Memories - This week in 2017 - Mrs P's Birthday climb

I’m busy writing my book (still) and hope to have a first draft in the next few weeks and Mrs P is busy at work on a contract, so adventures have been few and far between. Well, that is not strictly true. Mini adventures have been regular; kayaking and cycling, but there are only so many times I can publish a video of me and Mrs P drifting serenely downstream. So, since we are not going to be getting any decent fun in until at least the middle of September I thought I would share an old adventure with you. I have had to go way back to 2017 to find things that you haven’t seen before (Gandalf on Tour, my original blog has been running since 2018).

So, here for your edification and to whet your appetite perhaps for your own adventure is a Via Ferrata that we did on Mrs P’s birthday in 2017. First, let me set the scene…

We were in Switzerland. I’m not sure what made us think we could afford to be there, but that is where we were.

Alpine flowers doing their thing

We had already climbed a snowy mountain the previous day and it had been a long day…

Somewhere near the Wildstrubel, 3,244m

…and for her birthday I had promised a nice easy day. Just half of the local via ferrata route which would allow us to be back with Gandalf (our campervan) for a nice relaxing afternoon before I took her out for a birthday meal in the evening. What could possibly go wrong?

The first clue that it might take a bit longer than half a day.

It took us more than an hour to walk to this sign that clearly stated Variante 1 of the via ferrata , the half that I had so confidently suggested for an easy day, would take at least five hours. Unfortunately I only took a photo. I didn’t read the sign, so off we set still oblivious to how long this route might take. With hindsight perhaps the fact that the Klettersteig (Via Ferrata) Daubenhorn proudly advertises itself as the longest via ferrata in Europe, should have given us a clue, but no.

We didn’t really know where the route went. We planned to just follow it and see how it went. It all started off well.

Mrs P still smiling. You can see the path we had taken up in the right of the picture and the traverse route angling up from the right of her gloved left hand.

It soon became plain that we were in for a long day and we decided that we might as well enjoy it. We pottered happily up, then traversed a bit, then up a bit more, seemingly with the whole montain to ourselves. We really had no idea where we were heading though. We were just following the cables.

Then it started to go up. And up, and up.

We had seen from the campsite the previous day a huge, and I do mean HUGE, swiss flag painted on the side of the mountain. We had no idea that we were about to climb up and past it. Such fun!

There were surprisingly few complaints from the birthday girl. She was after all thoroughly enjoying this rather long ‘short’ day.

Finally we made it to the top. We decided not to do the additional two hours and headed down. There was still the small matter of a two hour descent and we had already been going for about five hours.

The birthday girl arrives. “Is this where the restaurant is?” she foolishy asks.

She did eventually get her birthday meal though I doubt she will ever trust my timings again.

That was five years ago and she recently celebrated a rather more sedate birthday. Somehow, she doesn’t look a day older.

Somewhere, in a dusty dark attic, there is a painting of Mrs P ageing.