All you can hear is the murmuring of the glacial stream and nothing else. Lea Bärfuss slumbers on the west face of Piz Trovat. Her life hangs on a rigid frame made of aluminium bars, with fabric stretched between them. Above her is a tent canvas. She and mountain guide Marcel Schenk remain belayed all night. This basic shelter is called a portaledge and, simply put, it is a means of bivouacking on rock faces.

Lea is an experienced climber and mountaineer. Again and again she finds herself drawn to the mountains. However, she has never spent the night on a rock face – not until now, that is. She sets off from the Diavolezza with mountain guide Marcel and hikes to the peak of the 3,146-metre Piz Trovat. The pair advance further and further into the barren, craggy stone landscape, reminiscent of photos from Mars. The high alpine hike takes a little less than one hour.

After the steep final climb, they enjoy their first reward: a panoramic view that has it all. They are particularly awestruck by the Bernina massif. The Piz Palü, covered in a fresh fall of snow, and the 4,049-metre Piz Bernina tower above everything else. Below them rests the Pers Glacier. Engadin shows itself with all its might, all its wildness and beauty at the same time.

From the peak, they climb into the Piz Trovat II via ferrata, a via ferrata for experts, which is located in very (K5) to extremely (K6) difficult terrain. For Lea and Marcel, however, this is familiar terrain. They secure themselves to the wire rope with their climbing harnesses and carabiners. Skilfully, they climb backwards down the rock face. They master the Biceps Wall and longer overhanging sections effortlessly.

What’s more, Marcel does the whole thing with his 20-kilogram portaledge on his back. His oversized backpack looks like a foreign body amidst the Engadin mountain landscape. He stops in the middle of the vertical rock face and calmly begins to assemble the portaledge. Dangling from the rope, he fits the aluminium poles together, stretches the fabric over the frame and then throws the tent over the structure. Every movement is deft and sure, every knot tied perfectly. Marcel is concentrating fiercely; there is little conversation. Lea helps him and prepares herself inwardly for the night ahead.

Although she spends a lot of time in the mountains, a night on the rock face is a special experience for her.

She is not nervous, but rather curious.

Their night camp is hanging in place. Above the portaledge loom some 90 metres of rock wall, while below it is a 250-metre drop. Lea and Marcel make themselves comfortable. Well, as comfortable as you can get in a portaledge. Marcel unpacks a gas stove and makes some coffee. The aroma spreads along the rock face. But that’s not all – a little later, the seasoned expert cooks chicken tikka masala and chili sin carne for Lea. It’s not exactly gourmet cuisine, but in this exposed location, the dishes still taste great. Veils of clouds have settled on the peaks, the light changes, and soon the sun disappears.

An eagle soars almost silently along the rock face and close to their bivouac. Alpine choughs circle above and make their croaking calls. The rock face gets cold. The temperature drops into single digits. Lea and Marcel tighten the tops of their sleeping bags. It’s now dark. Their headlamps are the only sources of light for miles around. They switch them off and stick their heads out of the tent. Above them, a magical spectacle of nature has begun. Stars everywhere. It is a clear night, and the stars seem to shine more brightly than usual.

Lea and Marcel quietly enjoy the show. Then they zip the tent closed – and there’s only darkness. But not silence – throughout the night, the murmur of the glacial stream that flows into the valley some 400 metres away from their portaledge is their constant companion. At some point, they hear the crack of a glacier in the distance. Later, they pick out the impact of a stone falling. Otherwise, however, there is only the stream; there is no sense of time here.

Lea sits up and opens the tent. She immediately looks to the Bernina massif, which is beginning to turn bluish. Below her is the gaping maw above which she spent the night. Daylight spreads out. The blue becomes a kind of orange, then the sun’s rays bathe the mountains in a yellowish light. The tapestry of colours is amazing. The peaks, the rock faces and the glaciers look completely different now than they did in the evening light. Peace reigns all around – the kind of peace you can only find in the mountains.

You can hardly get much closer to nature than this. It is the kind of moment you wish you could hold onto. After a morning coffee and a simple breakfast, they both find themselves holding onto the rock face again. The materials are quickly tidied away and stowed on Marcel’s back. The memories remain, however. In the valley, Lea talks about a night she would like to relive. She cannot say for sure how much she slept, but she seems relaxed and rested nonetheless.