Swiss Via Alpina Day 1: Vaduz (Gaflei) to Weisstannen
Saturday, 6/24/23
Vaduz (Gaflei) to Weisstannen, 26.0 miles, 3,734ft gain/5,627ft loss, 12:52pm start, 7 hrs 3 min (Strava Activity)
After an overnight flight from Boston, I landed in Zürich around 7:20am, then made my way to Gaflei, Lichtenstein via train, bus, and taxi over the next five hours. After being driven up a steep, winding road from Vaduz, feeling my ears popping from the elevation change along the way, I was dropped off at the starting point in Gaflei used by the self-supported record holders Wauter and Tina. However, there was a sign for the Via Alpina 1 pointing uphill from there still, so I hiked uphill following the direction pointed by the Via Alpina 1 sign until I reached the next trail junction. This matched up with the start marked on the SwitzerlandMobility app. It was only about a quarter mile add-on, and I figured I'd start from the most "official" spot in case it matters for comparing with future attempts.
Overall this was a fun and deceptive way to start the Via Alpina. Deceptive as in, it was a very tame route compared with the remaining stages. It began with basically a 3,600ft freefall over 5.5 miles from Gaflei into Vaduz. The route consisted of gravel roads, farmland, and forested single track trail. I ran most of the way, knowing my quads would pay for it later (and they did). The rest of the day was pretty chill and flat, winding through the town of Vaduz, crossing the Rhine from Lichtenstein into Switzerland, then heading into the mountains/countryside with only one big climb up toward Vermol at the end of the day. "Wow, that climb was straight up!" I thought. If only I knew how tame that was in comparison with the 14 mountain passes to get up and over in the days ahead!
I stayed at Hotel Gemse, whose kitchen was closing just as I arrived for check in, but they took pity on me and cooked me up some schnitzel and french fries accompanied by an ice cold Weissbier. Ahh! After a red eye flight, train, bus, taxi, and 26 miles on foot, it was incredibly gratifying that my wild plan for day one had worked out logistically.
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