SIDELHORN

July 2018

Ever since I went hiking below the Sidelhorn last summer, I’ve been wanting to come back to climb the peak and get a whole new perspective on the awesome views this area has to offer. The day had finally come and we took the beautiful drive up Grimsel Pass, our starting point for the hike. With heavy backpacks, we set off in the late afternoon and made our way up the quickly ascending trail.

After a couple of hours of hiking and a decent gain in altitude, the temperature dropped considerably and when we reached the peak, the sleeping bags were deployed as blankets while we were awaiting the impending sunset (which would bring along even colder temperatures). The views in every direction were spectacular though and with the changing light, I could’ve sat there and just stared into the landscape for hours.

Despite the cold night and the freezing wind sweeping over the peak, I got a few decent hours of sleep and was back up before sunrise with the help of a little coffee. Waking up on the mountain like this is just an incredible experience. Those moments in the hour before sunrise (or as we photographers like to call it, “blue hour”) where the sky is already lighting up in all sorts of different colors and the highest peaks start catching some of the early sunlight are probably my favorite time to be in the mountains. Everything is still quiet, often the lakes are completely still and offer a perfect reflection, the cold air hitting your face and waking you up and then the sun starting to rise until it gets high enough to reach you and start warming you up; everything just makes for a magical experience and this was definitely one of those mornings where all these pieces of the puzzle fell right into place.

After taking way too many photos and eating breakfast, it was time to pack everything up and head back down. Instead of going back the same way, we chose a different route a little further down the mountain which turned out to be a really beautiful trail. Upon arriving back at our car on top of Grimsel Pass, we couldn’t wait to take a dip in the ice cold lake as the temperatures had risen considerably again in the course of the morning. Refreshed, but a little exhausted, we made our way back home.