Simplonpass (day 2)
I did this hike together with a friend on the 14th of June, 2026. It was the second of two days hiking on the Alpine Passes Trail with an overnight stay at Simplon Hospiz. This hike is stage 17, which goes from Simplonpass to Rosswald, and on day 1, we did stage 18 from Gspon to Simplonpass.
Full route: Swisstopo
After a good nights sleep and breakfast, we left Simplon Hospiz and started our second day of hiking. It was a beautiful and nice cold morning, and we made a small detour to a lake behind Simplon Hospiz, before we returned to the beginning of the trail taking us to Rosswald.
The first part of the hike run along a larger road, which was a bit of a disappoinment, until we realized that the hiking trail soon left the side of the road and continued above it. This was such a nice and funny experience, and completely calm, despite the cars racing by below.
After about half an hour walking on top of the road, the trail turned and we started the first ascent of the day. It was a slightly steep, but nice walk, changing between parts in shadow and parts in the sun from where we could see the same mountain peaks as the day before.
From the top of the first ascent, we had great views back in direction Simplonpass where we had started a few hours earlier. To the right, we could see the trail we had come down the day before walking over Bristinepass, and to the left, we could for the first time see the Rossbodegletscher.
We followed the trail on the top, and it was a very pleasant and easy walk after the ascent. The landscape slowly changed as we made our way towards Gantertal, which we would descend into. What I really liked about this hike was how the trail curved its way along the mountain sides, so we constantly saw the same areas from different directions.
The descent into Gantertal was easy and not too steep, and on this part, we met the first hikers of the day. It was generally a very calm and empty day on the trail all the way to Rosswald, which we got the first views of, sitting on a plateau straight ahead across the valley.
After our descent into the vally, we continued up on the other side. The trail was more steep here, with some shorter quite rocky sections and a few snow crossings. None of it was problematic and the views were really great. From here, we could also for the first time see quite far down to Brig, Visp and further west in the valley behind.
On the other side of the valley, we came across Bortelhütte. The hut was closed, but we decided to have our lunch break here before continuing on the last part towards Rosswald. It was getting warm, but we found some shade and stayed a while to relax and cool down.
After the break at the hut, the trail got more narrow. I found it really fun, but for people with vertigo, I would not recommend this hike, as there were rather steep sides and narrow parts with rope to hold onto. For the last few kilometers, the trail ran alongside a little stream which was really calm and almost like walking in a fairytale.
Just before reaching Rosswald, we had some views great back into Gantertal as well as down to the bridge and the road leading up to Simplonpass and in direction Simplonpass itself.
We were quite tired but very happy after a great hike when we reached Rosswald. We decided to end our 2-day hike with a drink before taking the cable car down and continue our journeys home to Zürich and Lausanne.
