Part Four of Kristy Flannery's Switzerland Travel Diary
Wednesday, August 9 Itinerary (Saas-Fee - Leukerbad)
8:00 A.M.: Individual breakfast.
8:30 A.M.: Alpine Canyon with Saas-Fee guides.
2:00 P.M.: Transfer by cableway from Saas-Grund to Kreuzboden/Hohsaas.
2:30 P.M.: Lunch at Hohsaas.
4:00 P.M.: Back to Saas-Grund from Kreuzboden by Monster Scooter.
5:00 P.M.: Transfer by public transportation from Saas-Grund to Leukerbad.
Check-in at Hotel Le Bristol in Leukerbad.
Dinner at the hotel.
Thoughts on the Day
One of this trip's most beautiful and unexpected aspects was that I could comfortably step outside my comfort zone.
I thought I faced my fear of heights on Tuesday with Nico Hischier when I successfully made it down the steep hill of rocks and safely navigated the glacier without injury.
Oh boy, was I wrong. So incredibly wrong.
On Wednesday morning, our guide took the four of us (the two contest winners, my husband, and myself) to the Alpine Canyon for the day's activity.
Two things worked in my favor that day. First, I researched the gorge and watched YouTube videos to prepare myself mentally. The second is that my husband works with ropes and harnesses for a living, and I knew he could triple-check my equipment and help put my anxiety at ease.
Below is a video the Saas-Fee Guides posted to their YouTube Channel in August 2016. It is a condensed three-minute summary of our four-hour trek through the gorge. As you can see, we were attached to a steel cable and made our way through the gorge using Rebar (short for reinforcing bar) and logs secured to the cliff's side.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cq6rDUqbU[/embed]
We were attached to the cables from the start, but it was more or less a steep hike for the first few minutes. That quickly changed when I turned a corner and faced the first suspension bridge secured high above the water. You can view the bridge 29 seconds into the YouTube video. To quote Randy Jackson, "It was a no from me, dawg."
My first issue was that I was forced to look down to watch my step as I crossed the suspension bridge. The second was that the ladder shook with each movement. As I walked across, I kept thinking about Top Gun: Maverick and what Maverick told Rooster, "Don't think. Just do." This would become my mantra of the day.
Towards the end of the canyon adventure, I noticed another suspension bridge. I thought, okay, after everything I conquered over the last three hours, what's one more suspension bridge comprised of ladders?
Of course, my intrigue became piqued when our adorable guide said with a laugh," Okay, we will now cross the bridge to nowhere."
Um... what does that even mean? Is that some kind of Swiss humor?
Turns out I didn't want to know what he meant.
At the far end of the bridge was a platform with an opening in the middle. I became frantic when I saw one of the contest winners lowered around 40-50 feet to the ground below us. Apparently, I missed the last 30 seconds of the YouTube video when they showed this part of the activity. Unfortunately, I had no one to blame but myself.
When it was my turn, I pleaded with our guide to lower me slowly because I was terrified of heights. He assured me everything would be fine and directed me to keep my left leg on one side of the platform and my right leg on the other. Once I was secured and hooked up, he told me to move my left leg and let it dangle. I did as I was told, and then it was time for the right. At this moment, my fear took over, and I physically could not move my right leg. The guide gently pushed my foot off the platform and lowered me.
Don't ask me anything about the scenery (which I'm sure was beautiful) because my eyes were obviously shut as I kept repeating out loud, "Don't think. Just do."
By the time we reached the end of our Alpine Gorge adventure, I was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment that I never experienced before. I faced one of my biggest fears and completed an excursion that, if my husband booked it as a surprise, I would have served him with divorce papers.
It was an activity that was both physically and mentally exhausting but absolutely worth it in the end. Switzerland Tourism knocked it out of the park by adding this to the itinerary. As the website says: While perhaps being intimidating at the start, butterfly-filled stomachs and wobbly knees will give way to smiles and screams of triumph while overcoming the forces of gravity through natural terrain.
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