Adventure in the Alps 2016 Part 4: Glacial Views for Miles, Baby Ibex, and the Moon Rise

Travel StoriesTrails Peaks and Waterfalls

Mar 17

After our rest day in Saas Fee, we hit the trail early towards the Britannia Hutte. I was feeling a little bummed because we had to forego the via ferrata and hike the easier route to give my blisters another day to heal. But, I knew that I wouldn't make it up the challenging climb with the razor sharp pain. So, we set out for 3030 meters on a fog covered trail. Before long, the fog had lifted and we had climbed above the cloud line. The views were beautiful and the trail was reminiscent of a moon field.

It wasn't too much longer before we got our first view of the Britannia Hut set just above a small glacier crossing. We stopped for an "us-ie" before continuing up the glacier.

The glacier crossing was uneventful. The warm day had allowed for the ice to soften and areas were more "mush" than ice. We took care to follow the marked route to avoid any areas which may have softened too much in the sun.

When we crested the ridge and got our first glimpse of the other side, our breath was taken away. We had heard that the hut offered spectacular views of the surrounding big mountains, but this was beyond our imagination.

The hut itself was stunning. Recently renovated and immaculately maintained, it was hard to imagine that it was over 100 years old.

We unloaded our packs and dined on ham sammies, soaked up the warmth of the sun and marveled over the view. After lunch and a little rest, Forrest decided to climb up the small hill next to the hut while I chose to sit on the porch, enjoying the view and chatting with fellow hikers.

I was thrilled when I noticed movement in the rock field below and saw the momma and baby Ibex. For hours I sat watching the Ibex as they ate, napped, and played together.

Forrest returned just in time to see the Ibex before the ran off. We joined in with our fellow climbers on happy hour, still savoring the last rays of sunlight.

We were staying in a full dorm room and the hut was full of climbers with alarms set at insanely early hours for their summit bids the following morning. I didn't want to cause too much chaos with a late night photo shoot, but I was able to spend a few moments shooting the moon rising in the night sky before the lights dimmed and quiet hours began.

Sunrise dawned cloudless, the sun rose just opposite of the mountain range and painted it in beautiful golden light. I imagined the teams of climbers we had met the night before standing on the mountain summits, gratefully smiling at the sun as it warmed their numb fingers and frozen faces.

We had a quick cup of tea, packed up our gear, and said goodbye to the Britannia Hut. It's going to be hard to top the view from their porch.

Our short hike out took around 90 minutes. There was a large section of glacier, but it was in good condition for making your way slowly across. We found our way to the lift station and made it back to Saas Fee in time for a second breakfast of coffee and doughnuts.