Although we had only 18km (11 miles) to cover, Pete and I knew that, with over 2,000m (6,500ft) of ascent, our second day would be the toughest (at least in terms of effort*). Most people stop at Iffigenalp, but we chose to continue and do the Wildsrubelhutte variant. So an early start was called for.
After a morning of lush green meadows, we had a short climb up to the Tungelpass and into the Iffigtal, passing the impossibly turquoise blue Iffigsee (pic 17). We then stopped to catch our breath and a quick drink at Iffigenalp before setting off on the 1200m (almost 4,000 ft) climb to the hut. As you can see from the pictures below, the terrain changes quite dramatically once you get above 2,500m (8,200 ft). The only thing spoiling the views were the stanchions which supported two cable car lifts, which ran from Iffigenalp to the Wisshorelucke. From what I heard, these were not for skiing as you might expect, but for use by the Swiss military.
*Days 3 and 4 would have their own challenges, but I’ll get on to them tomorrow… 😊
Again, Pete’s pictures are suitably watermarked.
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