Säntis: Conquering Our Nemesis

Hut hiking is truly one of the great, unique opportunities that Switzerland has to offer. Who wouldn't love being able to hike through the Swiss Alps on an overnight trip without being bogged down with big backpacks filled with tents, sleeping bags and cooking gear. Why do you need that when the Swiss have all that for you in a cozy little hut at the top of a peak? We can't get enough of it. That's why we returned to one of our favorite areas, the Appenzell region, for an overnight trip on our way to Säntis. We stayed at the Gasthaus Schaefler (a "gasthaus" is a little more like a b&b and not quite as small or rustic as a traditional hut). That night, we ate a homecooked meal, took in a spectacular sunset and played cards and Yahtzee over some rounds of beer. The next day we prepared for our ascent to Säntis. We should mention that this was our second attempt to climb to the summit. We initially had planned a hike there a year but were unable to complete the trek, as a week's worth of rain had made the trail too perilous for us to manage. The hike to the top of Säntis is about 4 hours from the gasthaus, which includes a traverse over a narrow ridge, a spectacular journey through a valley surrounded on both sides with sharp, jagged mountain peaks, a walk over snow, and last but not least, a terrifying climb up a mountain face. This last piece of the hike was by far the most challenging, both mentally and physically. We had to use all fours to scale the peak and frequently, the only thing we had to put our feet on were old pieces of rebar that had been lodged into the rock. Once we committed to going up, there was no turning back because there were other hikers right behind us. This was not for the faint of heart. Once we settled on stable ground and lost our sense of vertigo, we rewarded ourselves with a view of our trek and a hearty lunch. For those who like the stats, Säntis rises to 2,504 meters or 8,218 feet. The summit has a extensive panorama that takes in the Bodensee and the Black Forest to the north, the Zürichsee to the southwest and the Glarner Alps to the south.