Wengen to Tschingelhorn & Alpine Horn

Garden chess in Wengen

Day 1 of the hike (yesterday) was exhausting but there was no chance to recover. The first three days of hiking are the hardest, and a rest day comes only on the fourth day. Today we are headed to Tschingelhorn, a nountain hiker's hut. Weather was a concern, because possible storms were in the forecast.

Staubbach Falls ("bach" means river in German)

 

We started out by first going to the town of Lauterbrunnen. Here there is a very unusual waterfall; the falls goes internally through a cave system, and is quite noisy as it gushes inside the caverns.

There are waterfalls and creeks everywhere from the melting snow, and this mountain spring water is so pure and good to drink. Because of this we didn't need to carry much water with us since we can refill the water in many places. Every town has drinkable fountains fed directly from this natural spring water.

But this cave waterfall is different; something unique. It bored a hole through the mountain instead of flowing over the side. This led to the formation of internal chambers where the water pools and tunnels through the rock.

 

Video of the cave waterfall. Turn on sound!

We've had good weather so far but the sky started to turn ugly at the very end of the hike. With only about 100 meters to go, we got -- not rain, but hail! Luckily it was just a few more steps to the shelter of the mountain hiker's hut called Tschingelhorn. and anyway the hail only lasted a few minutes.

When they they said "hiker's hut" I was  visualizing something very primitive and rustic, basically four walls and a roof. But it was quite a bit nicer than that! It had shared bathrooms, but separate bedrooms and a separate dining area. It had electricity -- enough power for the lights, charging cell phones, and some small appliances. The power comes from a small hydroelectric generator in a nearby creek and a few solar panels.

The owner/operator of Tschingelhorn is a very nice gentleman named Rudy, and he is very good at playing the Alpine Horn. As soon as the hail stopped he went outside and started playing it.

He was practicing because he is playing in the Yodeling festival on Saturday in Andermatt.
The Yodeling Festival is a traditional Swiss cultural event and will feature Yodeling, Alpine Horn, and Wrestling.

Rudy playing the Alpine Horn (turn on sound.

Rudy graciously allowed me to try playing the Alpine horn myself and gave me a few pointers.
I was able to play it somewhat and produce a range of sounds on it but it wasn't as smooth as Rudy was when he played it.  I discovered I could also play it like a didjeridu, which was kind of funny.

Outdoor fondue station.