Near Death on the Niederhorn

It always starts with a simple notion, idea or feeling. Let's go for hike tomorrow, Kara and I agreed the day after arriving in Interlaken, Swizterland. But in several hours our nice, sunny-day walk would churn into one of the most frightening tales I've ever survived to tell.

The hour stroll out of Interlaken to the shores of Lake Thun was pleasant enough. The trail turned upward as signs pointed the way to Beatenburg, a small ski town minimized by the summer heat.

Darkening Day

Taking in grand vistas of Lake Thun now thousands of feet below us we wound into Beatenburg for lunch. But storm clouds marched atop us, dropping their watery bombs as we munched bread and guzzled sparkling water. It let up and we moved on to the gondola that would take us to the top of the mighty Niederhorn.

If paying for the $28 ride to the top wasn't disappointing the rain that pelted the tiny car certainly was. All the same, the place was gorgeous despite the dark skies that were getting darker by the minute.

Knowing better than to head off across a mountain with lightning cracking downward, we did what every irrational, first-time mountain rookie would do - dove into the muddy trail.