Walking in the Bernese Oberland. Kev Reynolds

some fine mountains and charming valleys which long-distance walkers tackling the Alpine Pass Route explore on their way to Montreux. But for the purposes of this guidebook, Col du Pillon which marks the canton border, is the limit of the region under review.

      On the south side of the chain, the Bernese Alps slope down to the Rhône Valley. Yet the border of canton Bern follows the crest of the main ridge. All to the south falls into canton Valais (Wallis to German-speaking Swiss), the region that is treated to its own guidebook in the same series: Walking in the Valais.

The Mountains

      In the public eye mountaineering in the Oberland has been focussed on the Eiger through an avalanche of publicity matched only, perhaps, by that afforded the Matterhorn. The Eiger’s north wall has been the scene of many epic dramas played out in full view of the telescopes of Kleine Scheidegg, but elsewhere along the chain there are other peaks, other faces, other ridges that offer sport of considerable charm yet without notoriety, and whose features make a colourful background for walkers wandering the magnificent network of footpaths nearby.

      The easy path linking Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen is one of the busiest in the Bernese Alps. The Wetterhorn is clearly seen across Grindelwald’s basin

      Meiringen is not a mountaineering centre as such, but it has some fine mountains almost on its doorstep – most of which are known only to climbers. On the approach to the Grosse Scheidegg, by which Grindelwald may be reached, the slabs of the Engelhörner group are laced with routes, while to the south of these shrinking glaciers hang from such peaks as the Wellhorn, Wetterhorn and the Hangendgletscherhorn; the last mentioned also looms over the little-known Urbachtal that flows out to Innertkirchen.

      From the Schedelsgrättli, a fine view east shows big Oberland peaks beyond the Üschenental (Route 82)

      Grindelwald, with Alpiglen and Kleine Scheidegg on its western slope, has long been the historical base for major climbs on the Eiger. But also accessible from Grindelwald are several mountain huts that lie on the approach to big mountains too far from any village base; huts that make ideal destinations for walkers, lying as they do amid wildly romantic surroundings. The Schreckhorn Hut springs instantly to mind. The walk to it leads alongside glaciers, scrambles up rocks that wall an icefall, and gives the most incredible views of the Fiescherhörner, Agassizhorn and Finsteraarhorn (highest summit in the Bernese Alps at 4274m), not to mention a curious peep at the ‘back’ of the Eiger.

      Another hut approach that reveals the inner sanctum of the mountain world, is that which goes from Stechelberg to the Rottal Hut on the southwest flanks of the Jungfrau. Here you virtually rub noses with the Gletscherhorn and Ebnefluh, and have a privileged view of the Breithorn seen in profile. All around mountains rise in an upthrust of rock and ice – the fabled Lauterbrunnen Wall so assiduously explored in the 1930s by the great Münich-based climber, Willo Welzenbach.

      Next to the Breithorn stands the Tschingelhorn, with the saddle of Wetterlücke between them. On the far side of the Tschingelhorn nestles the Mutthorn Hut, almost entirely surrounded by ice. With several fine peaks made accessible from it, this hut proves popular with mountaineers in summer and is also visited on one of the walks described here, prior to a crossing of the Petersgrat with descent into the Lötschental in full view of the Gletscherstafel Wall, and the Bietschorn, one of the most difficult mountains hereabouts.

      After Grindelwald, Kandersteg is the most important mountaineering centre of the chain. Again, several huts are accessible from the village, and climbs may be had on the various Blüemlisalp peaks as well as on the Balmhorn and Altels which rise to the south at the entrance to the Gasterntal.

      Of the easier high summits of the Bernese Oberland, both Wildstrubel and Wildhorn should be mentioned. The Wildstrubel has as one of its major features the large snow-filled basin of the Plaine Morte, from which several tops rise. Climbed from either Kandersteg, Adelboden or Lenk, the Wildstrubel itself consists of a number of summits which barely rise above its southeastern glacier.

      West of the Wildhorn massif comes Les Diablerets, a great lump of mountain at 3210m, across whose main summit runs the invisible boundary separating canton Bern from canton Vaud. Les Diablerets dominates a large area and is seen to great effect from the softer, more luxurious hillsides to the north, where tarns gleam in the sunshine, insects seethe among flower-strewn meadows and birds warble in the forests. Walkers’ country, this is, with views of lofty mountain peaks. Far away in the west a glimpse is to be had of the Dents du Midi and the distant snows of Mont Blanc. Big mountains all.

      These are indeed big mountains with snow and ice-caked summits, but this book is concerned not with climbing mountains, not with reaching summits, but with wandering in their shadow; spending days of delight exploring valleys, ambling over hillsides clattering with cowbells and crossing remote passes in order to gain fresh valley systems. The Bernese Oberland is not short of prospects.

Getting There

      By Air

      While details in this section were correct at the time of writing, readers should be aware that information in regard to air travel is particularly vulnerable to change. Apart from complex fare structures, schedules are often rearranged at short notice, new routes introduced and abandoned, while the growth of cut-price, no-frills carriers often results in fledgling airlines being formed, merged, taken over or collapsing with alarming frequency. The best advice, therefore, is to check the current situation with either your local travel agent, the Switzerland Travel Centre (see Appendix A), or on the internet.

      Gentle countryside above Adelboden, on the way to the Hahnenmoos Pass on Route 87

      Swiss airports to consider are either Basle, Geneva or Zürich, with regular scheduled flights from the UK being operated by major carriers throughout the year. British Airways, EasyJet and SWISS currently dominate the market from a choice of airports; Aer Lingus also flies a regular service from Dublin.

      Both Geneva and Zürich airports are fully integrated into the Swiss rail network, being just an escalator ride from a mainline station, while a bus service links Basle airport with the town’s main railway station.

      Fly-Rail baggage transfers: Passengers with pre-booked accommodation can take advantage of a unique ‘fly rail baggage’ scheme which enables ‘nothing to declare’ baggage checked-in at the departure airport to be transported directly to the railway station of the chosen resort. There’s no waiting at the arrival airport’s carousel, or hustling your baggage from plane to train. The system is straightforward and convenient, and also works on the homeward journey. However, the scheme is not applicable for EasyJet flights, or for British Airways passengers with ‘E’ tickets.

      British Airways:www.britishairways.com currently operates out of London Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester.

      EasyJet:www.easyjet.com flights from London Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Liverpool.

      SWISS International Airlines:www.swiss.com has scheduled departures from London Heathrow and City, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester.

      Aer Lingus:www.aerlingus.com flies a regular service between Dublin and Zürich.

      Online booking agents

      www.cheapflights.com – simply feed your requirements into the search engine and await the response.

      www.skyscanner.net – an easy-to-use interface.

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