Simplon Pass to Saas Fee

Simplon Pass to Saas Fee

Weekend in the mountains. Back on the Alpine Passes Trail.

Early morning train from Zurich. Always the same feeling. Coffee in hand, watching the city disappear and knowing that in a few hours you will be somewhere completely different. Quick stop at Simplon Pass for a late breakfast and then straight on the trail.

The section toward Gspon is easy to follow and surprisingly scenic from the start. Wide views, open terrain and proper summer conditions. Blue sky, strong sun, snow still sitting on the peaks in the distance. It felt like one of those days where everything just works.

Lunch by a stream turned into a longer break than planned. Slipped on a wet rock, small hand bruise, nothing serious. More annoying was the heat. We started running low on water and there was not much shade. Good reminder that even simple routes can become demanding when the sun is strong.

As we got closer to Gspon, sheep started appearing along the trail and the landscape softened a bit. Reached the village just before 18:00. Perfect timing. Or so we thought. Everything was fully booked! For a moment it felt like the trip might end right there - "what do we do now?". Quick decision. The gondola was still running. We went down to Stalden, found a random hotel and saved the weekend!

Next morning back up with the gondola and straight onto the trail again. Completely different day. Cloudy, cooler, much better for hiking. As we approached Saas Fee, the route felt more alive. More people, more movement, more energy around.

At one point we passed some zip lines. Looked fun, but after 2 days on the move it was an easy pass :) Legs were done. Saas Fee at the end felt busy but in a good way. People coming for the weekend, relaxing, hiking, enjoying the mountains. Not this time - we went straight to the bus and back to Zurich.

43 km. 1,700 m ascent. Around 9 hours on the trail. One of those quick weekend trips that feels much bigger than it actually is.