We were still wondering and laughing a bit about this couple in the Italian camper after they drove across the pitch in Saas Fee with the typical temperamento and filled up their fresh water at lightning speed with the well-marked water hose, which is intended for cleaning the toilet cassette. But it was already too late to warn them, and this step was probably not good for their gastrointestinal health. And as the saying goes: laugh at others... But first things first.
Expending yourself on the Plattjen
It's still quiet at this time of day when I set off quite early on a Sunday morning for a trail run around the valley basin of Saas Fee. Marina is still a little handicapped after a small operation on her foot, so I set off alone today.
I start with a flight of stairs, which after the first few hundred meters usually leads to the pressing question of how the hell I'm supposed to get through the remaining 27 kilometers if my legs are already hurting so much here. But of course I know that my muscles immediately become overly acidic when they are not warmed up and that this feeling will soon return. Passing people staring suspiciously at breakfast in the Wellnesshostel Saas Fee, I cross the striking bridge over the gorge and, after a short walk in the direction of the idyllically situated Waldhüs Bodmen (if you like good rösti, you'll find it here!), I turn onto the Suonenweg.
Wait a minute, a Suonenweg in Saas Fee? Suonen are mainly found in the Lower Valais, aren't they? That's right, I thought so too, but there is actually a bisse about a kilometer long here on the edge of Saas Fee, which meanders idyllically through the mountain forest. The extensive high ropes course is also located in this forest, and somewhere between the trees the carabiners on the climbing harness of a woman preparing the course for the onslaught of guests are jingling and ringing.
There's an audible jingling in front of me, but fortunately I don't have to run straight through the small herd of suckler cows, but turn sharp left into a kind of green wall, which abruptly turns my easy, continuous run into a much too panting trudge uphill. Have I lost my way? No, a few meters further on I rejoin the actually much flatter hiking trail, which I accidentally cut short for a few meters in the tall grass. Now it's quicker and easier again and I'm steadily gaining altitude meter by meter, up towards the Berghaus Plattjen at 2,409 m above sea level.
I have already covered a third of today's altitude difference by the time I arrive at the mountain hut, which is closed in summer. The sun is slowly rising over the mountain peaks to the east of me and with it a cool wind that forces me to take a short break to put on my windbreaker. Apart from the piercing whistle of a startled marmot, I haven't met another creature here on the ascent; the summer season is obviously drawing to a close and with it the number of hikers.
In the morning under the Mittaghorn
The Berghaus Plattjen is not the same as the Plattjen mountain station, from which there are still around 150 meters of altitude difference and which I now cover on somewhat flatter terrain. In winter, the cable car to Saas Fee runs up to this point at the start of the ski slopes, and this is where the most technically demanding part of my trail run begins.
Along the eastern flank of the 3,142 m high Mittagshorn, which is accessible via ferrata, the white-red-white marked hiking trail leads through impressive scree slopes, which are well marked but still need to be walked on with caution. Even though most of the large rock slabs that serve as footholds are stable, I still have to be careful. I don't want to risk twisting my ankle here. A striking cairn guides me high above the Saas Valley with a view of Saas Almagell and the Mattmark reservoir in the direction of Heidefridhof, although this is not a cemetery, even though, according to my research, Celtic places of worship and sacrifice apparently contributed to the name.
The slowly ascending traverse through the Meiggerental valley requires me to make one or two sacrifices in the form of calories before I reach this idyllic spot after a final scree field crossing and can get rid of my jacket again in the now warmer air. A few meters and a somewhat more airy crossing later, which is secured with ropes, the hiking trail branches off to my left in the direction of Zermeiggern/Saas Almagell. However, I keep to the right and soon find myself below the striking Egginer, the 3,368 m high mountain that dominates the Saas Valley with its prominent and angular shape on the approach to Saas Fee.
Lunar landscapes
The landscape changes rapidly now that I am on the south side below the Egginer. The path branches off again and would lead me to the Britannia Hut at 3,027 m, keeping to the left. However, my planned route leaves the white-blue-white marked hut approach and lets me walk another 200 vertical meters up to my highest point today, the 2,988 m high Egginerjoch. Although my running is currently tending more towards brisk hiking - at the moment I am somehow in the red zone and the altitude meters I have covered obviously demand a little more calorie intake - a deficit that I intend to make up for at the top of the pass.
However, I still have to hold out for a few minutes until then, but I'm quite happy when I reach the top of the Eggineerjoch and can take a short break to take a closer look at the lunar landscape surrounding me. Buried under a white blanket in winter, but ruthlessly exposed in the summer months: this is how the rubble and scree-covered terrain around the Egginerjoch and down to my next waypoint, the Morenia middle station at 2,580 m, presents itself. Now and again, it is criss-crossed by paved ramps for the ski slopes and framed on the south side by the apery ice masses of the Fee Glacier, which descends from the Allalinhorn and the Alphubel.
It is a mixture of repulsive and fascinating at the same time to see the landscape-forming work of the glacier ice over the decades and centuries spread out before me, framed by the mighty scenery of the Mischabel chain with Alphubel, Täschhorn, Dom and Lenzspitze, which dominate everything with their high, rocky east faces.
After up comes down
Drunk, eaten, looked around and rested a little - the journey can continue. I now have a long descent with many meters of altitude ahead of me, almost back down to Saas Fee, before I walk over to the small mountain inn Gletschergrotte and from there I can tackle the ascent towards Hannig.
First of all, I follow a steep hiking trail over a few last small snow fields in the direction of Morenia. Snowfields and trail running shoes are always a somewhat tricky affair because, unlike mountain boots, the relatively soft soles make it almost impossible to kick yourself into the snow. However, there are already tracks here and the run-out terrain of the snow field is also acceptable. Nevertheless, this combination of snow field and running shoes can lead to unpleasant situations in the high mountains, where there is no way around turning around. With poles and a few points deducted from the style score, however, the passage here can be mastered well and a little later I run directly north towards the cable car station on the surprisingly flat surface of the ski slopes. Directly above me, the two cable cars glide silently to the higher Felskinn station, which is at exactly the same altitude as the Egginerjoch.
At Morenia, I get another energy bar in my stomach and a message on my cell phone from Marina that she is at the glacier grotto and that there is a fountain with drinking water - perfect for me to fill up my water bottles. Then comes turn after turn down a steep hiking trail, the village of Saas Fee gets closer and closer and the moment when the Hannig mountain station, visible on the opposite side of the valley, is higher than my position again, hurts a little - I know that my altitude meter account is now negative and that I will have to climb up again later on the other side.
Change of scene
If I were to continue straight ahead at P. 2190, I would come straight back to my ascent route from this morning. However, I take a sharp left and walk straight into a completely different landscape with a small forest - a stark contrast to the lunar landscape a few hundred meters above me. A thunderous roar can be heard in front of me: the masses of water from the glaciers above, making their way down into the valley.
The descent now ends with a bridge and after a short time and a small, poisonous counter-climb, I reach the path to the Glacier Grotto. I refill my water bottles at the fountain and then unintentionally fill all the guests on the hut terrace with amusement when I get lost on these few square meters and briefly choose the wrong path. Why does the hiking trail have to lead right across the terrace, branch off there and then disappear rather secretly behind the hut, where nobody is looking for it?
After a short confusion, I find myself back on the desired route, have overcome my shame and follow the blocked path down into the river delta of the small glacial lake. It's amazing what a variety of landscapes the valley basin around Saas Fee, which isn't exactly huge, has to offer - you wouldn't necessarily expect a river delta several hundred meters long here. I cross several small bridges to get to the other side of the many watercourses and now find myself on an old moraine, which marks the start of the final ascent up to the Hannig mountain station.
From trail runner to Geissenpeter
After around one hundred meters of altitude, a sharp bend to the right, then a long traverse and finally 15 sharp hairpin bends that quickly bring me back up. A little above me, I think I've spotted Marina's pink trousers and orange rucksack, who has already written to me that she will also be taking the hiking trail in the direction of Hannig. A little further on, in the basin below the Mischabel hut, I see her too, but above all I see dozens of goats meandering down the mountain slopes like the orcs in Moria to join up on the very hiking trail I intend to take towards Hannig. The shepherd stands somewhat elevated on a rocky outcrop and plays a goat-animating melody on a kind of flute - it's like the Valais version of Heidi. The goats probably come from Alp Hannig, which is a little further down, but I'm not one hundred percent sure.
It's an idyllic sight, which unfortunately ruins my (admittedly somewhat selfish) plans for rapid progress as a trail runner. A small race ensues just before a narrow bridge that would lead me over to Marina, but of course the competition is won overwhelmingly by the goats - the Lanterne Rouge goes to me, but my ego has already been lost on the terrace of the glacier grotto anyway.
A brief reunion with Marina, I get something to drink and then take up the pursuit of my animal rivals before the next pack of dozens of animals approaches from behind. For a few hundred meters, I perform a balancing act of overtaking goats (always only on the uphill side, they like to push...) and dodging sudden faecal effusions from goats running directly in front of me, before I have made it and can cover the last few meters to Hannig at walking pace again.
Now I still have a good 500 meters of descent on flowing trails ahead of me, which I quickly complete in the face of the approaching dark masses of cloud. With almost perfect timing, my run ends a little later and coincides exactly with Marina's exit from the cable car - an impressive and panoramic trail running round in this scenically impressive valley basin below the Valais 4000m peaks comes to an end.
The only thing left to do now is to build a bridge to our Italian camping colleagues from the introduction: while their relatively stupid behavior from a hygienic point of view has probably gone without consequences, as is so often the case, a nasty stomach virus catches up with me the following night. The combination of a body dehydrated by prolonged physical exertion and a weakened immune system with a virus is not a particularly good thing. The loss of fluids quickly takes on dimensions that are detrimental to your health. Whether it was due to the water from the fountains (probably not, as it was drinking water), some fleeting contact with the goats or something else entirely - I don't know, but it's an unpleasant end to what was actually a cool trail running tour around Saas Fee. But even such experiences pass and the beautiful memories remain.
