Brienzer Rothorn - Overnight Story

Last Summer in Zurich Switzerland I spent a few weeks editing a new film at a friends house. Staying with us was one of my close friends Jackson Thomas.

We decided we wanted to get out of the house and see the mountains. Asking our friends for recommendations they suggested we visit Brienzer Rothorn. A mountain top overlooking the valley of Interlaken, Switzerland. An hour and a half drive away from our house. Our good friend Collin lent us his car to make the drive. Slowly climbing in elevation we passed thousands of cows and rolling hills to find ourselves at the base of a gondola ascending into the foggy mountaintops.

Heres the catch. The Gondolas last ride down the mountain is around 17:00 during parts of the year. Arriving at the station around 15:00 we planned accordingly and packed massive parkas and sleeping bags to keep us warm, as well as snacks to keep us fed. Our mission; to catch an epic sunrise the next morning on top of the mountain.

Finding our way to the overlook point we talked for hours and often found ourselves sitting in silence appreciating the grand view before us. As the afternoon slowly came to a close we got out our cameras and hoped the remaining clouds would clear from the mountain tops.

The sun reached just above the mountain tops and the remaining clouds burned away from the mountain tops catching the entire range on fire with its golden glow.

As the sun left so did its warmth, dropping the temperature down to 0 degrees Celcius! Jumping in our sleeping bags we talked into the late hours of the night before drifting off to sleep. Sleeping with our drone and camera batteries at our side to keep them warm, we set alarms for 03:45

As we woke up we caught the first glimpse of a golden sky. Scrambling to our feet we quickly jumped around for warmth trying to shake the cold.

30 minutes later we were greeted with an absolutely mind-blowing sunrise.

Spending the last few minutes of the sunrise to put the cameras down and just appreciate the view. We soon packed up all of our gear to head down the mountain. Driving home and resting up to recover from our epic mission.

In the warmer months of the year, I believe the Gondola is open extra early in the morning for those looking to grab a sunrise view. Definitely recommend it if you're in the area!