Blüemlisalp on a summer night

Switzerland – September 2026

The inspiration for the overnight stay at Blüemlisalp SAC hut came from a famous Swiss German song. “Blüemlisalp ire Sommernacht. Nochdem i ha, e Bärgtour gmacht. Da ha si troffe vor de hötte os. Sie hed Wasser gholt för e Bluemestruus…..”. I never thought about it as an actual place, until I researched the lake above Kandersteg where I was going to spend a summer season working at a small mountain hotel. On Google Maps I saw the note for the mountain refuge and while still considering whether to accept the job or not, I already started dreaming about hiking up to Hohtürli pass and sleeping at the Blüemlisalp hut. But in May and June there was still too much snow at the pass to cross safely without climbing equipment. And in July and August I worked 6 days a week, so I didn’t have energy for the hike. So here we are, in early September on the last summer “weekend”. I start my day off slowly at my shared house in Kandersteg and finish my laundry. After a late breakfast, I pack my small backpack and head out into the sun at 11.30am. A very leisurely start for a hiking day…

But given that I’m already at the foot of the mountain I’m going to climb, and my seasonal pass for the cable car cuts an hour off the hike, I’m confident I’ll reach the hut by 4pm. The official hiking portion of my tour starts at the upper station of the Oeschinensee cable car (1’683m). From here I choose the panorama route through Heuberg with its many viewpoints. I’ve hiked this section to Oberbergli before and don’t take many breaks to take pictures, though. After all, there are still 1’000 meters of elevation gain waiting for me. Here and there I stop to wait for day tourists to finish taking their IG pictures, but otherwise it’s smooth walking. At the highest point (1’948m) I take a quick snack break before continuing to Oberbergli (1’978m). Here, I planned to buy some refreshments at the small shop, but it seems they close due to the end of summer vacations. So I leave the crowds heading down to the lake behind and turn left onto the mountain hiking trail leading to Hohtürli.

The signpost says 2h to the pass, and I’m not sure if my water provision will last till then. But I know there is no other place on the way to buy more, so I am careful to ration what’s left and look out for small streams of glacier water near the trail. However, in the first section I’m crossing a pasture where there are still sheep grazing, so that would be a no to refill my bottle. The higher I go, the less green the surroundings become and the more breaks I take. There are much less people hiking on the trail with me now and I take the opportunity to enjoy the marvelous view of the Blüemlisalp glacier all by myself while eating a cookie. By now my water ration is down to one sip. I can hear the waterfall coming from under the glacier. But when I look at the trail leading to the hut, there is no stream passing it at all. At least I can actually see the hut now. It’s still high above me, in a very exposed location on top of the pass. The map says 1km, the signpost suggests another hour of walking, but it feels like it has to be more than that. Either way, I gotta get going.

I drag my tired legs up across the rocky field until it turns into a gravel passage with steep drops. Somehow, the desert-like surroundings make my mouth feel even drier and I look forward to having a drink once I arrive at the hut. When I reach the final signpost, I’m exhausted. And it still says 20 mins to go. I climb up the steep wooden stairs focusing only on the step immediately ahead of me. And then I feel the wind blowing across the Hohtürli pass (2’778m). I look up and, to my surprise, see Buddhist prayer flags dancing between the highest rocks. I sit down on a bench facing the east side of the pass and watch the black alpine choughs glide in the wind. The views are incredible wherever I look. In the east I see Niesen and all the way down to Thun. To the west lies Kandersteg and the mountains that I’ve become used to over the last months, but the new perspective feels so different. And then of course there is the massive Blüemlisalp glacier towering above the hut. After a couple minutes to take it all in, I conquer the last meters and finally arrive at my destination for today.

Blüemlisalp SAC hut (2’840m): with space for up to 100 hikers, it’s one of the larger huts in the Alps. I exchange my boots for Crocs in the dry room and head up to the reception. The check-in window doubles as the space for ordering drinks and meals and once I’m signed up, I take a huge glass of sirup to the table I’m assigned for dinner. The atmosphere in the common room is quite lively, but I’m not ready yet to socialize. First, I want to enjoy the view a little more and read in the book I brought. I sit on the terrace facing the glacier until the wind gets too strong. Then I move to the front of the house overlooking the rocks covered in prayer flags. But here it’s pretty windy too. So just before 6pm, I finally head back up to the common room. I order a liter of tea for the evening and join the people already sitting at my assigned table. There’s a couple of girls from Austria doing a summer season in Zermatt, 2 middle-aged men from Germany, a 69-year-old lady from the Netherlands, 1 20-something guy from Cork (Ireland), and 3 people in their 60s from French-speaking Switzerland, Canada and the US.

Steven from Texas, who’s sitting next to me, has actually been living in New Zealand for 20 years. He’s finishing up a section of the Via Alpina before heading to Japan to complete the Kumano Kodo hike. We quickly end up chatting about the different trekking tours we’ve been on, living abroad, volunteering and many other things we have in common. From time to time, others around the table chime in and our lively conversation in English, German and French almost lets us forget about the dinner. The three-course meal consists of soup, pasta with plant-based bolognese and vegan brownies. Each course is served in a big bowl that’s placed in the middle of the table and we serve ourselves. Simple but still delicious and very filling. Even though it’s usually my favourite time of the day, I hardly watch the sunset through the window because I’m so engrossed in the conversation with the other hikers. We end up staying up till shortly before the curfew (22.00). This is when we realize that we’re all staying in the same room.

Lucky for us, this means we’re not waking anyone while we’re getting ready for bed. And since there is limited space in the compost toilet/washroom area (there is no shower and restricted water resources), that takes a while. Once I’m done with my (minimal) nighttime routine, I head back to the dorm and unzip my sleeping bag. Next to me, the Canadian lady is already snuggled up under the duvet and I decide to skip the nighttime reading session. Instead I focus on the sound of the wind howling around the stone and wood building. My sore legs and the adrenaline from the hike and lively evening make it hard to fall asleep soon. And once I eventually drift off, I keep dreaming about serving tea. This is probably due to the huge amount of tea I drank during dinner. Because at around 1am I am woken by my bladder requesting a bathroom break. On the way there I glance out the window and even without my contacts in, am blown away by the huge amount of stars visible high above me.

I spontaneously decide to reset my alarm to 6am in order to see the sunrise. And much to my surprise, I actually make it out of my bed in time. I grab my water bottle, clothes and sleeping bag and get dressed in the dry room so I don’t disturb anyone. The sleeping bag wrapped tightly around me, I scramble up the hill behind the hut. Here, the wind is blowing across the pass relentlessly, and I seek cover behind a small stone wall so I don’t fly off the mountain. I sit there for half an hour, watching the sky change colours over the Alps before the rest of the hikers get ready for breakfast. At 6.50am I finally refill my water bottle with some tea for the hike down to Kandersteg. Then I head to the common room where the typically Swiss breakfast buffet is set up. Bread with butter and jam, cornflakes, tea, coffee, and some birchermuesli. I fill up my plate and once again sit down next to Steven. Everyone seems to be in good spirits and we discuss the plans for the day. Several other hikers are heading to Kandersteg as well, but due to different speeds and preferences most of our ways part after breakfast.

Without much luggage to pack, I’m soon out the door. But I still want to enjoy the view from the pass a little longer, so I pause a moment below the prayer flags. Here, I bump into the Canadian lady who slept next to me. We end up hiking part of the trail down to the lake together. While I usually prefer to walk on my own, I have to admit that this morning was very entertaining thanks to her. At Unterbergli we split up. I want to explore the Fründeschnur trail while she can’t wait to reach Kandersteg and the sauna waiting at her hotel. After a short detour (the cliffs on the edge of the lake did a great job at reminding me of my mortality) I also continue the descent. But before returning to the village, I cool off with a chilly swim in Lake Oeschinensee. Looking up at the Blüemlisalphorn peak once again, I feel proud of myself but also wonder where the girl from the song found flowers for a bouquet on the rocky pass.