JustJess
From the first day I came to my new home town in Switzerland, I knew exactly which mountain I wanted to conquer. Rochers de Naye, 2042 meters above sea level. The one I watch every day from my window, the one that has a famous view over Lake Geneva, the one that is practically opening the alps on this side of the Lake.
On the 25th of October 2020, it was finally going to happen. In the past two weeks I had an opportunity to go because the weather got better and snow on the top practically melted. But alpine tourism isn’t something a person should do alone. Especially not trained and not knowing the area. So I waited not only for good weather, but also for my Au-pair friend Jo, to be out of duty.
Sunday morning, we were packed up and ready to climb Rochers de Naye. Our plan was to take a cogwheel train to 1000 meters, climb up to the mountain top, look around a little, then go down two train stations below the top and take a train down. It should have been a trip on a budget – up to 50 francs (including all transfers).
As I wrote in one of the previous chapters, in this area it is possible to go to mountain peaks by train. Rochers de Naye is the most impressive ride in the area. But the way up and down costs 70 francs. Which for an Au-pair is not actually a low price.
We took a train to Montreux and bought a ticket for the cogwheel train to station Caux, which is 1000 meters above sea level. The train was going slowly, so we had enough time to enjoy views over Lake Geneva, which was slowly getting smaller in front of our eyes. In Caux hopped off the train and took a few minutes to admire Caux palace hotel, which is a grand building rising above Montreux. It is impossible to miss it, no matter which direction you are coming from.
The hotel building was finished in 1902 and it is built in neo-medieval style. The hotel in its time was the most advanced and luxurious, but unfortunately, the second world war led it to bankruptcy. These days the building serves as the School of Hotel Management. I will make sure to visit this village again, and give it a little exploring next time.
From Caux we headed up to the mountains. Every few minutes, there was a new breathtaking view of Lake Geneva opening behind our backs. We were walking slowly and took many stops to just admire the view or take pictures. It was getting kind of clear that those 3 hours, that this trip to the peak should have taken according to the printed guide, will not be enough.
On our first snack break we realized that the mountains behind the lake looked like our sandwiches. We agreed on a theory, that earth was previously inhabited by giants and those giants were feeding on these mountains. That’s surely why it looks… the way it looks. Like someone bit them off.
As we continued our journey, we came to the crossroad. I knew there were two ways to get to the top. One is easier, part of Via Alpina (hiking trail through whole alps) and the other, much steeper. I wanted to take the Via Alpina way, of course but… there was a sign about forest work on the way and all the people were taking the other way because of that. We were not really sure if Via Alpina was closed, but we didn’t want to risk it so… we took the harder path. And my… it was something.
The first part of the way was hidden in the forest, but still it was ascending very steeply up. In that forest we came across railway tracks which were… weird. Because it was not a cog track but a normal railway track. And it headed steeply up to the mountain. We agreed that it is practically impossible for a train to go up into a mountain at this angle so we were left with nothing but questions and theories about what the hell were those train tracks doing there.
As we came out of the forest, I realized in horror, that we are actually climbing the side of the mountain I see from my window. And this mountain side looks like it’s straight and impossible to climb. Well… it was not entirely true, but it was steep as hell. But I can’t complain about the view – it was totally worth the hard work.
We took another snack break and admired the lake below us and the mountain top, which was right above us. We were gathering strength for the last part of the journey… which later turned out to be two parts. And we were definitely not prepared for what was waiting for us.
First it was nice… we came across some snow that didn’t melt in the past days and made jokes that it looks like a pile of cocaine. Then smiles died on our faces as we saw what was ahead of us. More precisely said… what was above us. That part of the way looked like a zigzag on the map. Well because it really was a zigzag… between rocks, stones, snow and mud. We were practically climbing on our four limbs and held on everything that was around. Because the path was slippery and steeper than it’s possible to describe. Really a path we should have trekking poles for.
Funny thing was… there were people who were running this path way down. Or better, they were riding it on a bike. While we were just climbing it on all four and the only thing that kept us going was adrenaline. But… we made it. We made it to the top and there we came across a sign saying: “Danger, enter at your own risk.” I wonder why this sign was not also under the mountain.
At that peak, we really needed to take a break. According to signs we still had a 30 minutes walk to the top of Rochers de Naye. There was also a pretty lookout where we were standing, so we took another short break. There were a lot of people there, having snacks, going up and down the mountain… I even heard some Czech people talking. And of course I had to go and say: “Hello, Czech people!”… because that’s what I do. 😀 Probably because I miss the language. It’s nice to hear it from time to time.
The last part of the journey was really overcrowded. Most people were going down from the train station on the top of the mountain, but there were also many people going from our direction, but not our trail. We realized that Via Alpina was not closed for hikers as we first thought… but… it didn’t matter anymore. We had mountain peaks in front of our eyes and that was all we were able to concentrate on. The last part of the trail leads on the other side of the mountain, so the lake disappears from view and the wrinkled alpine landscape opens up.
After half an hour we finally arrived at Rochers de Naye train station, where is also a restaurant. Unfortunately closed due to covid restrictions. We were really surprised how many people were there, waiting for the train to go down. And also how many people were coming by train. We just sat there and we were watching the alps, having our last sandwiches and we were not really talking anymore. All the strength was gone. And guess what… it was still not the top. We still had to climb several dozen meters to get to the look-out.
When we finally got to the top, I realized how high we were for the first time. Because Lac Léman, Lake Geneva, Genfersee… the largest lake in Switzerland, turned into a pool in the shape of a croissant. And right below us, was the way we walked – the steep mountain trail which looks as inaccessible from above as it looks from my window. Below it an abandoned chalet which we thought was situated very high. Even lower below Caux palace, a place we departed from. And somewhere far away were our villages. Suddenly, everything was small and insignificant.
For me, there are really not many things in the world that could equal views from high mountains. They make me see things from a different perspective, make me forget about problems, and make me feel like I can fly. I am literally above mundane matters. It is a different level of freedom. At least that’s how I feel up there.
Eventually we headed back down to the train station. Our original plan was to continue the journey and climb down two train stations below, but we decided otherwise. Both of our phones were practically dead and we agreed it was not a good idea going without a chance to call for help if something had happened. And also… we got to the top much later than we thought. The journey took us 5 hours. With long breaks of course. So when we headed down it was 3 PM, which, for a day when the time changed from summer to winter time, was quite late. So we got on the train at Rochers de Naye and started a beautiful 40 minutes long journey down the mountain.
Because of this second train journey we got over the budget by circa 10 Francs. But it was worth it anyway. The train is going through ways that are not always accessible by foot, so it’s giving a different perspective. It was also fascinating how fast the mountain top receded and became a far dream again.
We hopped off the train at Montreux, jumped on a train home and our journey ended. Well… almost. We were so tired and hungry that we actually ended up at McDonalds, to get back those 4200 kcal we lost on the way. 😀
It was an amazing ending to the autumn holidays. Every step of that journey was worth it. And I also spotted other pathways I want to take next time. I am certainly not done with Rochers de Naye… well maybe for this season. Because the next morning I woke up, looked out of the window and the steep way we took the day before and all the mountain peaks… were covered with snow.
