After spending the night at the Ofenhorn hotel, the same place as our protagonists, we set out to reach the start of the valley. The hotel is magnificent and is one of the historic accommodations of Switzerland. This hotel had been closed for a long time, and it was not clear what would become of it. Later, a foundation was created to maintain, or even restore, certain aspects of the place. Thus, you have the choice of the type of room you want to rent renovated in a modern style, 70s style or left in its authentic state. Needless to say, the comfort is very different.
Instead of following the tarmac road, we followed the right bank of the Binna, on a path along the mountain flank at a somewhat higher altitude. At Holzerhiischere we descended to cross the Binna and change bank. Thus, we were able to follow a path that I really like, because it is wild. At Furgmatta, we climbed to Halsesee, a beautiful mountain lake. However, we did not follow the trail that had been built by the army, and which passes above the lake at a higher altitude to reach the CAS hut via a wide loop. Instead, we descended to Chiestafel (also called Wyssbach) to take the normal path to the Albrunpass.
As she climbed, Corina Bille spoke of the bare mountain and mentioned that she thought she recognised Valère and Tourbillon in the various rocky towers that can be seen. The Binntalhütte did not exist as such at the time when our protagonists had made their journey. The building did exist, as it served as a barracks for the border guards. The building was put up for sale at the end of the 1960s and was bought by the CAS, Delémont section, to turn it into a hut. It was renovated in 2016 and now offers superior comfort. In addition, the food is very good.
Our protagonists, in the absence of accommodation possibilities, had continued to cross the Albrun the same day, reached Italy, and found refuge with the farmers of the Alpe Forno Inferiore.
Itinerary: Binn – Holzerhiischere – Giesse – Fäld – Figgerscha – Furgmatta – Halsesee – Chiestafel – Binntalhütte
Distance: 11.1 km
Altitude gain: 1030 m
Duration: 4h30
Previous Post
Next Post
