This summer has been a rock n roll frenzy of outdoor activities for the inhabitants on the 1st floor of Albisstrasse XX. August 20-21 was our first weekend with no planned activity since getting back from the US in June. This stint of activities has led me to feel an immense amount of fatigue. Freddy has leaned into that frenzy; he decided to pursue his personal vert record in August: greater than 31,000 meters of climbing. 

This meant on Saturday, I took a rest day. I did some of the administrative work I’ve been putting off: making a doctor’s appointments (to be fair to my Father, I’ve been putting off figuring out how health insurance works here + finding a doctor), buying tire sealant for my leaky back tire, re-setting up my Pixel 4, going on a slow run, and calling my college roommates.

Freddy did a relatively large ride, biking over Klausen and Pragel Pass. Though I do sometimes feel FOMO when I can’t summon the energy to work out and Freddy can, I don’t feel that from this ride. I got a text message from yours truly when he got on the train that he was “covered in cow shit” and it rained the whole day. I’m a fair weather biker, and I’m okay with my identity! While Freddy cleaned himself up, I went to Napule pizza (best pizza in Zurich according to my Italian coworker) for takeout, and felt very happy living in proximity to what to me feels like a thriving urban environment.

Given the constraints of our fatigue, we wanted to find a close to home mission that was still freaking awesome. So I went onto SAC’s site and filtered for multi pitch rock climbs within an hour of Zurich in the 4a-4c range (my challenge, Freddy’s bread and butter). Chöpfenberg showed up as a fun ridge with views of Zurich and Lake Constance on a clear day. The problem is that it was not public-transitable…no bus in proximity to the trailhead. This of course delighted Freddy who immediately suggested biking there. The formation of a plan was coming together!

We took a leisurely 8:15 train from Bahnhof Wollishofen to Ziegelbrücke on the other side of Zurichsee. After 45 minutes, we were in the saddle, peddling on a national bike route (good shoulders) to Näfels, where we took a hard right and literally went straight up 1000 feet. I’m not joking. This one lane road that was impeccably paved, zigzagged up to the hanging valley of Schwändital that viewed like an ad for Swiss Tourism. Sheer limestone cliffs towering above a luscious green meadow filled with bell-dinging livestock. We passed the small village of Läuferberg then parked the bikes at the “Velo Verboten” sign to begin the hike. Note, at this point, there is a paid parking/camping area with a really nice bathroom and water fountain!!

We hiked up and west some more over some rather cruxy steep grassy slopes before finding the South ridge of Chöpfenberg. The highlight of the hike was exciting trail traffic from some very active cows. The ridge didn’t look that impressive close up, as it was a small limestone outcropping only minimally outpacing the tree line, but that certainly did not detract from the fun climb! 

Freddy led up the first 4 pitches, which were harder than expected for me! Wet limestone in approach shoes does not inspire confidence. There were no falls, so there was no testing of the Pitons jammed into the rock. After that, the climbing toned down, and we simul-climbed the ridge, which I think we are both getting better at! We made it to the summit of Chöpfenberg at 3:15. The views of Zurich that were promised did not pan out, a fog cloud descended on the summit, but we were able to see Walensee! 

Instead of descending immediately, we stayed on the ridge, following a T5 hike towards Bruggler. I’m a bit unfamiliar with the T-rating system for hikes, but this was quite exposed. It was really fun, but certainly I needed all four limbs to get through it. We exited off a saddle to the bikes; my knees gleeful for no more steep downhill. 

The glorious descent I had imagined as I had grinded up the steep road, drenched in the oppressive humidity of Swiss Summer, was indeed glorious. With the additional weight of climbing gear in my seat bag, I was really cooking! All the mountain biking I’ve been doing this summer has made me feel more confident around 180 corners on the road, which was necessary for the 11 turns on this route. With a sneaky shortcut, Freddy got us back to Ziegelbrücke 4 minutes before the train left!

We got home, where Freddy cooked Fred’s Big Surprise: Ramen with an excellent mushroom and coconut milk broth - so much Umami!

In summary, I had a great weekend! Though the Valais is cool, staying close to home is cool too!! Here's my strava for those who like maps.