Training Log Archive: Bash

Zurich --> Toronto --> Dogs --> Final Tour Stage ---> 8:30 bedtime - zzz.

Pontresina --> Zurich via 1 bus and 3 trains. Then 2 more trains to go into the old town for dinner and back. I probably walked 5 km in Relax flip flops, mostly on cobblestones with some hills - good foot strength training.

Wishing a great race day to all the Rockstars out there! :)

Pictures now added for every day except my race report. (Not written yet!)

Easy descent from Piz Nair at 3,057 m to the Marguns gondola station at 2,278 m. This hike went through the big ski area above St. Moritz. It's gorgeous at the top but not as exciting as some other hikes when we got lower down.

Today's first mountain restaurant was at the top of the Piz Nair cable car where we boosted our blood-caffeine level.



After reviewing the safety instructions, we did the short hike to the summit of Piz Nair.



Any hike over 3,000 m feels a little hard core - or at least it *would*, if it weren't for the little Swiss kids marching up the same trail. On a clear day, you can supposedly see the Matterhorn from here.





We started down the same trail the mountain bikers take from the cable car. That would be one long descent!











We had planned to take Trottibikes down the last 550 m from Marguns to Celerina. Harps, T. Rex and JayXC will remember those scooter bikes. This is what they are really used for - not scooting around airport runways! This photo is from Grindelwald; the ones at Marguns are sturdier mountain Trottibikes - even a few fat Trottibikes.



However, the rental guy didn't recommend it since a storm was rolling in, so we just took the gondola down to keep our quads from overdoing it.

Time deducted for photos.

Leisurely mountain bike ride from Pontresina to Maloja. This wasn't in the plans and I sure missed the benefits of bike shorts, a woman's bike saddle and (most of all) clipless pedals. The rental bikes (Scott 29ers) and helmets were great though - one of the few bargains we've found in Switzerland at about $50 Canadian per person for a full day.

Yes, 'Bent *can* ride a regular bike. But his neck got pretty sore after a few hours.



We rode through the orienteering map that Hammer posted in my log comments.



We took a coffee break at Lej da Staz on that O map and made two (!!) more restaurant stops after that.



We stayed mostly on easy trails and a few roads because (a) it's a recovery week, and (b) it is terrifying to ride technical terrain wearing running shoes on platform pedals. (Arthurd and W4J are very brave!)

Descending into St. Moritz.



My front disc brakes were rubbing a little but we couldn't resolve it. No big deal.



The chain of Engadin lakes got more beautiful as we went along. This was Silvaplana.







We got to a charming village known as Segl in Romansch but it seems to have a few names. Shortly after I took this photo, a bus roared around a bend and we practically had to flatten against a wall!



It looked like we might have reached the end of the line unless we wanted to ride a narrow shoulder on a busy highway beside the Silsersee. Then we saw a bike route sign and headed along the south side of the lake. Although we never saw a "no bikes" sign and we did see two other bikes, it felt wrong. The trail was narrow, hilly and technical enough that we wondered if bikers and hikers were both allowed. No photos of that section - just a view of the water.



It popped us out onto a gravel road that led us to Maloja just before the rain began.



That seemed like a perfect time to snack on some Engadin nusstorte and hop on the postal bus back to St. Moritz followed by a train to Pontresina.



Time deducted for photography.

Ride uphill from Pontresina train station to the bike shop. Half of it was hike-a-bike due to crowds at the awesome Thursday Night market.

Hiked from Berghaus Diavolezza to the peak of Munt Pers at 3207 m. (Puff, puff!) What a spectacular place! Time deducted for summit stop.

We started (and finished) the hike at today's mountain restaurant.



Here's what it looks like without any coffee drinkers blocking the view.





Here's the Berghaus and our trail up Munt Pers behind it.



The trail was rocky, dusty and sometimes a bit scrambly.





Looking back at Berghaus Diavolezza (below the left side of the closest peak).



The last part of the climb:



Summit! The view back to Pontresina can be seen behind 'Bent.



Looking down at the Bernina Pass and the road Revy biked. This is also where Hammer will orienteer next year.



With that backdrop, of course we had to pose!





When we got back to the Berghaus, a helicopter seemed to be dealing with an emergency in the area of the via ferrata.



We took the train past Pontresina so we could check out St. Moritz. It's nice but I like Pontresina better.



We finished with a dinner that was delicious but frighteningly complicated. ;)

'Bent and I took the Alp Languard chair up from Pontresina to the start of the Panoramaweg, a moderate trail that takes about two hours, stays between 2200-2400 m and links three mountain restaurants. That sounded appropriately ambitious, given that I just finished an ultra. We only visited one restaurant though.







When we got within sight of Muottas Muragl, our goal for the day, my legs felt good enough that I pulled out the map and suggested a 300 m climb to Lake Muragl. 'Bent is feeling great after the Bunny Race (as he calls it) so it was no problem to convince him. We ran short of water though; we weren't properly prepared for a real hike.







Today's mountain restaurant was Muottas Muragl, the first "plus energy" hotel in the Alps. It generates more solar power than it uses. We took the funicular down to the valley after testing their aprikosenkuchen. (Yes, we had cake for lunch.)



Time deducted for photography.

We took 6 trains to get from Grindelwald in central Switzerland to Pontresina in the southeast. I hauled about 30 kg of gear from train to train, and up and down stairs between platforms. I could probably log it as strength training but I'll consider it "active recovery". Not recommended.

We hit the jackpot since the 5th train turned out to be the famous Glacier Express, which included a bazillion tunnels and mountain views.



In planning our second week, I'd asked Google for a different place with great day hiking, and the answer was St. Moritz. We've ended up 10 minutes away in Pontresina since they will let in people who aren't rich. It's the Canmore to St. Moritz's Banff. So far, so good.