Vorder and Mittler Goggeien

This was my ... fifth visit to this mountain, with the excuse of putting in a new summit book (I left the old one there, I don't know who has to pick it up).

Route Description 

Getting to the saddle.

The first part of the hike is over fields, and then next to a stream with waterfalls (T1). When you exit that area, you walk over fields, and pass a small agricultural lift, before you reach a forest. Ignore the arrow painted on a tree, pointing left towards Wallensee, and enter the forest (T2). Soon, you will find a wooden sign on a tree saying 'Googgeien'. Continue climbing until you reach an alpine pasture. This soon leads to the west saddle. Cross over and head east. The path is easy, apart from a short section on rock (T3), which is secured with a steel wire.

Vorder Goggeien (T4)

From the saddle, follow the path to the right on the rocks, either on the left side, using the rocks for balance, or just walking on the right side closer to the edge. Then, the path seems to split in two. While you can  circumnavigate to the right and probably climb on the east flank or the north east ridge, it is easiest to enter the small, non-exposed path to the left. This requires you to step over a small boulder, which with careful foot placement amounts to a simple rock-over move. You can walk the rest of the way.

Mittler Goggeien (T5)

From the saddle, follow the path to the right. Steeply over grass, you soon reach the keypoint. The rock is equipped with a rope and wire, but the rope is easier to use and is more securely anchored. Climbing it is not trivial, as it is always a bit slippery because dirt tends to deposit on it. I recommend climbing near the tree on the right side, and then traversing to the left in the middle of the rock, while holding the rock above. Then it is only two more steps to walking ground. If you instead try and climb directly from the middle, it is much harder.

When you reach the top of the ridge, there are two options. (a) To the right, follow a very exposed, narrow dirt path. You can sometimes hold on roots or rocks, but it looked uncertain to me. This then leads to the rocky ridgeline. I didn't follow that path. (b) To the left, descend slightly on mixed rock and grass on the less exposed south flank. Then circumnavigate the rocky section until you feel comfortable to get on the rock again, or simply walk.

It is apparently possible to descend from the west, but I instead went back to the roped section and descended from there. While the ascent felt easy, going down was harder, and I found the rope necessary.

The rest of the descent was uneventful. When I got back to Stein, the bus was full of seniors, and at Watwill there were more waiting... they were all going to Schwagalp. It was nice to see such a large, active crowd of seniors.


Notes on perceived difficulty

Repeatedly going to this area was an interesting experience (it's also less than 3 hours total, which allows me to fit it in my morning), in terms of understanding what physical and mental difficulties you can encounter in T4/5 hikes. The first time I was there, I found it pretty hard to overcome the small boulder to Vorder Goggeien. The second time, even though it was very wet, it was OK. I tried Mittler Goggeien, but it was difficult. The third time, it being dry, I made it up easily. I, however, didn't feel capable of climbing the step to Mittler Goggeien. The fourth time, it also seemed quite easy, and I decided to try Mittler Goggeien. I used the rope to go over the step, and then came across an unexpected exposed path to the peak. It seemed like there was another path to the left, though. Today, I tried it again, and the Vorder Goggeien was very easy, though i still had to do rock over the small boulder. The Mittler Goggeien step also felt easy to climb, though I had to grab the rope to climb back down. I expect I will come here again, either to explore the west flank of the Mittler Goggeien. 

Compared to other T4 hikes: Zuestoll, Wiggis, Vorder Glarnisch, Haute Cime seemed easier the first time, even if the hard sections were much longer. Now, however, the T4 rating seems fine, it was just not obvious.  Naselocher/Ohrli seemed relatively easy, though I only made it on my second attempt. In Piz Terri, my main difficulty was the sloping path next to the ridge, but waling on top of the ridge was fine, as was the chimney. 

Compared to other T5 hikes: NW ridge of Chli Chaerpf was not doable for me, with its (at the time) doubtful rope and sparse metal rods. However I managed to do the descent from Buetzi: even though it was quite stressful, the rock steps and metal ladder seemed very secure, and I just needed to trust my own abilities.