St. Gallen Oberland, Switzerland. Mini-METHS, September 14-16, 2010
Participants: Mike (Mad) and Verena (Muesli) Petzold, Steven
(Hot Air) and Christina Rainbow
The cows come down early in September from their alpine pastures in the
St Galler Oberland. I can hear their
bells now as I write this, sitting outside on a warm sunny afternoon, beneath a
cloudless sky. Unlike last week! This year’s Swiss mini-Meths took place up
in the clouds. But the clouds didn’t
deter us, on the Thursday, from completing a ridge traverse and 4 summits. BUT, no wind or rain so we were able to lunch
on top of Gulmen 7,602’ with a slow slide show of tantalising views through
occasional tiny gaps in the clouds.
The forecast had been gloomy but Claudia, the delightful warden at
Spitzmeilen Hütte, 6,847’, had “googled” the Swiss Met for us – it did look gloomy but I failed to spot any
mention of wind or rain. However it HAD
rained heavily during the night. After
the sumptuous hut breakfast, we had dithered for 2 hours while a few seconds of
sunshine alternated with drizzle. Should
we go for it or head for home? The map
decided for us - let’s abandon the Murgsee route and head for the ridge
direct. There are 3 escape routes before
one is committed to the ridge and 4 summits.
As we scrambled into the clouds, I thought of Aonoch Eagach. The clouds were a blessing for those unhappy
on the exposed sections and the escape routes remained unused.
The previous day had dawned sunny and it stayed clear long enough to
allow Steve to scramble up Spitzmeilen 8,207’ again. The penultimate pitch is now protected with a
chain. Meanwhile the rest of the party
headed for the distant peak, Schnürli 8,114’.
Steve caught up and met us on the summit, just in time, for a fresh wind
had now sprung up. We lost altitude
quickly and rendezvoused with Verena who had waited below by a small tarn (Maadseeli)
at Mike’s favourite private hut (see photo), unfortunately not for
sale. Two hours later we were back at
the luxurious Spitzmeilen Hut (a dormitory to ourselves & slot-machine hot
shower – you only have 2 minutes so best to shower with a friend) just before a
sudden squall brought some rain. Good
timing!
I shall always remember the cursing of one member, who shall be nameless
(one of our esteemed treasurers), that we never seemed to get above the racket
of cow-bells and pong of cow-shit. We
do. The cow-line is around 6’500’ in
these parts. All our summits were above
this level, so we breathed the purest mountain air. In 2 days, we knocked off seven peaks (more
than 2 meets’ worth). For the record,
in order of ascent:
Spitzmeilen 8,207’
Oxni 7,852’
Schnürli 8,114’
Gulmen 7,602’
Rainissalts 7,356’
Leist 7,290’
Ziger 6,804’
Birds? Apart from the ubiquitous
alpine chough, we were ‘choughed’ to have flushed a flock of ptarmigan. The highlight was a Golden Eagle.
Back in the Toggenburg, as in the previous year we spent the final evening
at Drei Eidgenossen, where Max & Ivana wined us and dined us in their usual
exceptional way.
No doubt about it - the year’s best Meths meet ( the leader would say
that, wouldn’t he?). There is still
plenty to do in this area and the mountains won’t go away so members who missed
it again ….. as long as I am ready, willing and able ….. watch this space for a
repeat. And next year, we SHALL get to
Murgsee (where there are reported to be large brown trout)!
Mike Petzold
© WDYFO,
2010