Tour of the Jungfrau Region. Kev Reynolds

Equipment

       Recommended maps

       Safety in the mountains

       Wildlife and alpine flowers

       Using the guide

       TOUR OF THE JUNGFRAU REGION

       Part 1 Schynige Platte to Stechelberg

       Stage 1 Schynige Platte to First

       Stage 2 First to Hotel Wetterhorn

       Alternative Stage 2 First to Hotel Wetterhorn via the Gleckstein Hut

       Stage 3 Hotel Wetterhorn to Alpiglen

       Alternative Stage 3 Hotel Wetterhorn to Berghaus Bäregg

       Stage 4 Alpiglen to Kleine Scheidegg/Grindelwaldblick

       Stage 5 Kleine Scheidegg/Grindelwaldblick to Stechelberg

       Part 2 Stechelberg to Wilderswil

       Stage 6 Stechelberg to Obersteinberg

       Alternative Stage 6 Stechelberg to Obersteinberg (direct route)

       Stage 7 Obersteinberg to the Rotstock Hut

       Stage 8 Rotstock Hut to the Blumental

       Stage 9 Blumental to the Suls-Lobhorn Hut

       Stage 10 Suls-Lobhorn Hut to Wilderswil

       APPENDIX A Useful addresses

       APPENDIX B Accommodation directory

       APPENDIX C Language primer

       APPENDIX D Bibliography

      

      As you near Pfingstegg, a backward glance shows the Wetterhorn to be a vast mountain of rock

      PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

      Shortly after the first edition of this guide was published in 2006, I received an email from a highly experienced trek leader, who said: ‘I’m sure the TJR is destined to become one of the great walks of the world!’ That view has since been endorsed by countless other hill walkers who have followed in her footsteps.

      Located in one of Europe’s finest mountain regions, the whole tour is a feast of scenic delights, while accommodation and refreshment stops along the way add much to the trekker’s experience.

      I knew this long before the route was properly worked out, for since my first visit to the Jungfrau Region in the mid-1960s I’ve spent a great many weeks either selecting routes for guidebooks or leading walking holidays there, and loving every minute. Who wouldn’t? The mountains are second to none in visual drama, the meadows extravagant with alpine flowers, the wildlife plentiful. But every visit would reveal changes, either to the tourist infrastructure, or to the landscape itself. So chairlifts became gondolas, places to stay overnight increased in number, paths were rerouted as a result of a rockfall or spring flood, snowfields and glaciers shrank in size, and huge chunks or mountain and moraine collapsed – thanks to the effects of global warming. Previous editions of this guidebook reflected the landscape as it was during research, but I’m prepared to bet that before the fourth edition goes to print, there will be more changes to report.

      None of these things detract from the delights of the Tour of the Jungfrau Region, and my wish is that when you’ve completed your tour, you will come to echo the words slightly misquoted from the top of the page, that the TJR is one of the great walks of the world!

      May you enjoy every step, and greet each day as the gift it is.

      Kev Reynolds, 2018

      After crossing below the Laucherhorn a view shows the distant Lauterbrunnen Breithorn (Stage 1)

      INTRODUCTION

      The view from Schynige Platte is one of the finest in all the Alps, with the ice-crested wall of the Bernese Alps spread out for inspection as your attention is inevitably drawn to the south.

      From left to right this wall comprises the Wellhorn, Wetterhorn, Bärglistock, Schreckhorn, Lauteraarhorn, Finsteraarhorn, Fiescherhorn, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, Ebnefluh, Mittaghorn, Grosshorn, Breithorn, Tschingelhorn, Gspal tenhorn, Blüemlisalp and Doldenhorn; as grand a collection of mountains as you could wish to lay eyes upon. Glaciers and snowfields glisten among the peaks, while the deep U-shaped Lauterbrunnen Valley forms a trench between Jungfrau and Gspaltenhorn, and the middle ground is fussed with green hills, bare slabs and black shadowed pines.

      Much of this backdrop forms part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, the first in the Alps to be granted this status, in recognition of the extraordinary beauty of its landscape.

      The Tour of the Jungfrau Region (TJR) makes a journey of around 111km through this area, in a constant adoration of mountain and valley, of lake, river and feathery cascade. And by choosing the most scenic trails and some of the most atmospheric places for an overnight stay, it has all the ingredients to ensure a memorable nine or ten-day trek.

      With such an array of iconic mountains as a background, it is no surprise that the Jungfrau Region counts among the most popular of any in the Alps. Since the birth of Alpine tourism in the 18th century, Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Mürren have been attracting visitors summer after summer to gaze on this backdrop, to climb its summits or to wander its trails. Over the decades hundreds of kilometres of new footpaths have been created, to join the timeless trails previously known only to local farmers, hunters, traders and crystal gatherers.

      To service increasing numbers of visitors, hotels of all grades of luxury have added a kind of sophistication to the busiest of resorts, while more modest (but by no means less welcoming) inns, gasthofs and berghotels continue to provide accommodation and refreshment, often in remote and idyllic locations. Add to these the mountain huts and simple matratzenlagers (dormitories) created to meet the demands of the outdoor fraternity, and it will be clear that the region has a lot going for it!

The route

      Beginning at Schynige Platte, the first stage of the TJR follows the classic Faulhornweg by way of the Sägistal, Faulhorn and glorious Bachsee as far as First, the upper station of Europe’s longest gondola lift which links Grindelwald with some of the region’s finest walking opportunities. Practically every step of this first stage enjoys a constantly evolving panorama of bewitching mountain splendour, an introduction upon which it would