you to everyone for being awesome. I'm going back for 2 weeks in the winter, and I'll probably apply to go back next summer as well, and I can't wait. Especially as Salla (FI), Sara (IT), Emmy (SE) and Pete (UK) are going back this winter - it's going to be awesome seeing them again and hopefully seeing some more people next summer. I'd definitely recommend going there as a guest or as staff to anyone.
C'ya in December!
Posted via email from Ali's Kandersteg Adventure
