Lötschenpass (2690) and back again

It was a sunny day in the Lötschental valley and we decided to hike to the pass between Valais and Bernese Oberland. Right now there are only rare cable cars up to the Lauchernalp, so we had to opt for 12 30 pm cable car instead of 9 30 am.

There are two routes leading from Lauchernalp towards Lötschenpass, one rising up straight from the cable car station (expected time 3h.) and one going to Kummenalp and rising up from there (expected time around 3:45). We decided to take the latter. The route was picturesque and snow free. On our way, we saw some nice views of Weisshorn (I guess) and valley below, and met some marmots.

From Kummenalp, we put on our snowshoes and went straight up. The path was mostly snow with little patches of grass / rocks in the beginning. As we came to the P. 2419, the slopes didn't look very safe. The marked route that goes on the left side of the pass was partially covered with snow, and all throughout the cirque we saw traces of avalanches. We decided instead to go up on the right side, where the slope was around 37-38 degrees. On our way up, we had a magnificent view towards Ferdenrothorn and mountains around Wilerhorn.

We took several long pauses and arrived to the hut only around 5:30 pm. Unfortunately, deep fog was going through the pass and we couldn't see the Bernese Oberland side. As it was quite late already and with poor visibility, we decided to return, rather than try to descend to Kandersteg. Surprisingly, we met two cats in the hut. They acted very hungry, but from their look were definitely not starving. We shared a little bit with them. After snack at the top, we started descending.

This time, we decided to try to follow the markers on the left side of the pass. We had to cross some traces of old avalanches on our way, but the slope was probably a little bit less steep than the one we went up on (<35 degrees).

A little bit after P.2419 I realised it was already 7 pm and the last bus goes through Ferden at 20:42 and we had to start moving much faster. Around 19:30 we were in Kummenalp, where I saw a pointer to Ferden, saying "1h 30m". I didn't tell anything to my companions but we started walking even faster, almost running. Surprisingly enough, we dropped 700 m to Ferden in less than 45 minutes and had to wait there for the but for another 25 minutes.

All in all, it was quite a good hike. It will probably be even better if there was less snow and we started it 3 hours earlier. Nevertheless, views were pretty magnificent and we'll probably remember our run down for quite some time.

For those thinking of going this time of the year, the path we took was not completely avalanche-safe and it is better to come later or have enough experience in the matter. Path that goes through Hockuchriz (either from Lauchernalp or to the east of Kummenalp), does not go through the same cirque and might probably be safer.