Rigimarsch'07

Well, I'm back alive, feel warm, am happy no to be soaking wet anymore...

All this sound like a thrilling adventure - doesn't it? Well I think it does!

As you might know Wednesday night the Rigimarsch took place like every year. I first went for that adventure last year (check out the archive - may'06) and liked it a lot!

This year's group is the one you see on the picture above. From the left to the right in the back: Michi, me, Semjon, Marcel, Kevin, Natalie and in the front: Lukas, Carmen and Eri.
We left Bremgarten at 8pm and followed the track towards our first stop in Sins (after about 23 km).
After a break (soup, bread, apples, tea) Marcel, Kevin and Semjon started first, then Lukas, Carmen, Natalie, Eri and I left whereas Michi stayed a little longer in Sins. In Sins it started raining and it only stopped when rain turned to snow on the Rigi...;) Anyway, I then followed a guy with a headtorch because that part between Sins and Rotkreuz isn't my favourite one at all (it's a narrow path right next to the river...) so I got to the next stop (rougly 7k) where grapped some chocolate, drank some tea and then joined Marcel, Semjon and Kevin. They had enjoyed a 30 minute break at that time already.
We then walked 16k to stop at Seebodenalp to drink some hot chocolate. Unfortunately one gets really cold when being soaked to the bones and just sitting on a bench and doing nothing. Therefore we didn't stay long but left for the last stage to Rigi Kulm. Semjon of course was fast and so were Kevin and Marcel.This picture was taken by Marcel and it shows Kevin somewhere between Rigi Staffel and Rigi Kulm.
I took up a way slower pace than the others but enjoyed these last about 2 hours a lot. Walking at crack of dawn and all the snow and the wind blowing - I simply loved it! When I arrived at the top (7am) after 11 hours on the road I decided to take a picture of myself. Getting the (soaked) gloves off my hands was the moment when I started trembling with cold. Nonetheless I managed to press the button and smile at the same time (not until the third attempt though;)).

Me on the peak after 50 kilometers and 1512 meters of altitude difference.
Afterwards I tried to warm up in the restaurant at Rigi Kulm which ended up to be quite a longtime process.Kevin and Semjon showing the natural leaning towards tiredness. After two hot chocolates and more than an hour waiting for some friends to turn up (which didn't happen during this time period) we decided to take the train down to Arth-Goldau.When we left the restaurant Marcel took a last picture of Kevin, Semjon and me in the snow.
In Arth-Goldau Semjon and I took the train to Zurich - we fell asleep at once - dreaming of hot tubs, whirl pools, warm showers, dry clothes, a comfy bed...