ViaSuworow
Overzicht
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Afstand 23 km
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Duur 8 h 10 min
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Stijging 1650 m
Inleiding
Vanuit Elmen loopt de ViaSuworow over de Panixerpas, waar de troepen van Suworow in de sneeuw grote verliezen leden. Door de Jetzbachkloof gaat het omhoog naar de pas en dan over de bergweiden Mer en Ranasca omlaag naar Pigniu.
Beschrijving
An icy cold blizzard buffeted the tired and hungry soldiers’ faces with snow. The valley’s roads and fields were blanketed in white. Despite the iron discipline of the seventy-year-old General Suvorov, the soldiers had grown rowdy: they ripped out fences and used them as firewood, and threw hay on the road to feed their horses or use as bedding. They unleashed cattle and slaughtered it in alleyways. They tore the locals’ clothing from their bodies and the shoes from their feet.
The first section of their escape route, and thus the present-day hiking route, leads from Elm to Alp Jetz. In Elm, you will first walk past the Suvorov house, a baroque town house with painted facades where the general slept. With a view of the Tschingelhörner mountain chain with its famous Martinsloch rock window, the route climbs gently uphill to the Panzerpiste before the entrance to the valley at Jetzloch. In Suvorov’s day, farmers from Elm were forced to walk ahead of the Russians carrying lanterns to guide the way. Although the gradient was not steep, the path had already been churned up by mules, making it more difficult for the rearguard to march. Nowadays, this section is easy walking along gravel or even surfaced road.
After that comes a steeper climb. There are 350 metres or so of upward hiking to cover before you reach Jetz Oberstafel. When the Russian soldiers came here, the snow was ankle-deep. Heavy clouds and dark rock faces cast them into ghostly gloom and the man leading the way was barely visible. Dying of exhaustion, many of them could no longer stay on their feet. Others fell to their deaths when their horses slipped. Next there is another steep section climbing 250 metres, past the upper Jetzbach waterfall to Walenboden. By this point, the men – many of whom were half naked – were waist-deep in snow. By the time you reach Walenboden, you will have covered over half of the altitude. The valley is desolate. After Gurglen, you will pass by the little lake of Häxenseeli and arrive at the Panix Pass a short while later. You might like to look back into the valley and the jagged rock faces behind you. After that, you will enjoy far-reaching views of the Surselva and over dozens of mountain peaks in Grisons and Ticino. Although this route takes around five hours today, in Suvorov’s time it took an unbelievable 23 hours. Many soldiers did not make it before darkness fell over the pass. The weather eased off a little during the night. Several died where they lay due to frost and cold. The locals forced to lead the way sneaked away under cover of darkness.
Now the route carries on with the second leg of the escape route and the hike into the valley to Pigniu. The now leaderless marching column continued on their arduous journey at dawn. The soldiers were not blessed with the magnificent view of Hausstock, Ruchi, Muttenstock and over the Surselva mountains. The path leading over Carauns down to the Aua dil Mer stream is steep. In fact, it was so steep and slippery that hundreds of soldiers tripped and fell to their deaths over the towering rock face.
With Alp Mer behind you, next you will follow a beautiful stretch hugging the ledge of rock until you reach Alp Ranasca. The reservoir located there today will only be visible to you in certain parts. Shortly before you reach the Alp, the path will become a gravel road until you reach your destination for this leg. The remaining Russians did not arrive in Pigniu/Panix until the evening of 7 October 1799. 2,700 men lost their lives on the way from Elm to this point.
De sleutel voor een prettige wandeltocht is onder andere een zorgvuldige planning. Win op voorhand inlichtingen in bij de plaatselijke informatiedienst over de toestand van het traject en de weersomstandigheden. Afhankelijk van het seizoen en de weersomstandigheden kan de route gesloten of onderbroken zijn.
| Vertrek |
Elm
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|---|---|
| Aankomst |
Pigniu
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| Richting |
Eén richting
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| Hoogte (meter boven zeeniveau) |
2000 m boven zeeniveau
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| Stijging |
1650 m
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| Daling |
1300 m
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| Afstand |
23 km
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| Duur |
8 h 10 min
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| Duur omgekeerde richting |
7 h 50 min
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| Technische vereisten |
Gemiddeld
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| Vereiste conditie |
Zwaar
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| Geschikt seizoen |
juni - oktober
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| Thema |
Over een pas, Met panoramisch uitzicht
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Feiten
Routenummer
