The Alpine Pass Route - Switzerland
Elm to Altdorf (Day 3 and 4)
All images © David Noble. No image can be used for any purpose without permission.
Day 3 - 16 September 2008
In the morning it was still raining -
and probably snowing again high up. The pass - the Richetlipass (2261m)
sounded more difficult than the Foopass - so I decided to skip that
section. I caught a bus down the valley to Swendl and a train up the
next valley to Linthal. I arrived at Linthal around 10am and the
weather in that valley was better (or it had started to clear) - so I
decided to walk part of the next day's section. The way I went was via
a variant - a funicular to Braunwald, then along a path around of the
side of the valley heading towards Klausenpass. The third pass of the
trip. I stopped short of the pass at the beautiful hamlet of Urnerboden.
Above - From Linthal - looking back in the direction of the Richetlipass.
Above - Linthal - the weather was looking better.
Above - View from near Braunwald
Above - Interesting cliffs
Above - a cow grazes contentedly while I was content to admire the mountains.
Above - nearby mountains.
Above - Approaching Urnerboden. I had to walk along a short section of
road to enter the Kanton of Uri. From the yellow sign the track
followed close to the river. Klausenpass is at the end of the valley. I
caught up to the other walker - she was a lady from Switzerland
enjoying a day in the mountains.
Above - Crags to the north
Above - the mist descends
Above - Urnerboden - a beautiful hamlet. A nice place to stay for the
night. I stayed at the Gasthaus Urnerboden which proved to be excellent.
Above - Crags above Urnerboden
Above - Crags above Urnerboden
Day 4 - 17 September 2008
At last - a fine morning! It was fine but quite cool. After a good
breakfast I left the Gasthaus and headed up the valley towards
Klausenpass. The route went along the road for a while and then took
shortcuts while the road went up switchbacks. Klausenpass has a road
going over it - and it would have been possible to skip the walk and
catch a bus to Altdorf - but there was a lot of very fine scenery to
enjoy on the way.
Above - Dawn at Urnerboden. Beautiful rugged peaks tower above the hamlet. Below it was cold and frosty.
Above - Higher up the valley - looking back. Frost is still visible in the shady sections below.
Above - icy pool
Above - view of a fine peak from near Klausenpass.
Above - From Klausenpass the road went high on the right, while my trail followed a steep route on the left.
Above - looking down
Above - Looking down the valley in front. The small hamlet of Äsch
is below on the left. Further down lies Unterschächen where a side
valley comes in on the left. Altdorf lies much further down - in the
mist covered part.
Above - Äsch - notable for the huge waterfall just behind the chalets.
Above - Äsch - note the dwarfs and the wood carved figure on the right.
Above - Further down the valley. The trail followed this beutiful stream. Klausenpass lies at the head of the valley.
Above - an interesting fence.
Above - This U shaped valley joins the main valley at Unterschächen.
Above - Unterschächen. I caught a bus from here down to Altdorf.
Above - The William Tell statue at Altdorf.
From Altdorf, I was able to buy more maps for the next few days. It was
not too late so I caught a bus to nearby Attinghaussen and from there a
gondola to Brüsti. This was a good thing to do. Altdorf was big
and bustling, full of tourists. Brüsti - well above, was a lot
quieter with magical views.
Above - Looking down at Altdorf, way down at the bottom of the valley
from Brüsti. At Brüsti I stayed in the very hospitable
Berggasthaus Z'Graggen
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