Cabane de Prafleuri to Arolla

The one nice thing about the Cabane's was that we could request an earlier breakfast and so we could start hiking a little bit earlier. We had a long day ahead of us and new Virginia would be sore from her tumble so we ate early and headed out. The first part of the hike was a climb up above cabane de Prafleuri to the Col Des Roux.

Looking back on our Cabane. I was too tired to take a picture when I came in the previous night.

Getting up to the Col was steep but we knew we were going to have a couple of hours to walk along the lake and so we just tried to get through it. Luckily going down wasn't too crazy and we were greeted with amazing views.

 The day was absolutely beautiful.

 We got to cross a few little bridges.

The trail was more like a road so you could let down your guard a little bit as we went around the lake.

Again the mountains were so incredible. The pictures really can't capture their majesty.


The views were so gorgeous this morning.

Some more cows greeted us as we walked along the lake. This picture allows you to see the huge bells they wear on their necks. They kind of just follow you along as you hike.

The water is that crazy green color I talked about in an earlier post. I can't imagine how cold it must be.

 The walk along the lake was so relaxing and stress free, well not completely because I knew we had some challenges ahead, however I really tried to just enjoy the moment. You could hear the water raging long before we could see it. It was definitely coming fast off all the mountains.

After the nice lake walk we were greeted with a steep climb (Pas Du Chat) to another desert looking area. It was really hot this day and there was no shade. It was the first day I was really feeling the heat and long hours being exposed at such a high elevation.

 Not really any boulders to go over until right before the Col but the land was so barren.

 The walk itself was very moderate for most of the day but the anticipation for the Col was weighing heavily on my mind.

 All the Col's are very rocky and steep. The Col de Riedmatten was no different. The Col is not where the glacier is but it is the rocky area to the left of it.
The picture looking down from the halfway point does not really allow you a true perspective of the steepness of the trail.

 We met two amazing ladies from Holland that helped us get over the Col and ladders.

Virginia does not like heights and Maria and Marianne stuck right with us to give some encouragement and support as we tackled this major obstacle. After making it halfway up the Col we had the option of finishing up the Col or going over the Pas De Chevres where you use the ladders that have been built into the mountain to get over the Col. Virginia was more than happy to try the ladders so that is the route we decided to take. This is the view from the platform before the first set of ladders. New ladders were installed in 2014 and they were really nice.

 Pretending to be scared. They were nothing compared to the Havasupai ladders.

 They were tall though.

I am glad the ladders were there because they made that part of the ascent much easier. a view from the platform after the first set of ladders.

 Looking down from the second set of ladders

 A shot of what the old ladders looked like. They would have been a little bit sketchy in my opinion. They were about half the width of the new ones and crooked.

The view from the Pas.

 It's always worth it once you get to the top.

We still had a very long and tedious downhill walk before we would arrive at our accommodations for the night. Unfortunately we were emotionally and physically spent. The downhill took a very long time. This was probably our longest day hiking.

 There was not a shortness of breathtaking views though.

 I still can't believe how beautiful the Swiss Alps are. Everyone should go....like right now.

 It sort of makes up for the fact that my feet are still sore in some places.

I would go back again in a heartbeat.

We made it to the hotel de Glacier just as the sun was setting and right in time for dinner. Man that was a long day!

Our hotel was so charming. Unfortunately I had run out of water on the trail and was too sick to eat dinner or smell it for that matter. I had a bath and fell promptly asleep.

The hotels in Switzerland are so amazing. Every little town had flowers everywhere which just added to the charm and beauty.