Walkweb

This suggested walk commences at Kleine Scheidegg. From Grindelwald there is direct access via train – trains also travel to Kleine Scheidegg from the West (Wengen and Lauterbrunnen).

From Kleine Scheidegg the walk starts near the train line up to Jungfraujoch – this is walk no. 37 on the Jungfrau region hiking map (see link below). The walk climbs steadily uphill along an obvious path, at all times keeping fairly close to the train tracks and eventually reaching Eigergletscher station, the first station on the Kleine Scheidegg/Jungfraujoch line.

At the station, follow the platform downhill briefly before crossing both lines and following a path clearly signposted as ‘Eiger – Trail Alpiglen 2 h’. This is walk no. 36 on the Jungfrau region hiking map and is the official ‘Eiger Trail’ along the foot of the impressive and imposing Eiger North face. The track is again quite clear, with only the occasional patch of snow obscuring the path (these notes were written in June). In addition to the view of the Eiger, there are superb views in all other directions, and plenty of great locations for a break or lunch.

After negotiating the section at the foot of the north face the track starts to curve rather more steeply downhill and after a zig-zag section comes to a t-junction. Turning left, the track will soon arrive at Alpiglen Station. The suggested walk though follows the right turn (walk no. 25) and eventually arrives at Grindelwald.

The track goes through an attractive wooded section, with some repeated up and down sections before reaching a small hut and then turning more steeply downhill to reach Gletscherschlucht and a good place to stop for a beer.

From here there are clearly signposted paths back to Grund or Grindelwald.

Total walk time for me was around 6 hours (including breaks). Note that the last section of the walk from the t-junction through to Gletscherschlucht and then Grindelwald, is longer and more difficult than it looks on the map. If tired, take the shorter route to Alpiglen and then train back to Grindelwald.

The Jungfrau region hiking map is available free of charge from train and cable car stations in the area. I haven’t been able to find an online version, so have scanned the relevant part for this walk, click here for the pdf.

For this final walk we had travelled to Zermatt at the base of the Matterhorn and now a major ski resort. We were there in May, probably not the best time – quite a few places were closed as May is taken as a holiday month by some of the hotel/restaurant owners between the Winter and Summer seasons, and the whole place seemed to be a building site. It is billed as a “car free paradise” and indeed cars are not permitted, the locals getting around in electric golf-buggy like vehicles, but there were a huge number of diesel trucks and a helicopter feeding the building industry. Thankfully, this was all easy to escape by getting out of Zermatt proper.

We started the walk from Furi, having taken the cable car there from Zermatt (we had originally planned to walk from Trockener Steg, but there was still too much snow on the trails at this height – indeed there were still a few downhill skiers in the area). The walk (route 28 in the “Adventure in the Mountains” hiking guide) climbs the spur that ultimately leads to the base of the most popular route up the Matterhorn. Initially in a forested area, the trees soon disappear, providing stunning views in all directions including a particularly fine view of the Matterhorn. This section finishes at Schwarzsee Paradise – walk time is 1.5-2.0 hours with a 730m gain in elevation.

At this point you could get a cable car back down to Furi/Zermatt (we were again too early in the year and the system was not yet operating) but we chose to walk down via Stafelap (route 29 in the “Adventure in the Mountains” hiking guide). This proceeds north-westish, before curling around to the east and proceeding along a well formed track back into Furi. This section is about 7.5km / 2 hours or so.

Again, another A+ walk, and highly recommended.

Additional resources:
Visit www.zermatt.ch for further information on this region

We got around on Switzerland’s excellent train system. If you’re visiting it’s worth checking out the various passes that the railways offer before you arrive as some can only be purchased outside the country. I purchased a half-price travelcard (around 100 Australian dollars) which gave 50% off every trip I made (including the regional railways and cable cars). See Swiss Railways information for international visitors.

The Adventure in the Mountains guide (pdf) can be found here – note: 16 meg

We started this walk from Kleine Scheidegg having visited Jungfraujoch (“Top of Europe”) in the morning. The trip to Jungfraujoch, while certainly a bit of a tourist trap, is nevertheless well worth doing. You travel by train from Kleine Scheidegg, climbing steeply before entering the Eiger itself, where the tunnel carves through to reach Jungfraujoch, between Monch and Jungfrau, at some 3454m elevation. The tunnel is an engineering marvel having been built long before modern tunneling machinery was available. The views from the observation tower are magnificent, and you can leave the tower for a short walk out on the mountain range itself. The complex also features an ice gallery which is worth a visit along with the usual souvenir shops and even on our visit an Indian restaurant (“Bollywood”).

The walk follows a well made and flat path from Kleine Scheidegg to Mannlichen and provides excellent views of the impressive north face of the Eiger. From Kleine Scheidegg the path (no. 33 on the Jungfrau region hiking map – see note below) proceeds north-east, sidling around Tschuggen on the left and then curling northwards to reach Mannlichen. This part of the trail was very easy to follow with an excellent prepared path the whole way which was only occasionally obstructed with snow. Views across to the Eiger and down into the Grindelwald valley are superb. This section of the walk is officially timed at 1′20″ but took us only an hour or so.

At Mannlichen you could take a cable car down to Grund in season (we were too early in the year and the cable car was closed), but a better option for walkers is to continue by foot. There are several possibilities; we chose to walk down to Alpiglen and then caught the train back to Grindelwald. This path (no. 35) descends over a grassed area and then passes through a very attractive wooded section before continuing on a well made path that turns east to cross over the rail line below the Eiger’s north face. The path continues following the line on the south side before reaching Alpiglen station (you could continue to walk from here down into Grund if you were feeling energetic). This section took us a couple of hours, with a brief storm blowing over during the descent and adding a bit more interest. Definitely another A+ walk.

All in all then, an excellent day, and I can recommend combining a visit to Jungfraujoch in the morning with a walk in the afternoon.

The Jungfrau region hiking map is available free of charge from train and cable car stations in the area. I haven’t been able to find an online version, so have scanned the relevant part for this walk, click here for the pdf.

I visited Switzerland for the first time this year, meeting my Dad there for a few days walking (this was his first visit since 1967, when he and a few of his mates made an attempt on the Matterhorn). We did three great walks; the scenery was stunning and the weather helped by being superb for most of the time we were there. Suffice to say, I’ll definitely be back at some point.

The first walk we did was from First to Bussalp and then down to Grindelwald. We started at Grindelwald, and took the cable car to First. Emerging from the cable car station we took the path (route no. 3 on the Jungfrau Region Hiking map – see note below) that heads north away from First until it arrives at Bachalpsee. Here it turns westwards towards Bussalp, at one point following a rather narrow ridge past Rotihorn and Simelihorn before descending into Bussalp.

After lunch at Bussalp, we followed route no. 22 southwards down into Grindelwald. Total walking time was about 5 hours or so; the track in places still had a fair amount of snow (we were there in late May, still a bit early for the summer hiking trails) making negotiation of the track occasionally tricky – I was wearing my normal hiking boots and sunk down to my knees in the snow a few times. The trail was generally well marked with a white/red/white flag type symbol (denoting a mountain walk) painted onto rocks, and yellow signs at strategic points.

An excellent introduction to the Swiss Alps and a definite A+ walk.

The Jungfrau region hiking map is available free of charge from train and cable car stations in the area. I haven’t been able to find an online version, so have scanned the relevant part for this walk, click here for the pdf.