Berliner Hutte - no more bridges

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Day 3 of our hike was most difficult. The destination was a very famous and old hut called Berliner Hutte. As the name suggests, it was built by Germans, more than 100 years ago. To get there from Furtschaglhaus, we had to first get up a 3100m pass and then again get down to 2000m to the hut. Needless to mention, we were expecting spectacular views at the top of pass.

We started our day early as we wanted to walk slowly, enjoying the views and not have to rush against time. The beginning of hike was on easier side, trail was well made and grade was not too steep. We decided to start without breakfast, and then stop on the way for some bread and peanut butter. That was kind of mistake. The valley was still in shadow and as we got higher, it started getting cold and windy. Starting without breakfast also means I was feeling energyless, a rooky mistake. We stopped somewhere on the way, and had just 10 min to quickly make bread butter and move on. Soon we were on stoney trail and steep grade. Still doing strong though. Yesteday we were debating where the pass would be as all mountain crossings were looking formidable. Spotting the pass did not help either. Looking up at the pass, there seem to be no way to cross it and I did not want to think about ropes and ladders required to get there.

But before I had time to think, we were actually at close to top, already navigating the rocky path secured by ropes. It was must less scarier than I was imagining. I was able to get up to the pass without much difficulty and even had energy remaining to hike few more meters to the peak. The view from there was as spectacular as expected. We were surrounded by high snow covered peaks, and we could also see range beyond. We did not feel like getting down from that peak. But the peak is small, and we did not want to crowd it. I was also dredding the way down, and the way down was somewhat difficult. I was more on my butt and hands than on my feet while climbing down, sometimes holding on to the rope for dear life. Once down on safer ground, it was hard to imagine how they made the trail on that steep rocky slope.

Due to early start, we were in no hurry. So we took nice long breaks, eating and enjoying the views. This was definitely the most beautiful part of the trail. We were really close to glaciers, it was just beautiful. We did have a long way to go down and it was not easy. The way was rocky, somtimes on small rolling stones, sometimes steep scree. By the time we reached close to bottom of valley, we were really tired. Berliner Hutte is about 100m up the valley, so we had to go down and up. There is another hut called Alpenrose which is at bottom of the valley. The clever Alpenrose people had a board about cheaper rates and good food at the split point. It was really very tempting. We were tired, and thought of going down and then hiking up to Berliner again was not very inviting, especially since next day we just had to go out. Still we were here also to see Berliner Hutte, so we decided to head there. We still had time on our side.

Down in the valley was our first surprise. The weekend flood had taken out the bridge. There was a wobbly plank in its place. There was raging cascading mountain river below it, and it was scary. If I fell off it, that will be the end of me. But after hiking up and down the pass, I was feeling strong, so I took few steps and crossed that bridge. After the bridge we had some more hiking up and down to do. And then we were in for another surprise. There was a second river in the valley and that bridge was also out. This one was not small and there was no way to cross it. My first thought was no, not going back to cross that plank again. We did not know what to do. Then we saw some people coming from the other side. So we wanted to wait and see what they do. We walked upsteam next to river to find a way to cross. In worst case we could go all the way to source. A little way up, the river got swifter but shallower. Still not easy way to cross. The concept of crossing was more scary than the actual crossing. Finally we found a way where water was ankle deep, we could see the bottom, but it was fast. We held hands dipped our shoes in water and crossed. In the end it was not scary. Strengthened by this first experience, we crossed the other 4 branches of that river a bit easier. I was happy to be on the other side and could not wait to reach the hut!

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Photos

Up the pass
Way up the pass

Glaciers
View near top of the pass

Bridge
The wobbly bridge we used to cross a river