2025 Switzerland – On the Niederhorn. The start.

I meet Noé at the and the other 2 participants on the starting point of the adventure, the cable car station at Beatenbucht at 10.00. To arrive there I had to take two trains and a bus.

We greet each other warmly, then we buy our ticket and we start the adventure. Noé distributes the equipment in the cable car as it’s going to be much easier there than on the snow. In total we are four and I am the only woman. As often happens, we are all passionate travelers and adventures, so we start sharing experiences and anecdotes. Christian, instead than a backpack has a sleight, so he offers to take most of the equipment in order to allow us to march with a lighter backpack. We arrive on the top, wear the snowshoes and start the march. The weather is great, the sun shines, the snow reverberates it.

The mood is good, we are not in a hurry and we are captivated by the majestic view of the mountains. It’s a nice walk. We stop twice, once for lunch and ones for a quick snack and some rest. We progress but we are slightly late on the program planned by Noé. We need to find the place for the bivouac and light the fire before the night falls, which means that we have to stop our march around 5.00 pm and prepare the camp. Noé selects this lovely flat place – a white spot surrounded by trees, but positioned in such a way that the sun should kiss us when rising. In order to prepare the bivouac, we need to crush the snow and flatten it, then we lay down different layers of isolating material before unfolding the mat, the sleeping bag and the bivy bag. Sebastien and Christian plant the tarp as well, while as the weather forecast allow it, I prefer not to have anything between my self and the starts. Noé does the same, so I feel quite confident. Then we light the fire, and this is of essence. When we are in motion under the sunlight we sweat and feel hot, but now the night is coming and the temperature is lowering quickly and we all need  a source of heating to keep warm.

He brought some salami and cheese for the apero, to help us waiting while the lamb cooks. Our dinner is going to be lamb and vegetables, cooked on the fire in the snow.

It is cosy to chat around the fire. The meet is delicious, the sky clean, full moon shines over us and there is a weird optic effect in the air, so the moon looks like surrounded by a light ring.

With the belly full, we feel tired and ready to rest. I go back to my sleeping bag and stare at the moon for a while, before I decide to fall asleep.