Markus and I set off to discover the secrets of the Vorder Höhi. It is in fact a small pass near the Wallensee that Gina and I may have or may not have ridden over in 2006.
We set off from Lindau by automobile in perfect autumn weather – ample sunshine but sensible temperatures. We started in Buchs in Switzerland and road clockwise around the loop that took us past the Wallensee and up to the fabled Vorder Höhi. We set a good pace going towards the Wallensee with an average speed over 30 km/h. There’s a small bike path along the side of the Wallensee which is good as the roads are very unfriendly otherwise. We followed the path and its strange bends that did confusing things. Google didn’t know much about our little pass so I was a little sceptical that it even existed but Markus assured me that everything was ok.
We reached the far end of the Wallensee and climbed away from it with great views back down and over the surrounding hills. The climb brought much sweating and it was a constant approximately 10% gradient. It sapped our leg strength and we stopped in Amden at the Spar for sustenance. After some bread rolls, plenty of apfelsaft, an icecream and a protein shake later we were ready to go again. Our legs weren’t much fresher but at least we had plenty of calories onboard.
We continued climbing and at one point along the way, at a right hand bend, we took a left and started up a small valley along a small road. The steepness was ok at around 7% but then it got a bit silly. We struggled up the next section which had a maximum incline of 21% according to my Garmin. I vaguely remember it being a bit of a struggle in 2006 too, with our heavy bikes and kilos of touring gear. That’s if in fact we did visit the Höhi. We struggled up to the pass and then rolled down the steep and narrow descent on the other side. It was then 22km along the main road and one more climb and we were back in Buchs. A nice day out.
