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terrifyingly steep 1000 metres. The alternative is
a steep four-hour hike up to the same altitude,
which, considering that you will already have
hiked seven kilometres from Linthal train station
means it would take you five to six hours just to
get to the start of the final four or so hour hike
to the Muttsee hut. As this is the only inhabited
place along the way, as well as the only refuge
and place to eat, you need to assess your forces,
your emotions and your courage to be prepared
for what will come.

I was so overwhelmed in the cable car that I
forgot all fear and I stood up despite the safety
notice, because I could not stop taking photos
of the dam below - the one we saw on the start
of our tour. However, when I saw Tödi it was
breathtaking: I had not expected to see such a
majestic mountain there, I was exhilarated, as if
above the skies in search for the greener seeing something sacred, and I understood why tunnel somewhere in the middle of
it had so inspired alpinists. This mountain took

energy of tomorrow all my fear away; later, I was more scared looking the mountain at 2000 metres.
through my photos, seeing how steep it was. It
was also in these photos that I saw how worried Of course long mountain tunnels are
By Evelina Rioukhina (cnt’d from Diva 4/2024) and tense the other passengers were. What is not new to me; for example I have
more, this was only the beginning of the trip, been through the extraordinary
As I mentioned in the last story, the Linth- If all this seems too challenging, you can limit with more daring things to come. Tallingart tunnel leading to the
Limmern plant is not an easily accessible place. yourself by just going up to the Limernsee Dam. Aletsch Glacier, but here the
With little road access and no public transport, It will take you four hours to see all the details, The cable car arrived at a tiny terminal and the impression was different. This was
it can feel like the end of the world. The terminal and this shorter hike is also an adventure, highly voice told us to get out, which was a little like unknown territory, and I knew
train station is Linthal, which is the start of a seven rewarding and worth the effort. You will see the being ordered around by an AI from some that there was a huge enterprise
kilometre journey to get to the automated cable car landscapes and fjords in a way you have never dystopian future! Exiting the car at an altitude somewhere nearby generating
in Tiefehd, the starting point for a long hike. seen them before. You will also have a rare chance of 1860 metres, we saw arrows and doors energy. I could easily imagine huge cars moving
to see an interesting majestic mountain named instead of an observation platform, but after a through this engineering marvel of a tunnel and
Even if you arrive by car the hike is challenging; Tödi, not visible from sea level. It is as popular in tour involving so many doors I was no longer felt tiny in comparison. It seemed to be only me
the weather is capricious, so you might get this part of Switzerland as the Matterhorn is in surprised. Doors to the left indicated the hikes, that had the strange ‘inside a mountain’ feeling;
stuck up the mountain overnight. You need to ours and has fascinated climbers for centuries. and bigger doors in front of us led to the tunnel I noticed that my colleague was not as excited as
be prepared for any scenario, and it is wise to The conqueror of this mountain founded the that pierced through the mountain. This was me, so I chatted with her as we walked, a little
anticipate sleeping in a high-altitude alpine hut. Swiss Alpine Club and its first Alpine Hut. the route we had chosen, so we donned the slowly it felt to me. The trip took us an hour but I
There is literally nothing else: only one hotel luminescent jackets which were stored next to think it could be done in 45 minutes. However, I
in Tiefehd, then after that, the Muttsee Alpine On this day, however, we were heading for the the tunnel entry doors. I had not expected the liked to look around, noting that some parts were
hut which is several hours hike from the upper Muttsee Hut. After a day spent getting this far, tunnel to be so close to the cable car; it meant concrete, but others natural, and I was fascinated
station of the cable car. That is why if you are the programme for Day Two was to reach the that we must now be on a tiny cliff, or the edge to see different minerals on the walls and ceiling.
tempted to go after reading our story – and we Limmernsee Dam – an adventure of its own – as of one. I was bewildered by the construction, whilst my
hope you will be – please plan well ahead. The well as to see the path and assess the difficulty of colleague’s feelings were more about how risky
hike to the highest dam is challenging, especially the hike to the Muttsee. We opened the doors and found ourselves in a this all was. I was aware of that of course,
difficult round the T3-T4 level, and to be huge hall leading directly to a major tunnel, 2750 but I wanted to experience all this
undertaken only in a good weather conditions. We knew we would have to take a fully automated metres long. The tunnel’s neon blue light made firsthand before I wrote the article, so I
You should take trekking boots rather than cable car, and I had also read that I needed to find it feel a bit like we were in a horror movie; the was eager to keep going.
hiking shoes, sticks, and crampons too because a green button to get the cable car to move. This wet patches on the floor and 12°C temperature
you never know when you will need them. The is not a tourist place, so you need to work out added to this feeling. Fortunately the tunnel was Near the end of the tunnel we saw the
hike might take up to four hours one way; the everything yourself: buy the ticket, scan it, wait flat, and I had the company of my colleague so turning to the dam, but we continued
indicated two hours would be for a very speedy for the car and press the button. The car itself I enjoyed every second of the walk but alone I to the lake. With only 300 metres to the
hike with no photos or breaks. takes seven minutes to take the passengers up a would have been pretty scared in a dark long tunnel’s end, we saw it widen into a bigger

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