Gruben, Wallis, Switzerland
So it was again not as early a start as I would have liked,
but it’s kind of hard to get going after a couple long days just to do it all
over again. Although the description of the day’s walk to Gruben made it sound
like there wouldn’t be any especially difficult or tricky parts, any day with a
greater than 4,000 vertical foot ascent is going to be a strenuous one.
The initial part of the hike outside of Zinal was quite
steeply up through the forest. I was glad to get a good part of the day’s
vertical rise out of the way while it was still cool and I was in the shadow of
the mountain ridge as well as the trees. That was followed by a long balcony walk
north above the Val de Zinal and Val d’Anniviers, past a few farms and
gradually rising with beautiful views throughout to Saint Luc and Grementz.
The last stretch to the Col de Forcletta was steeper but not
difficult as the trail rose in wide zig zags mostly through meadows. In this
area there was little of the land uncovered by recently receded glaciers I
experienced several days ago.
On my way up I stopped at what seemed like a nice stone
mountain hut. Three men were there with rifles. I got told in the morning at my
dortoir that it was first day of hunting season and also heard occasional shots
through the day echoing off the mountains. I go informed by one of the men the
hut was private property and they would prefer that I not sit there. That was
my first experience of Swiss unhospitality.
The Col de Forcletta is at just under 2,900 meters or 9,600
feet and divides the Val d’Anniviers from the Turtmanntal, on of the shortest
valleys in the Valais. It also represents the linguistic divide between French
and German-speaking regions with the Turtmanntal being the first
German-speaking valley on the Haute Route. The views from the top were again
stunning and actually got even better on the descent as the Weisshorn, Bishorn,
other peaks and the Turtmann Glacier come into view. The descent into Gruben
was actually only about 3,400 feet but for some reason seemed especially long.
Gruben is a tiny little village of small wooden chalets that’s
dominated by its sole hotel. The Hotel Schwarzhorn is the only game in town. I
asked about dormitory accommodation and sure enough, I was again the only one
in a room full of mattresses on the floor on the hotel’s top story. 62 Francs
for half board, meaning breakfast and dinner included, wasn’t too bad a deal.
The portions were kind of chincey, though, so I definitely experienced a
calorie deificit for the day since I didn’t have much for lunch either.
2025-05-23