Hörnli (Arosa)
| Hörnli | ||
|---|---|---|
 Hörnli in the Arosa ski area |
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| height | 2496 m above sea level M. | |
| location | Canton of Graubünden ( Switzerland ) | |
| Mountains | Alps | |
| Coordinates | 766 803 / 182462 | |
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| rock | Basalt rock | |
| Age of the rock | 150 million years | |
| Development | Mountain hiking trail (unmarked) | |
| particularities | former via ferrata | |
The Hörnli ( 2496 m above sea level , also: Hörnlistein ) is a striking, around 50 m high rock tooth made of Variolit and Spilit in the Plessur Alps in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland . It is located in the area of the municipality of Arosa north of the Hörnlihütte on the border with Tschiertschen-Praden .
Description and geology
The Hörnli is one of the central Plessurberg mountains. From the western summit of the Parpaner Rothorn a mountain range runs northwards towards the Prader Joch. From this ridge line, several side chains branch off one after the other to the northeast. The mightiest of these chains begins at the Parpaner Weisshorn , continues from Tschirpen via Hörnli, Plattenhorn and the Aroser Weisshorn to Langwies . The mountain range is desk-shaped and is much easier to reach from the southeast than from the northwest.
The Hörnli is part of the heavily scaled and folded Arosa blanket in the Arosa shed zone , a geologically extremely complex area. The ceiling is made up of ocean floor rocks from the Tethys Sea . One of the key rocks of the then newly formed ocean floor can be seen very well on the Hörnli; its rock walls are made up of flat and pillow-like structured, dark, fine-grained rocks. The individual pillows measure a few decimeters to meters. Identical rock has been discovered in the central spreading zones of the Atlantic and Pacific at a depth of around 2500 m and has also been observed how this flows out as basalt magma at around 1200 degrees into the cold sea water and forms such cushion structures as a result of immediate deterrence . The Hörnli thus consists of around 150 million years old basalt seabed from the Tethys.
Ascent routes
The Hörnli, on the western and eastern slopes of which lie extensive cones of erosive debris, is best climbed from the southern foot ( T6 ). It is a little difficult to get started, after which grass steps make climbing easier. The north wall has already been climbed, while the east and west walls are not very suitable for an ascent. A via ferrata starting from Carmenna , built in 2009 over the Plattenhorn and north face or the south-west ridge of the Hörnli to the Hörnlihütte, had to be closed and dismantled in spring 2011 after an accident.
Development of the Hörnli area for skiing
Construction of the Hörnlihütte (1923)
The Hörnli ski and chair lift (1945–1963)
1945 AG bus and ski lifts built (now Arosa lifts ) the first transport system in Hoernli area according to the system Hefti / Oehler, the 2710 length m and 682 m in height overcome ski lift from Gründji on this partially ablated Hörnligrat . At the time, it was the longest drag lift in Switzerland. He had an intermediate entry point at Schönboda and a complicated angle station (curve) at the middle Wasserboda. The terminus was at the site of today's Urdenbahn. Due to the shortage of materials due to the war, the approx. 50 lift supports were made of wood instead of iron. As with the Weisshorn lift, the guests had to hold onto a safety handle during the 23-minute journey .
In order to be able to use the facility in summer as well, it was converted into a combined ski and chair lift facility in 1948. In addition to the towing devices for skiers, around 80 single-seat detachable armchairs could also be sent out onto the route. A timetable was specially created for the winter. This differentiated between the "ski lift" and "chairlift" operating modes, with the operating mode changing up to five times a day. The corresponding travel speeds and the transport capacity varied greatly, however: the ski lift ran at 3 m / s and carried 500 people per hour, while the chairlift ran at 2 m / s at 100 people per hour.
Despite this rather modest capacity, the facility was very popular with guests, who not infrequently accepted queues of 250 m in length and waiting times of over an hour. Due to its rather inferior technology, the system - which remained the only one of its kind in Switzerland - was prone to failure relatively quickly and had to be replaced after 15 years of operation. The old ski lift route can still be seen today, especially in the middle section.
The Arosa - Hörnli aerial cableway (LAH, 1963–1987)
In the summer of 1963, AG Aroser Verkehrsbetriebe (AVB, today: Arosa Bergbahnen) began building a new two-cable gondola based on the Bell / Wallmannsberger system as a replacement for the Gründji ski and chairlift to be dismantled . The system called the Hörnlibahn and opened on Christmas Eve 1963 had four cabins that could be locked manually and led over a distance of 3,087 m from "by the water" to the Hörnligrat. Since the newly created valley station was not yet accessible through the Hörnlistrasse, it could initially only be reached on skis or on foot via the Katzenlochweg from the Hotel Kulm.
The Wasserboden - Hörnli ski lift (1963–1994)
At the same time as the LAH, the AVB also built a new drag lift from the lower Wasserboda to the Hörnligrat. The Hörnlilift , which is 1236 m long and has an altitude of 348 meters, went into operation on January 29, 1964. The facility was created by Oehler / Aarau, based on the model of the Prätschli ski lift (since 1998: Tomeli) built in 1960 and still in operation in the Arosa Tschuggen area. In the lower area, a piste was crossed by a bridge, but on the steep slope below the mountain station, the route ran directly at piste level. The drive was in the mountain station, at the location of today's Urdenbahn. Both the creator's note at the valley station and the AVB itself incorrectly referred to the facility as the Schönboden -Hörnli ski lift .
The Hörnli Express (since 1987)
Although Arosa's electorate voted against a new building for the LAH in 1985, a counter-proposal by the local council caused a change of opinion a year later. Construction of the future Hörnli-Express began. A Super Puma transported all of the material required for the construction to the Hörnligrat in 24 flights. A garage building was added to the existing valley station of the Hörnli lift. The parking space below the cabin exit has also been expanded. The former mountain station became the mountain-side garage to which the new terminus was added on the left. The Hörnli-Express was opened on October 3, 1987. The single-rope system built by Walter Städeli / Oetwil am See (WSO) has six cabins from CWA Constructions SA and can achieve speeds of up to 4.5 m / s. In contrast to its predecessor, the Hörnli Express runs counterclockwise.
The Hörnli chairlift (since 1994)
In 1994 the Wasserboden - Hörnli ski lift was replaced by a detachable quad chairlift. The system created by the Garaventa company has armchairs without a hood. The theoretical maximum speed is 4.8 m / s, which is not driven in everyday life, as the high rate of boarding at this speed overtaxes many users due to the lack of a boarding conveyor.
The Urdenbahn (since 2013)
The connection between the Arosa and Lenzerheide ski areas leads from the Hörnligrat to the Urdenfürggli . A 1,700-meter-long cable car financed by Arosa Bergbahnen bridges the unspoilt Urdental without any supports. The so-called Urdenbahn opened on January 17, 2014. As a result of the merger, the ski area is one of the ten largest in Switzerland with 225 kilometers of slopes. The Urdenbahn was also operated on an experimental basis during the 2014 summer season. Due to a satisfactory result despite the modest meteorological conditions, summer operations are continued. In the legendary and protected Urdental, no ski slopes or advanced lifts were built.
Sports competitions on the Hörnli
ski
As early as the 1920s, international, national and regional ski races took place on the Hörnli - as well as on the Weisshorn, Brüggerhorn and Schafrügg - on a regular basis, in particular downhill runs with free choice of route at the beginning. The well-known three-peaks and three-piste races were later developed from this. In the Oberberg area between Glasisch Hütta and Munggaegg there is a homologated racing slope on which FIS races are held regularly . Since 1992, after several decades of interruption, there has been another downhill competition on New Year's Day - now as a people's race - from the Hörnlihütte to the Bergkirchli in Innerarosa.
Mountain bike
In the summer of 2015, an around 3.8 km long, well-developed mountain bike downhill route led from the Hörnligrat via the Skibob slope , Hauensee and Schönboda to the Alpenblick restaurant in Innerarosa. From there you can quickly get to the valley station of the Hörnli Express, which can be used to transport bicycles. The difference in altitude was 562 m. Downhill races were also held on this track.
In the summer of 2016, the downhill route was dismantled due to renaturation measures . As a replacement, a new 6.8 km long flow trail was created in summer 2018 , which leads down from the Hörnligrat over the Oberberg to the Hörnli Express valley station.
Varia
For the winter of 2013/14, a large number of public objects were knitted in Arosa as part of a private knitting graffiti campaign, including a gondola for the Hörnli Express.
In the summer of 2015, a new snow-making system was built on the Hörnli for around CHF 2.5 million . Due to favorable meteorological conditions, the relevant runway No. 2 was put into operation early on October 31, 2015. As a result, the homologated track was made available to young racers for training purposes. In view of the comparatively good conditions on the Hörnli, the FIS asked whether Arosa could take over the canceled ski world cup races from Levi , but this could not be achieved at short notice for organizational reasons.
gallery
North-east view with access to a former via ferrata
Hörnli and Hörnligrat, view from Urdenfürggli
Hörnli southeast side with access to the normal route
Knitted gondola of the Hörnli Express in winter 2013/14
View from the Plattenhorn towards Hörnli and Hörnligrat
Hörnli west side with debris cone. In the background the Arosa Dolomites
literature
- Hans Danuser : Aroser place and field names. with inclusion of the Welschtobel and some areas near the border in neighboring municipalities, self-published by Danuser, Arosa 2011, ISBN 3-905342-49-9 , p. 150.
- Eugen E. Hüsler, Daniel Anker: The via ferratas of Switzerland. AT Verlag, Aarau 2010, p. 226.
- Manfred Hunziker: Ringelspitz / Arosa / Rätikon, Alpine Tours / Bündner Alps. Verlag des SAC 2010, ISBN 978-3-85902-313-0 , p. 294.
- Marcel Just, Christof Kübler, Matthias Noell (eds.): Arosa - Modernism in the mountains. gta Verlag, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-85676-214-8 , p. 250 ff.
- Arosa Bergbahnen AG (Ed.): Bergfahrt - 75 years of mountain railways in Arosa. Weber AG, Thun-Gwatt 2005, ISBN 3-909532-30-6 , pp. 26 f., 42 f.
- SAC Club Guide, Bündner Alpen 1, Tamina and Plessur Mountains. Verlag des SAC, 4th edition 1988, pp. 31, 333, 339 f.
- 50 years of Arosa Ski Club. Anniversary publication for the 50th anniversary of Skiclub Arosa, Skiclub Arosa (Ed.), Arosa 1953, p. 46 ff.
- Fritz Maron: From mountain farming village to world health resort Arosa. Verlag F. Schuler, Chur 1934, p. 165.
Web links
- History on seilbahn-nostalgie.ch
- Arosa Bergbahnen on arosabergbahnen.com
- Tour reports Hörnlihütte on hikr.org
- View from the Hörnli (Hörnlistein) on youtube.com
- Mountain bike downhill race from the Hörnligrat on youtube.com
- Info video about the Hörnli Trail on youtube.com
- Webcam Hörnlihütte
Individual evidence
- ^ Manfred Hunziker: Ringelspitz / Arosa / Rätikon, Alpine Tours / Bündner Alps. Verlag des SAC 2010, ISBN 978-3-85902-313-0 , p. 42.
- ↑ Photo of the pulling device with safety handle at www.seilbahn-nostalgie.ch
- ↑ Video clip of the Gurten ski lift Hörnli, built in 1945
- ↑ Photo of the Hörnli ski and chairlift system (around 1950) at www.seilbahn-nostalgie.ch
- ↑ Video clip of the Hörnli ski and chair lift (summer operation around 1950)
- ↑ Video clip of the Carmenna lift and the Hörnli ski and chair lift (winter operation around 1950)
- ↑ Video clip Hörnlibahn shortly after the opening. Hörnlistrasse and parking lot are missing, but still with a ridge behind the mountain station
- ↑ Video clip Hörnlibahn around 1972
- ↑ Video clip Hörnlilift from 1963 and Hörnli Express (around 1990)
- ↑ Video clip Hörnli Express (around 1990)
- ↑ Ride with the Hörnli chairlift (2011)
- ↑ Webcam Urdenbahn and Hörnli chairlift on the Hörnligrat
- ↑ In five minutes from Arosa to Lenzerheide. In: www.suedostschweiz.ch. January 17, 2014, accessed January 17, 2014 .
- ↑ Ride with the Urdenbahn (2014)
- ↑ Video clip downhill race Hörnlihütte - Kulmwiese (1935)
- ↑ Aroser Zeitung of June 17, 2016, p. 10.
- ↑ Opening of the “Hörnli Trail” flow trail on September 28, 2018. In: traildevils.ch. September 27, 2018, accessed May 12, 2019 .
- ↑ Wool graffiti in Arosa: Schick in Strick. In: www.spiegel.de. May 13, 2014, accessed June 1, 2014 .
- ↑ Upgrading in the Alps. In: www.derbund.ch. November 5, 2015, accessed November 14, 2015 .
- ↑ Aroser Zeitung of November 13, 2015, p. 4.
