Canyoning in Switzerland

Day 1 in Interlaken was meant to learn and explore the city and get over jet lag. The rest of the days in Interlaken were jam packed with adventures.

Day 2 started by walking to Outdoor Interlaken to figure out my new plan since I couldn't go on my original combo trip. I met a very nice lady at Outdoor Interlaken who gave me my options: get my money back or join Canyoning Chli Schliere.

Now I think I am adventurous and brave, but a lot of my was set on Canyoning Interlaken because it was the easiest version to see if I liked it. Canyoning is basically making your way through a water filled canyon by rappelling down waterfalls, jumping off rocks into the water below, or sliding down rocks (which do not look slidable).  I was pretty sure I could handle everything except the cliff jumping scared me. Sadly I have a slight fear of heights and the idea of jumping off a high cliff didn't sound appealing to me. 

Canyoning Interlaken is described as "Our local Interlaken canyon covers every aspect of the sport and makes a great introduction to canyoning. Travel through tall, narrow gorges and get up close and personal with nature. Short and sweet, this half day canyon will whet your appetite for more and it is only a short 5 minute drive from our base." The highest jump was 15 ft, which I thought was totally doable. 

Canyoning Chli Schliere is described as "The best of the best, Chli Schliere takes canyoning to the ultimate level. This canyon has high rappels, big jumps, fast slides, and is considered the best in the region. Chli Schliere is a physically demanding and technical canyon with a high adrenaline factor. It is suitable for confident, athletic people who want to be challenged." It has multiple jumps up to 30 ft high and slides up to 45 ft high. Even better, there is no backing out (which lets be honest, I wouldn't do anyway). https://www.outdoor-interlaken.ch/en/activity/52/canyoning-chli-schliere

For those that know me, I try to push myself to try new adventures and I really wanted to canyon, so you can guess what I did. I moved my paragliding to the following morning and signed up for the full day of canyoning, which I was sure would scare the hell out of me. It started really well when during the pre-brief, they asked if anyone was afraid of heights. I didn't raise my hand, but couldn't help wondering what I was getting myself into. We got our gear, including 2 jackets since the water was extra cold, and got ready to go. Funny fact, I have always said I have a small head, but canyoning proved it. We had to grab a helmet for the trip so I tried on a small. It wasn't very small and didn't fit my head well so I tried an extra small. It fit perfectly and since I was basically wearing a kids helmet, the nickname on the helmet was Bubbles. Now I know I have a small head. 

My group was great. We had an hour plus car ride to get to the canyon so we had plenty of time to talk. We were all Americans and enjoying exploring Europe. Some had been traveling for awhile and others were only in Europe for a week like me. We had the whole day together so I was thrilled it was a good group. 

I wish I could describe my canyoning experience in an understandable way, but I am not sure how to do that. I was terrified when we got into the canyon. I love pushing myself to face my fears but I was scared I might be pushing too much on this one. The jumps were big. You sometimes can barely see over the rock you have to jump off of. You need to land in a very specific spot or else you will land in shallow water. The guides actually put one foot out for you to put your foot on so you don't slip while jumping off of the slippery rocks. It was very strange jumping off someone's foot. The jumps were high, but there was no turning around. I did them all! We even had a choice to skip the highest jump since it was just for fun and didn't advance us down the canyon, but I did it. Peer pressure works, but also it was a jump into a big area of water and amazingly not as scary. The strangest jump was one where we had to jump and put our backs up against the rock next to us and ride it down. So crazy the things we did to get down this canyon. 

Besides the jumps, we slid down some incredible rocks. You had to put your arms in specific spots to ensure you didn't hit your head or turn the wrong way. Some twisted and turned you while others were mostly what you picture as a normal slide. I hit my knee pretty hard on the second slide and my knee was annoyed the rest of the trip. 

Then we got to rappel down a waterfall. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. It took no physical action on my part and I got to be lowered down a waterfall. Too bad we didn't have more of this. 

I can't lie, I was thrilled when we hit the bottom of the canyon. I really did enjoy the canyon, but my body can only push itself so much. I wish I had my GoPro helmet mount so I could have brought it. The views in the canyon can't be replicated. The different jumps and slides were insane. I felt so accomplished when I finished. I faced my fears and mostly enjoyed it! Look at the website posted above for a video to show some of the fun. I also found a great review of canyoning in Chli Schliere at http://theroamingrenegades.com/2015/08/Canyoning-Chli-Schliere-Switzerland.html. Everything described on this website fits exactly with my memory of the experience. 

So many layers (and yes another cloudy day)

Our guides took a few groups shots in the canyon

Rappeling down a rock

Rappeling down a waterfall (my favorite part)

View from the bottom of the canyon

The canyon is back there somewhere.

I made it!

The only negative about the trip is that it is a full day trip. I had planned on doing canyoning and paragliding in one day. I had to do a quick change to figure out how to adjust my plans. 

I got back and took a hot shower. The water in the canyon was cold. Our layers were helpful but that didn't help my face and hands. The hot shower felt amazing! I took another quick nap. The stress of the day had caught up with me so I just took a short one to help me recover. My friend Bobby had recommended an Italian place in Unterseen so I decided to go. On the way there, I stopped by the Funky Chocolate shop that my walking tour guide had pointed out the night before. They hold chocolate making classes and I figured that was something I had to try. I signed up for a class on Tuesday and then had to try the chocolate fondue with strawberries. Swiss chocolate is sooooo good. It probably wasn't the best decision getting it before dinner, but I couldn't risk missing it. 

So true!

Yum!

Ristorante Pizzeria Arcobaleno was good. Bobby provided a great recommendation. The best part of the dinner though was finding out that the couple sitting next to me was from Fairfax (10 minutes away from my house). We spent the whole dinner chatting. They come to Interlaken every year for two weeks. They play tennis every morning and then explore the area. I really enjoyed the conversation and didn't have to worry about being alone while eating dinner. 

I was exhausted and went back to the hotel. I found that when I travel alone, I enjoy getting back to the hotel around 8:30 and just relaxing at night. I am not a big night person, so I enjoyed being able to keep a schedule I like. I also realized on my walk back that I had twisted my ankle slightly during canyoning. This made getting into my top bunk slightly harder and sleeping wasn't easy given every time I moved, pain shot through my ankle. I was worried how it would impact my plans for the following day, but couldn't do anything about it. I had to save up energy for paragliding and a visit to Jungfrau.