Morgenberghorn

En tåketett morgen sådde tvil om dagens turmål. Hmm… kanskje Morgenberghorn på 2248 meter over havet ble litt drøyt? Sannsynligvis skinte solen over tåkehavet. Men dog? Med tvilen i magen satte jeg i gang med morgenens jobbe-økt. Klokka 11 tok rastløsheten overhånd. 15 minutter senere tråkket jeg av gårde.

Som ventet lettet tåka i høyden. I gleden misset jeg første veikryss og havnet inn i Skyggenes dal. En kort titt på kartet viste at ruten burde være OK. Motivert av manglende sol gikk det kjapt innover dalen. Ved neste vegkryss ble jeg litt i tvil. Hytten Brinni ved foten av fjellet sto ikke på skiltet. En skogsarbeider ble redningen. På stotrende tysk ba jeg om vegvalg. Mannen svarte med brysk sveitsisk dialekt: - ”Brunni?? Jetzt? Es is zu spät! Und allein???” Jeg smilte pent og nevnte ikke at målet var toppen to timers gange forbi Brunni. Samtidig forbante jeg meg selv. Jeg burde jo ha startet før! Motivasjonen steg enda et par hakk. Jeg sloss mot sola og klokka og dura opp bakkene det forteste jeg klarte. I mitt stille sinn bestemte jeg klokka 15 som seneste returtid. Turen fra Krattigen til Morgenberghorn sto anvist som 5 timer og 20 minutter. Erfaring viste at jeg brukte ca halvparten av anvist tid. Tidsangivelsen i høyfjellet var sikkert satt for sprekinger. Men det burde gå…

Opp i høyden gjenkjente jeg terrenget fra en skitur vinteren før. I min iver klatret jeg opp en snarvei som var langt fra snar. Snø, skog, skygge… Ergerlig erkjente jeg at toppen ikke kunne nås i dag. Men jeg kunne jo gå et stykke! Skogsturen endte på ryggen som ledet til hytten. Men jeg var for langt til høyre og måtte gå ned og opp i berg og dalbanestil før hytta ble nådd. Her møtte jeg en stk ensom vandrer på tur ned. Igjen gikk det på stotrende tysksveitsisk. Skal du til topps, spurte mannen? ”Ja, wenn es nicht zu spät ist??” Mannen var ikke videre bekymret for tiden, men bemerket at det var glatt enkelte steder. ”Gestern zwei umgekommen”. To mennesker omkommet?? Tysken min er ikke videre sterk. Men jeg skjønte at jeg måtte være forsiktig. Mine venner hadde allerede fortalt om stiger og kjettinger på de bratteste partiene i fjellet. Men de hadde også forsikret meg om at det var greit å gå turen alene.

Med ”safety first” i bakhodet tråkket jeg videre i solen. Opp opp opp! Jeg skulle i alle fall gå så langt som forsvarlig! Stien var fin og usedvanlig godt merket i god sveitsisk stil. Stige og kjetting var for så vidt ganske overflødig, men greit nok. To partier var bratte, men langt fra noe som ville vært sikret i Norske fjell. Likevel – langt mer forsiktig enn vanlig labbet jeg møysommelig opp fjellsiden. En vannvittig utsikt åpenbarte seg idet jeg nærmet meg toppen. Sveitsiske fjell skuffer ikke! En time etter hytten sto jeg lykkelig på Morgenberghorn med utsikt mot Interlaken, Spietz og en fager fjellheim. Yes, det gikk!! Lassie og pizza fra dagen før gikk ned på høykant og selvutløseren måtte nyttes før returen. Klokka var halv tre, turen hadde tatt 3,5 timer og jeg var i god margin til sol og dagslys. Det var bare å nyte returen! Og igjen, ta meg god tid og være forsiktig. Jeg holdt utkikk etter farlige parti, men fant bare små farer som kunne lede til en sår bakstuss og i verste fall et brukket bein. To dødsfall? Kanskje jeg hadde misforstått?

Tilbake mot Krattigen fulgte jeg ruten langs høydedraget fra Brinni til Aeschi. En flott sti og fin utsikt. Et område som nok var fullt av folk dagen før! Men på en mandag i oktober har man naturen for seg selv. Da jeg hadde zigg-zagget meg hjem til Krattigen, spurte jeg mine venner om betydningen av ”umgekommen”.  De ristet på hodet og fant ingen ting om dødsfall på nyhetene. Det hele var nok en misforståelse som resultat av min dårlige tysk. Klippene er høye og man skal alltid være forsiktig på tur. Men Morgenberghorn kan trygt anbefales!

Morgenberghorn

A foggy morning gave me doubts about the destination of the day. Hmm ... maybe Morgenberhorn at 2248 meters above sea level was a bit too much? Probably the sun was shining above the fog, - but even so? With a doubtful feeling in my stomach, I started my morning work session. At 11 o’clock I was overwhelmed by the restlessness. 15 minutes later I was off.

As expected, the sun was shining in the higher altitudes. But I missed the first intersection and ended up in the valley of shadows. A brief look at the map showed that the route should be OK. Motivated by the lack of sun, I walked as fast as I could through the valley. At the next intersection, I was somewhat in doubt. Brinni cabin at the foot of the mountain was not even on the roadsign!  I was saved by a local man working with his wood. In my very bad German, I asked for choice of route. The man replied with a curt Swiss dialect: - "Brunni? Jetzt? Es is zu spät! Und Allein?? "I smiled as nice as I could and did not mention that my aim for the day was a peak two-hour walk past Brunni! But I also became annoyed at myself. I should have started earlier! My motivation rose even more. I fought against the sun and the time as I walked as fast as I could. In my mind I set 3 o’clock as my latest return time. The walk from Krattigen to Morgenberghorn was assigned to be 5 hours and 20 minutes. Experience showed that I usually spent about half of the allotted time. I wanted to have a long buffer to be sure – but could it work out?

Reaching the highest hills, I recognized the terrain from skiing with Cedric two years ago. I decided to make a shortcut that unfortunately was not very timesaving. Snow, dense woods and no sun… Irritated I realized that the top could not be reached today. But I could always walk a bit longer! My forest trip ended at the ridge leading to the cabin. I was too far to the right and had to walk down and up as a roller coaster ride until the cabin was reached. There I met a mountaineer on his way down.  Again, the conversation was in stammering German. “Heading for the top, the man asked?” "Yes, wann es nicht zu spät ist?" The man was not particularly worried about my time frame, but noted that the track was sometimes very slippery. "Gestern zwei Leute umgekommen". Two people died? My German is not too strong. But I realized that I had to be careful. My friends had already told me about ladders and chains on the steepest sections of the mountain. But they had also assured me that it was okay to walk alone.

With "safety first" in mind, I continued in the sun. Up up up! I did not know if I would reach the top, but I wanted to continue as long as it felt safe. The track was nice and extremely well marked in a typical Swiss style. Ladder and the chain were not really needed, but it gave an extra support. The two sections were a bit steep, but far from anything that would have been secured in the Norwegian mountains. Yet – I was far more careful than usual as I headed up the mountain side. Beautiful views appeared as I approached the top. Swiss mountains will never disappoint you! One hour after passing the cabin I happily reached the peak of Morgenberghorn, overlooking Interlaken, Spietz and beautiful mountain ranges. Yes, I did it!! Time was on my side. It was half past three, the trip had taken 3.5 hours and I had enough time for a slow return.  A box of lassie and pizza from the day before was enjoyed before I headed down; - again, very carefully…. I kept looking for the dangerous spot were the two people could have been killed the day before, but I only saw small hazards that could lead to a sore ass or a broken leg at the worst. Maybe I had misunderstood?

Dæm har høtt-bok der og!

Mot Interlaken

Willow gentian

Back by the hut I followed the route along the ridge back to Aeschi; - a great trail with nice views! The area was probably crowded the day before. But on a Monday in late October I was completely alone. As I reached my friends place in Krattigen I was curious about the meaning of "umgekommen". A quick check on the internet gave no news about dead or injured people in the mountain. The whole misunderstanding was due my bad German. The cliffs are high and you should always be careful, but Morgengberghorn is highly recommended!

Brunni

Fornøyd frøken!

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenberghorn