Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From the Top of the Schilthorn (very dificult)
To hike downhill from the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant at the peak, start at the steps to
the right of the cable, which lead along a ridge between a cliff and the bowl. As you pass
huge rocks and shale fields, keep an eye out for the painted rocks that mark the scant trail.
Eventually, you'll hit the service road (a ski run in the winter), which is steep and not very
pleasant. Passing a memorial to a woman killed by lightning in 1865, you come to the small
lake called Grauseeli. Leave the gravel road and hike along the lake. From there, follow the
trail (with the help of cables when necessary) to scamper along the shale in the direction
of Rotstockhütte (to Gimmelwald, see next hike) or Schilttal (the valley leading directly to
Mürren; follow
Mürren/Rotstockhütte
sign painted on the rock at the junction).
▲▲▲
Birg to Gimmelwald via Brünli (moderately dificult)
RatherthandoingtheverylonghikeallthewaybackdownintoGimmelwald,Ipreferwalk-
ing the easier (but still strenuous) hike from the intermediate cable-car station at Birg. This
is efficiently combined with a visit to the Schilthorn (from Schilthorn summit, ride cable car
halfwaydown,getoffatBirg,andhikedownfromthere;buytheround-tripexcursionearly-
bird fare, which is cheaper than the Gimmelwald-Schilthorn-Birg ticket, and decide at Birg
whether you want to hike or ride down).
The most interesting trail from Birg to Gimmelwald is the high one via Grauseeli lake
and Wasenegg Ridge to Brünli, then down to Spielbodenalp and the Sprutz Waterfall. Warn-
ing: This trail is quite steep and slippery in places, and can take four hours. Locals take their
kindergartners on this hike, but it can seem dangerous to Americans unused to alpine hikes.
Do not attempt this hike in snow, which you might find at this altitude even in the peak of
summer. (Get local advice.)
From the Birg lift station, hike toward the Schilthorn, taking your first left down and
passing along the left side of the little Grauseeli lake. From the lake, a gravelly trail leads
down rough switchbacks (including a stretch where the path narrows and you can hang onto
a guide cable against the cliff face) until it levels out. When you see a rock painted with ar-
rows pointing to Mürren and Rotstockhütte, follow the path to Rotstockhütte (traditional old
farm with light meals and drinks, mattress loft with cheap beds), traversing the cow-grazed
mountainside.
Forathrill,followWaseneggRidge.It'smorescarythandangerousifyou'resure-footed
and can handle the 50-foot-long “tightrope-with-handrail” section along an extremely nar-
rowledgewithathousand-footdrop.ThistrailgetsyoutoBrünliwiththeleastaltitudedrop.
(The safer, well-signposted approach to Brünli is to drop down to Rotstockhütte, then climb
back up to Brünli.) The barbed-wire fence leads you to the knobby little summit, where
