Glaciers and butterflies

1 September 2021.

So many tiny jewels in the high alpine area! Iridescent purple, bright orange, shiny black, brilliant white, delicate yellow, too small to capture with a point-and-shoot camera. Wildflowers persist even in late August above 6000 feet and the butterflies are playing amongst them doing their pollination magic. Even where there is little more than lichen clinging to rocks, minuscule blossoms persist at temps that makes us think October has arrived. 

The view from Spielboden, above Saas-Fee, altitude 8031 feet above sea level.

We took a hike we would not have taken had we known the reality. The online info said “Good for families! Tame marmots! Easy!” We queried the woman at the TI. “No, it’s not hard.” Maybe not for her but for a couple of flatlanders of a certain age group it was way beyond the usual easy-hiker style. In our book we rate hikes 1 to 3 and a “3” is not terribly difficult, just a little rocky, perhaps, longer with some extended uphill segments. Given our usual rating system, the hike we took to Spielboden was a 6!

We would have turned around part way up — where we had a delightful stop for coffee at a mountain restaurant — but we dreaded the impact a descent would have on our knees and hips so we persevered to reach the comfort of a ride down in a gondola. 

Below, scenes from our rest stop at Gletschergrotte.

We climbed 2200 feet according to Ric’s altimeter, encountered uncountable switchbacks, rocky footing, steep drop offs from narrow paths, and the supposed two-hour hike took us three. Boy were we proud of ourselves! And the marmots? They are in the last five minutes at the top of the trail. 

Fat marmot by the side of the trail. We didn’t bring any carrots or nuts.

Luckily, in typical European tradition, there was a restaurant at the top with great food and a perfect view to glaciers and many of the 4000 meter peaks that surround the Saas Valley. The butterflies, glaciers, and a fat marmot made up for the strenuous climb. 

Eye-level with the glacier.

We had hoped to find some easy hiker options in the Saas Valley, perhaps expand our Berner Oberland hiking book, but we only found one option in the past few days. It’s a lovely valley but it doesn’t offer the myriad options of the greater Jungfrau Region in the Berner Oberland. But the research  is fun!

A few more photos from our time in the Saas Valley.