What I love about Switzerland is how adventure is always just around the corner. Even on a weekend or a short break, public transport can take you straight into the mountains. I had long wanted to show the Alps to my friend from abroad, so one September day we decided to do just that. We took trains and a bus to the starting point of our hike, with a four-hour route planned up to an unmanned mountain cabin called the Schmadrihütte. Before setting off, we checked the route on the swisstopo app, which provides official Swiss mapping data (including snowfall) from the Federal Office of Topography. The live map showed that the hut laid right around the snowline. Unsure how much snow we might encounter, we prepared well accordingly. 

The weather can change quickly in the mountains. The first half of our hike was sunny, but the second half grew windy, with heavy rain in the last few meters of our ascent. When we finally reached the hut, we encountered the hut guardian family who was also staying the night, and we shared a warm meal together. There is something incredibly intimate about these cabins; even if you arrive as strangers, you leave as friends.  

The next morning, the family strapped into their parachutes and glided down into the valley. My friend and I shouldered our backpacks for the descent. Along the way, we stumbled upon a glacier, and the sight was unforgettable. Through the opening in the ice, the famous Jungfraujoch appeared in the distance. Looking around, the glacier had visibly reduced to a fraction of its former size due to global warming, and I couldn’t help but feel the quiet weight of change. At the same time, I was captivated by its magical deep blue and might. The mountains have a way of stirring all sorts of emotions. 

It’s in the mountains where I feel I can catch a piece of Switzerland’s true essence. And every time I look at this picture, I am reminded once again that adventure isn’t something far away, in Switzerland.