Day five of my motorcycle tour across Europe took me to Ebenalp, in the Appenzell Innerrhoden region of Switzerland. I caught the cablecar from Wasserauen in the valley below, to what I thought was the peak. After a short brunch at the iconic Gasthaus Aescher Wildkirchli, I continued on foot to the actual top (about 2-3 hours hike) where another less famous guesthouse sits right on the peak.

I'd read that it was possible to hike from the peak down Altenalp Türm to Seealpsee, a cute little turquoise lake nestled amongst the Alpstein massif. I should've known it was a bad idea when I saw the waitress' face after asking which way the path was.

Traversing the path that led from the peak, about 800m down to Seealpsee was a pretty terrifying experience. I'm not great with heights. What she didn't tell me was that the 'path' was about a foot wide, on the edge of a cliff, with nothing but a steel cable to hang onto.

Worse still, once committed to it, I quickly found myself crawling along the edge of those pointy spines, faced with a slippery metal ladder to get down the cliff face on the other side. I shit you not - a f**king ladder. I was so petrified I could barely bring myself to lift the camera and take a photograph, so most of the pictures you see here were taken toward the bottom of the valley.

These photographs were taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the extraordinary Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 II.

Equipment used

Camera

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

Lens

Canon 35 mm f/1.4 L II USM

Motorcycle

Triumph Bonneville Scrambler 865

About the photographer

I'm Alex Nichol. I'm an amateur photographer from the North of England. For me, photography is a way to share what I love most about the world. That includes everything, from family and friends, to wild animals and breathtaking places... or maybe just how the sun twinkles on a weed in my back garden. It's all fair game.

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