Heatwave, hay season & MS - Between sweat, snow and falling rocks
Anja Nehrenheim
Heatwave, hay season & MS - Between sweat, snow and falling rocks
Living with huskies between 1550 and 3200 metres
Summer heat meets mountain air - and MS right in the middle of it all
Summer is here. The outdoor pools are full, the ice creams are melting, and me? I commute with my huskies between a Maiensäss at 1550 m and a high mountain hut at 3200 m - right next to a melting glacier.MS & heat - a love story? Not really. What many people underestimate: For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), heat is like an update that slows down the computer - except that the computer is my body.
- My balance becomes as wobbly as a goat on black ice
- The concentration melts like the glacier behind the hut
- Fatigue (the nasty tiredness) makes siesta the new competitive sport
- And my legs feel like concrete blocks with a running start
In the morning, I'm as full of energy as a pack of huskies on the move. At lunchtime? I could just snooze with them in the shade - and sometimes I do.
Hay season at Maiensäss - idyll with aching muscles
Down in the Maiensäss it smells wonderfully of hay, wild flowers and adventure. 27 degrees, no wind, no shade - just sun and sweat.
Haymaking used to be fulfilling. Today? Rather sweaty - and a real MS balance workout.
So it means:
- Get up early (hello 5 o'clock!),
- Breaks in style (under the tree with iced tea and chicken in view),
- Seeking shadows like a vampire,
- And don't forget yourself.
Because even if I want to help and not just watch, my body clearly tells me when to stop. Spoiler: And while I put together a mobile shade management system with UV clothing, a sun hat and litres of water, my huskies lie in the middle of the sun - stretched out like little Arctic foxes on the barbecue.
Blizzard in particular, my "I'm-husky-and-invincible" specialist, demonstratively lies down on the hottest spot in the yard. I'm sweating as I watch. He only lifts his head briefly when I pant past, yawns and turns even deeper into sun mode.
Let me put it this way: a cold dog is not the same as a smart dog.
But woe betide me if I unpack the cooling mat - then there's suddenly a crowd, as if I've been handing out ice lollies. 😅
View of the Trift glacier below the Weissmies
Storm on her evening tour in the summer run
Summer job at 3200 m - high-altitude rush with extra UV
At the end of May, I start my seasonal job at a mountain hut right on the glacier. It's spectacular. It's lonely. It's bloody exhausting.
Because:
- The permafrost thaws - and suddenly stones are no longer where they were yesterday.
- The glacier melts - paths disappear, new streams suddenly babble through the terrain.
- The sun is burning - UV radiation to the power of ten. Sun cream? Yes. Sun hat? Double. Humour? Indispensable.
The air is cooler at the top - which is good for the MS. Unfortunately, there's also less oxygen up there. This means that my battery is often as empty after midday as the coffee pot on Monday morning.
But: I love it. I have learnt to work with the mountains - not against them.
What helps me - and maybe you too
If you have MS yourself (or simply don't fancy 38 degrees in the shade), here are my tips:
- Cool packs on the back of the neck - or a wet cloth (optionally with peppermint oil for a refreshing kick)
- Drink cool water - even if you're not thirsty. I'll talk to my glass if I have to.
- UV protective clothing - looks like a safari, but protects like a shield.
- Sunglasses & cap with neck protection - style is secondary. Don't be a sausage on two legs.
- Realistic daily planning - write a mini plan in the morning. Without hero status. With a break.
- And above all: you can take a break. You can say no. Even if it's difficult
Between climate change & disease limits - balance with fur and rock
What keeps me busy? The change.
- The glacier is slowly dying.
- The paths are becoming less safe.
- The ground beneath our feet is more unstable - both literally and figuratively.
I live with an illness that challenges my nervous system. At the same time, I live in a landscape that is itself becoming ill.
Perhaps that is precisely my lesson: to find balance in the midst of uncertainty, fragility and change.
Not perfect. But honest. With huskies, humour and hay in your hair.
Nova playing frisbee in the hay
Rwin and Yakari at the pool party
What do the animals actually do in summer?
I get this question a lot - and yes, our animal flatmates also have their own rhythm in the summer heat. Spoiler: Siesta is the law here.
🐔 The chickens have perfected the "shadow is life" principle. You can hardly see them during the day - they sit motionless under bushes as if they had turned into stones. Only when the sun leaves the yard do they come out of hiding like little velociraptors and act as if they've been working all day.
🐑 The sheep and goats? Retreat to their cool shelter and hang out there like teenagers in the last week of school. Movement? Only when there's food. Otherwise they chill out - collectively.
🐱 The tomcat is consistent: he has taken up residence in the hayloft and is hibernating there, interrupted only by breaks to eat and the occasional "does anyone else live here apart from me?" check-up.
🐕🦺 The huskies are early risers - or let's say: I have to be for them. They start training at 4 o'clock in the morning, as long as the temperature stays below 12 degrees. After that, they "hang out" collectively - either in the shade or, quite incomprehensibly, lying directly in the sun like a chicken on grill level 2. Then suddenly in the evening: an explosion of energy in the run. As if they had been secretly charging batteries all day.
🐾 And then there's Nova, our Belgian shadow dog. She remains vigilant as always, sticking to my leg like chewing gum in the summer sun - you could get lost or, God forbid, experience something without her.
Conclusion - Between heatwave and huskies: Balance is (not) an option
Sometimes I wonder whether I'm more of a mountain farmer, musher, MS acrobat or heat master - probably all at once. The truth is: life up here is not Instagram-perfect. It's dusty, sweaty, chaotic - and beautiful.
Yes, the heat is a challenge with MS. Yes, I can't manage everything the way I want to. But I have learnt:
- 🌾 You are allowed to take breaks.
- ❄️ Coolpacks are not a weakness, but a strategy.
- 🐾 A good pack (whether two-legged or four-legged) carries you along.
- 🧠 Planning is good, flexibility is better.
And to be honest: if I can still laugh between melting glaciers, barking huskies, scratching haystacks and bouts of MS, then maybe that's not perfect - but it's definitely my way.
Husky stories
Existing contributions
Anja Nehrenehim
Anja is the founder of Wild Swiss Adventure and lives with 16 huskies in Eisten in Valais.
