Leeladhar, an enthusiastic nature lover, set out to explore part of the Grindelwald area in Switzerland.
Grindelwald is one of the famous Swiss alpine resorts discovered in the late 19th century by British adventurers. It is also the location of the dreadfully dangerous climb up to the Eiger North face, and hot spot of global mass tourism centred around the glamorous Jungfrau region, overrun by hordes of wealthy tourists from China, India, the Gulf states, Germany and even Switzerland’s own. It is a very attractive area where money prevails: below among the wooden chalets and up in the mountains to the south, the west and the north.
However, there remains the east, less glamorous without any railways and cable cars, with only a bus service during the snow-free season from June to October – just trails for cows and hikers.
It was one of the last sunny days in October, just before fog and misty clouds would cover every detail of the wonderful landscape. The scarce vegetation 2000 metres above sea level was shining with millions of golden and reddened leaves and grasses, the fresh air was breathtaking and the sound of the murmuring creeks filled the abandoned alp valleys. No more sounds of cowbells, hardly any hikers – merely silence, the sound of emptiness and eternity.
The mountain walk started at Grosse Scheidegg (a bus station at 1962m) where its rustic restaurant had already shut down for the winter season (when five metres of snow will cover everything); from there we ascended to Hornseeli (Little Horn Lake) the high point of our walk, and then down again to the lower Schwarzwaldalp, surrounded by its dark forest of mighty trees.
Related article on Osho News – Hiking in the snow
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