Two days – one foggy and one sunny

On Saturday, we traveled by train and post bus in a wide arc around the Hohgant to the starting point at Kemmeribodenbad. From there, we followed the Emme into the valley basin between the Brienzergrat and the Hohgant massif. Neither of them were visible. The higher we got, the less visibility there was. We spent most of the day in thick fog. The breeze blew around our ears and, together with the fog, laid the foundation for many beautiful pictures. But more on this later. Due to the cold and lack of visibility, we decided not to take the detour to the Hohganthütte (the panorama would have been identical, namely gray) and headed straight for the Bolberg. We crossed the Winterröscht and soon reached our interim destination of Lombachalp after 15.5 km (+860 m, -260 m). After a brief refreshment, the Alpine cab picked us up and we drove on in the fog to the hotel in Habkern.

On Sunday morning, the weather showed its bright side – blue skies and not a cloud in sight. The start was still in the shade, but soon we were standing in the sun and could marvel at the work of the breeze and the fog – ice in very large quantities. This typically occurs at high wind speeds and temperatures in the fog below -2 °C and grows against the wind direction. In contrast to the previous day, there was also a panoramic view of the Bernese Oberland alongside all the rough ice. Now the Hohgant and Furggengütsch appeared, as did the Bernese classics from the Schreckhorn to the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau and the Niesen chain. We crossed the finely structured karst area below Hohgant and Trogenhorn, where the view opened up to the flatly rising Sieben Hengsten.

Soon after lunch we reached the Grünenberg Pass. Originally a mule track between the Emmental and Interlaken, during the Second World War an unsurfaced military road with barriers was built. Only at second glance does it become clear that this pass is the only access to the eastern Bernese Oberland from the north, alongside Lake Thun and the Brünig Pass. The pass lives up to its name and we were able to run on snow in the shade of the forest almost all the way to the finish. After 14.4 km, +380 and -900 m, this was reached in Innereriz, where the view of the Sichle – the pass crossing into the Justistal – and the steep rock faces of the seven stallions opened up.