Fingertips and Pedals - Bike and Hike in Switzerland

After a few phone calls, our destination is finalised: Caro's home country, Switzerland, with its numerous legendary rock faces. In August 2020, I get off the train in Feldkirch (Austria) and arrive at the railway station in Sargans just before the thunderstorm to wait for Caro.

I can see her from afar thanks to her dreadlocks. We fall into each other's arms and I quickly realise how enthusiastic Caro is. Our first climbing destination is the Rätikon. An arduous and steep approach, curve after curve winding up the mountain road. The rhythm of the pedalling is slow but steady. The heat is really getting to us. We have to remind each other to ride slowly so that we have enough energy left for climbing later. Our bike trailer weighs around 35-40kg with all our equipment, which is a significant additional load.

Our first climbing tour starts in the morning. We enter the Intifada at the Schweizereck, which has actually remained dry. A unique length of slab right at the start demands everything from us. It is difficult to stand precisely on our feet after the exertion on the bike. We fight our way up pitch by pitch. We still lack the speedy rhythm of a well-practised team. The sun comes into the wall and the last lengths become a battle against the heat. In the evening we have a barbecue with friends and celebrate our first route through a big wall on this 'expedition'.

The journey continues after a long descent via Chur to Disentis, mostly on the Rhine cycle path towards the source of the river at the Oberalp Pass. We have covered quite a few metres in altitude and distance when we start our next climbing route on the Teufelstalwand above Andermatt.

Here we have to belay ourselves in the granite. Caro is in her element and proves her crack climbing skills. On our onward journey we have a mishap, our gas for the cooker runs out. At first, every attempt to find an open shop on a long weekend fails. We use Facebook to find a climber who helps us out and leaves us two cartridges on the way over the Susten Pass. The climbing community is just great, helpful and supportive wherever possible.

That's good, because we soon realise that we need three times the amount of food than in normal climbing. Our fuel is food and that means always remembering where the nearest shop is along the way. Efficiency is becoming more and more important. We don't want to take any unnecessary routes, soon limit ourselves to the bare essentials in our packs and realise that lightness also means speed, similar to alpine style climbing.

The ascent to the Susten Pass is a tough one, it's raining and we pedal reverently higher. Once we reach the pass (2224 metres), we quickly change our wet and sweaty jerseys for a proper jacket. The descent is fun until it starts to rain again and my rear brake no longer works. A slight panic sets in. I have to get it fixed at the next opportunity.

At the campsite in Gaumen, we take our first break after 10 days. We want to rest up and climb the Wendenstöcken, which still need to dry out.

A final ascent takes us up the Wendenalp by bike, then we finally continue on foot. It's a hot summer's day and the walls are exposed to the south. There is no wind and our ambitious plans are already diminished by the heat on the ascent.

The Excalibur pillar towers imposingly in front of us. But during a traverse to the start, the joy quickly turns into total shock. We hit a massive rockfall that suddenly seems to fall from the sky. Stones and whole boulders hit us and we can do nothing but try to find shelter under our rucksacks. We are left with a strong smell of sulphur and weak knees. We're lucky, but we don't get back to our usual enthusiasm that quickly.