Team Geared Up

Photo by Geared Up (Glacial Melt meets Rain Runoff)

Years ago when I was hiking through the Alps in Switzerland, I reached the top of the high pass called Bonderkrinde, just before the town of Kandersteg. Triumphant and exhausted, I looked at the view. There it was, hidden from almost everyone but me–the most beautiful valley I had ever seen. –Jerry R. Hobbs

I snapped this pic in the Gasterntal Valley, here’s a brief history:

The village of Selden, he told me, had been anything but isolated. Its history goes all the way back to Neolithic times, as early as 1500 BC. The Alps used to be crossed at is lowest passes by mule tracks, and the one up through the Gasterntal and over Lötschen Pass south into the Valais is one of the oldest in the region. It was only natural for travellers to want to stay the night in the valley before trekking over the pass, and it is believed that this is how the settlement of Selden began. According to one theory, the name “Gasterntal” comes from a word meaning “bed” or “a place to sleep”, related to our word “guest”. Far from being a forever isolated valley, it was the closest thing the ancients had to a truck stop. Gasterntal meant something like “Motel Row”.

Photo by Geared Up (The valley hotel, Waldhaus)

The valley has a lovely hidden feel, with a road chipped out of the rock for access.

Photo by Geared Up (Ascending into the valley)

Waterfalls in the valley are everywhere. It’s pretty nice!

Photo by Geared Up

And finally, here’s the view from the ‘Bonderkrinde’ (Bunderkrinde?) quoted above…

Photo by Geared Up (Gasterntal from Bunderkrinde)