Hardergrat, Brienz 🇨🇭
For many years, I have seen numerous exquisite pictures on social media from this ridgeline (shown in the image above), known as Hardergrat. I was left in awe every time I looked at it, and I had it on my radar to traverse through this knife-edge ridge one day.
I somehow persuaded my wife to go on this hike with me in late September 2021. We were still sore from a long trail run we finished that September, but still decided to go for this unusual hike. Hardergrat is a ridgeline that stretches between Interlaken and Brienz in the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland. It is a point-to-point hike. We chose to start the hike from Brienz and end in Interlaken.
We embarked at 8am on the first train from Brienz to Rothorn, where the hike began. It was an adorable red steam train that offered magnificent scenery as it went through the green pasturelands of the Bernese Alps, offering a panorama view of the beautiful Brienzersee, and as the train gained altitude, the mighty Jungfrau range started to become more prominent.
We had 20KM in front of us with around 1000M of elevation gain. We started strong, the weather was pleasant with sun out and gentle breeze. There were plenty of people walking on the ridge, most of them out for a trail run. Part of what makes this hike quite demanding is that there is not a single tree on the whole trail and no source of water. So, on a clear day, after several kilometers in, the direct sun can start sucking the life out of you. We had 4 litres of water each, which proved adequate for us. The other part of what makes this traverse tough is that there is just enough space for one person to walk on most of the trail, with steep drop-offs on both sides. A misstep could result in a severe fall. In fact, there were at least half a dozen memorials on the trail in the name of the people who unfortunately lost their lives attempting the same as we set for.
The hike was going to end at Harder Kulm, where a restaurant and funicular station were also located. The last Funicular from Harder Kulm down to Interlaken was at 21:40. We gauged around 6 hours to reach Harder Kulm.
Two weeks ago, I ran a 39 Km trail run in Mullerthal Luxembourg, that was quite a painful enperience because of my IT band, and before I embarked on this trail, I knew that at some point, my knee pain was going to kick in. And ultimately, it did. Just 2KM into the hike. It was not the start I expected, but I sucked it up and kept moving forward. My body kept reminding me that I was not recuperated yet. So, what was supposed to be a 6-hour moderate hike ended up being a 12-hour slog.
The mesmerising turquoise blue of lake Brienz tucked beneath Bernese Alps
Regardless of the misery, the views from the trail were immersive and kept my mind engaged while I slowly chipped away at the remaining distance. The whole trail is continuously ascending or descending. There are hardly any parts where the trail is flat. Every time we got on top of one of the peaks, we saw how many other jagged peaks we had in front of us, and it was not helping to keep our motivation high.
One of the peaks on the trail that stood out the most to us was Tannhorn, less because of its majestic shape and the steep path that led us there but more because of a herd of mountain goats that we came across. All of them were going about their business, except that one goat that kept running after the only sandwich we packed for the trail. We were obviously not very keen on sharing that with our newly made friend.
We ran into a flock of mountain goats at Tannhorn 2221M
After a quick stop, we were on the move again. From here onwards, everything was a blur. I remember that the trek started to get very serious from here on. The trail was predominantly exposed, and all 4 limbs were engaged. Some tiny sections had cables to prevent one from falling, but most were without support.
The clouds started to take over the sky, and it was also getting dark at the same time. It gave us the urgency to move faster because we were just past the halfway mark when we reached Augstmatthorn. It also started drizzling, and soon we were off the exposed ridge and into a dense forest. It was less than a few kilometres until Harder Kulm, but this section felt everlasting to me with my aching knees. The track inside the forest was also very muddy and slippery. I can’t even recall how many times I slipped.
I can not even describe the joy we felt when we finally saw Harder Kulm through the thick forest. I quickly snapped a picture to remember this painful yet happy moment.
A feeling of relief ran through our bodies when we finally reached Harder Kulm after 12 hours of a slog through the ridge
Even though it has been more than a year since I did the trek, I still remember how I felt when I finished it. 23KM were full of pain, but the scenery made it all worth it. And there is nothing like the feeling of stuffing yourself with food to the brim after good physical exercise, guilt-free.
