I have gone up to Leukerbad at least three times for the via ferrata and this could have been the fourth or fifth time that I do it. I chose not to do it. During the pandemic I spent a lot of time hiking, with little to no exposure to heights. As a result of this I lost the habit of being high up.
I realised this when I was just three or four meters up on a sea defense in Javea/Xabia and felt afraid of the height I was at. In the past I would have been oblivious to it.
I was fine on another two via ferrata but I could feel that my habit of being high above the ground is not what it used to be. This time when I drove to Leukerbad I felt fear and anxiety, simply on the drive. The road isn’t that hairy and in the past I was indifferent to that road.
The night before the VF I was still unsure about what to do so I eventually picked to do the hike. If driving up filled me with fear then it was not fair, and not rational to do the Via Ferrata. I need to acclimate to such heights before considering the VF again.
On the morning before people set off on their family hike on one side, and the VF on the other I looked at the queue for the Gemmibahn and chose to walk up and do what I had desired to do for years.
## About the Via Ferrata
For years I did the VF, and as I looked down in the télécabine I thought “I want to do that hike”, and I felt that even more when I learned that a group was hiking that route. I was already committed to the VF so I did that.
What you have to realise is that the Leukerbad via ferrata is one kilometre of climbing in a single via ferrata, and that it has spikes rather than staples, as I like to call them. It also requires you to use the cable at some moments and that requires more strength. Add to this that you’re a kilometre above Leukerbad below and you definitely feel the void beneath.
## The First Part
I walked down from the Gemmibahn before turning right and started walking up the hill. At first you’re walking by green fields with cows, but soon you get into the woods and then you rise above the woods, and that’s when you see the cliff above you. You walk up a zigzag path, upwards, and higher and higher above the valley.
During the walk up I felt real fear, and my heart rate increase. I could see the height above the valley below increase, and the path go along vertiginous bits.
## The Gorge
When I got to the Gorge part I felt that my fear/anxiety was growing, and I considered turning back two or three times, not because of the effort, but because of the mounting fear. I had never felt such fear on such a path before. Usually I would walk there completely relaxed.
The gorge was cloudy and I could feel rain drops every now and then. I stopped to move snacks from the bag to a pocket, and to drink a little water, before setting off again.
I didn’t want to stop too long, and when I walked up I made sure to be on the mountain side, not the cliff side of the path. I didn’t want to spend too much time looking around so I walked up, and up, and up. At one point a trail runner passed me. I continued up after him.
## The turn off to the VF
At one point I started to see people with VF sets and I thought, “Did they already finish” and nope. I had reached the point where the path from the gondola goes down to where the VF starts. At this point I felt tremendous joy. At this point I knew that I was very near the start of the VF and that’s when I felt relaxed, at last. I didn’t give in to my fear. I persevered and I made it up.
Not only did I make it up, but I made it up within an hour and a half. In theory I should have walked up to the Gemmibahn but felt no desire to walk that way.
## The Flat Bit on Top
When you get to the top, you can go to the left, through the human made cave/fort. I wish that I had one of my two head torches when I went through the cave. If I had I would have gone up to see the room that a path led to. With the phone’s light I couldn’t see enough to risk adventuring into the unknown. This is especially true when without other people around.
When I got out of the “fortin” I saw grazing sheep and walked along the flood plain filled with rocks, debris and streams of water. Sometimes the route of the walking path required crossing shallow streams and at other points it required improvisation.
The landscape up here was beautiful. There was a lot more snow than I am used to. The glacier had snow, as did the Northern face of the Dabenhorn.
Eventually I made it to the base of the walk up to the Lammenhütte. I saw that it was just 900m so I started upwards. It’s a physical climb where you find that there is a via cordata section. You can hold on to the ropes, and chains to avoid falling into the river/waterfall that flows to your right.
I arrived at the Lammenhütte in time for morning coffee and a Rivella Rouge. I could have sat looking at the valley, but I sat looking towards the glacier instead. One person had binoculars and was trying to see things. A second group were speaking about having their fondue set with them but not being certain about whether to use it or not.
Eventually I finished the drinks and set off again, and conversed with the French speakers from Valais. They had asked if I could take pictures and I said yes, so took some with the valley, and some with the hut behind them. After a few minutes of talking we continued the hike at our own speeds.
I walked along the other side of the valley and enjoyed seeing the landscape from a side I had not yet walked along. It undulates, and you can see that there are two possible routes. One that is in the flood plain, and the other that is above. For the most part I walked along the flood plain as it was dry.
There is point where I could hear distant thunder. It could have been the waterfalls in the distance but I suspect that it was two or three avalanches, as the snow melted, came loose, and fell down the valley.
At this point I was getting close to the Col and it was decision time. Do I head down, on foot, or do I take the télécabine. I spent a few minutes thinking and saw the Valaisans again. They were heading up to the Télécabine and I chose to walk down the path that I had struggled up psychologically a few hours before.
## The Way Down
The way down was far easier than the way up, not physically but psychologically. By this point I knew what to expect. I had hiking sticks and I made sure to go slower than my instinct would want me to go. I made sure to brake with my batons and arms rather than legs. I spoke to someone who had been doing the hike for decades. He told me that this used to be the sheep herding path, in the past.
I could imagine that, but it got me to think about how people discovered this route in the past. I think they must have followed goat or other animal paths, before widening the route over the centuries, for various types of animals and traffic to pass. It has been in use since Roman times.
### Hiking Stick Braking
On the way down I used the hiking sticks to slow myself down, rather than my knees. I also made sure never to run, or gather too much speed. As a result of this I was comfortable for almost the entire way down. I did feel that I was at the limit of comfort near the end, but by then I was a kilometre or two from the camping.
## A Success
I started the day thinking, I will take the télécabine, walk at the top for a few hours, and then go back down. Instead I walked from the bottom and achieved my primary goal of walking up the Gemmi Pass. I then walked to the base of the Lammenhütte, and then, on top of that walked to the Lammenhèutte, before heading back down, without pain and suffering.
I see this as an astounding success. 1200m of climbing, and 1200 meters of going downhill, with no, or very little, pain. My toe didn’t complain either.
I class this as a complete success.
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