Logbook 11: Salbithütte
Distance: 7.9km | Elevation Gain/Loss: 909m | Total Time: 5:33
This will be a short one. A few friends and I decided to do a short day hike up to Salbithutte in the same Goschenen Valley that I did the Voralphutte hike a few weeks earlier.
Built in 1930, the primarily granite structure sits halfway up the northern valley wall. The famous Jakob Eschenmoser led the expansion of the hut in 1966.
The hut is a popular climbing basecamp given the plethora of large granite faces that create a bit of a cirque around the hut, including the dramatic Salbitschijen, which has knife-like obelisks jutting up from its summit. This is not my photo but it provides a great example of these extreme rock structures on the peak:
We started the hike in the same Grit parking lot as the Voralphutte hike began at. I don’t think there is a single flat step taken along the entire route. It is nearly 1,000m of elevation gain in a short 3.5km approach, or an average grade of ~30%.
Much of the hike is in the pine forest, so views don’t really become available until 1,800m asl when the trees begin to dwindle away. Once we emerged from the forest, the 180-degree views opened up with the Goschenen Valley below, Dammastock to the west, and Brunnenstock to the east.
Real-feel temperatures on the day we went were hovering around 37C (100F), with a scorching sun beating down even in the mid-morning. While the pine forest blocked the mountain views, it did provide lovely shade from the UV index of 7.
The Salbitschijen came into view as it hovered over the surrounding peaks with its dramatic summit.
A few more steps and we made it to the hut. It is nestled into a small hump on the high plateau, giving it a sort of military bunker feeling.
The background was filled up by the snowfields and glacier below Dammastock, Tiefenstock, and Schneestock. The extreme temps made the air slightly hazy so the further views weren’t as clear as I’d hoped but it was still a gorgeous setting for our outdoor lunch.
After our soup and yak sausage (a first for me), we began our knee-breaking descent back down to the car.
