The Bear Trek ( Via Alpina ) - Barentrek
We were up early to catch the 6.45am easyjet flight from Manchester to Geneva. Geneva airport is very easy, signs in English, clean toilets and the station is within the airport.
We had booked the train tickets to Meiringen in advance, which takes about 4 hours.
The double decker train, was empty with clean toilets, and fabulous views across the lake to some enormous mountains beyond.
We decided to alight in Lausanne, putting our rucksacks in the lockers on the station. After downloading the locker on a QR scanner, choose to locker, we paid by card. 10f for 6 hours.
We walked up the steps into the town, via cobbled shopping streets to the donation cathedral of Notre Dame, passing free public toilets. There are fabulous views, and picnic benches. It was a hot day, so we just took it easy and wondered back to the station. We were very impressed with lausanne, it was clean with friendly happy people. There are various museums to visit. Retrieving our rucksacks, we caught the 13.48 train to Visp, then to Spiez, Interlaken Ost, arriving in Meiringen at 17.06. We were so impressed with the integrated train system.
We went to the very helpful tourist information centre on the station, picking up maps, info ect. Also it is worth getting the local discount card from your hotel, giving some free transport in the area.
Checking into Hotel ibufi.
We visited Migros supermarket over the road from our hotel, to buy breakfast and lunch for the next day. We ate a delicious dinner in the Chinese restaurant in our hotel.
Warm up day - Planplatten/Alpen Tower to Tannalp and back.
We were in Switzerland to walk the Bear Trek from Meiringen to Lenk, which is the middle part of the Swiss Via Alpina. When planning our trip, we had read the guide book, and it says that one of the best days walking of the Via Alpina is the day from Engstlenap to Meiringen (the previous day to the start of the Bear Trek). Therefore, we had booked 2 nights in Meiringen, intending to catch the post bus to Engstlenap, then walk over Planplatten ridge, before taking the cable car down to Meiringen. The ridge of Planplatten traverses high above the valley, with views in all directions and over to the Bernese Oberland towards the Wetterhorn, which we would be passing later. We also thought it would be a good warm up day before our trek.
This was a great plan, but we then after booking found out that the post bus no longer runs, and a taxi to Engstlenap would be very expensive. Instead, we caught the cable car (having located it the previous evening) at 8am, from Meiringen. We got a discount off the price with our hotel card, buying a 94franc ticket for 2 people for all day.
After changing cable cars a couple of times, we visited the restaurant at the top station of Planplatten, with great views. Leaving at 9.30am we followed the signs along the Planplatten ridge towards Tannalp (2 hours 20 minutes)- todays destination. After an hour of walking, we reached the top of a ski lift overlooking Tannensee Lake (1 hour, 155m ascent, 2 miles). We followed the ridge, the path at times taking a track, then back to the ridge before descending to the lake, with a sign 15 minutes to Tannalp, (2 hours 30 mins, 4.25 miles, 219 m ascent).
We arrived in Tannalp after 3 hours of walking, there is a refuge with a restaurant, and accommodation, (5.2 miles, 3 hours, 227m ascent). We sat on a benches outside the church to eat our lunch, fortunately the church is behind fences to keep the very tame goats and cows beyond. Leaving at 1pm, we re-traced our footsteps, passing the lake, up a track, then along the ridge arriving back at the cable car at 4pm.
We kept an eye on the time all day, ensuring that we turned round after walking for 3 hours. The last cable car leaves at 4.30pm, and we wanted to make sure we were there in time, to avoid walking the 1600m descent to Meiringen.
Distance 10.5 miles (17km)
Duration of Walk 6 Hours 25 minutes
Ascent 2330 feet (710m)
Descent 2330 feet (710m)
Average Pace 36 min/mile
Steps 26,936
Information
We were there at the beginning of July- springtime. There were so many beautiful flowers, insects including numerous butterflies, birds and vultures flying overhead. We even saw a snake on the path-probably a viper.
This was a great introduction to Switzerland, the views were tremendous-a taste of things to come, the cable cars were efficient, the path was well signed. We were surprised though to see so few people out walking. Once the cable car has been caught there are many other options of walks, the helpful lady in the tourist office in the station, had given us many choices. We were very pleased we had chosen to do this walk-it was nice to walk with only a day bag too.
Back in Meiringen, we called into the very interesting Hasli entomology museum (free, with donation).
The nearby church has lovely paintings on the outside, but we didn’t go in as a concert was on.
We visited Migros supermarket over the road from our hotel to buy breakfast and lunch for the next day. We ate a delicious dinner in the Chinese restaurant in our hotel.
In Meiringen there is also a Sherlock Holmes Museum, as he famously met his death at the nearby Reichenbach Falls. He is a fictitious character created by the author Athur Conan Doyle.
Resources used
Hotel Ilufa-a nice hotel with a Chinese restaurant, good location by the station, bus stop, and supermarket.
Book -Trekking the Swiss Via Alpina, by Kev Reynolds and Jonathan Williams. Cicerone press. The walk is mostly very well signed, but the book gives more information.
Swiss, Meteo weather app, this is an amazing free resource. It seemed very accurate too.
Swisstopo,App which has all the maps of Switzerland on line.
We both have Garmin watches, on which the walk can be recorded, and down loaded onto our phones later.
https://www.sbb.ch/en Swiss railways
Getting to Meiringen
We were up early to catch the 6.45am easyjet flight from our home in England to Geneva. Geneva airport is very easy, with signs in English, clean toilets and the train station is within the airport. We had booked the train tickets to Meiringen in advance, which takes about 4 hours. The double decker train, was empty with clean toilets, and has fabulous views across the lake to some enormous mountains beyond.
We decided to alight in Lausanne, putting our rucksacks in the lockers on the platform. After downloading the locker on a QR scanner, we paid by card, 10francs for 6 hours. We walked up the steps into the town, via cobbled shopping streets to the free cathedral of Notre Dame, passing free public toilets. There are fabulous views, and picnic benches. It was a hot day, so we just took it easy and wondered back to the station. We were very impressed with Lausanne; it was clean with friendly, happy people, and there are various museums to visit. Retrieving our rucksacks, we caught the 1.48pm train to Visp, Spiez, Interlaken Ost, arriving in Meiringen at 5.06pm. We were so impressed with the integrated train system.
We went to the very helpful tourist information centre in the station, picking up maps, information etc. It is worth getting the local transport discount card from your hotel, giving some free or reduced transport costs in the area. After checking into our Hotel Ibufi, we strolled round the town.
Day 1 - Meiringen to Grindelwald
The Bear trek is the middle section of the Swiss Via Alpina, running from Meiringen to Lenk, a distance of 100km or 60 miles. It is divided into 6 stages, going from valley to valley over high mountain passes, with an average ascent of 1100m each day. On checking the stages in advance, we realised that there is an option to shorten some of the longer days by taking either buses or cable cars.
The Swiss Via Alpina (VA) or as it was called Alpine Pass Route (APR) runs from Sargans in the east of Switzerland, to Montreux in the west on Lake Geneva. The Via Alpina covers nearly 400km, with 16 mountain passes, with a total height gain of around 23,000m, normally taking about 3 weeks.
We decided that The Bear Trek suited us better, taking in some of the most fabulous scenery in Switzerland passing the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. We had not really walked in Switzerland before-just a couple of stages of the Tour de Mont Blonc.
Meiringen to Grindelwald
23km, 1500 ascent, 1060m, descent 8 hours-in the book, via the Gross Scheidegg (1962m).
We were very excited to be starting the Bear Trek. The stage passes the Wetterhorn, going over the high pass, then arriving at the Eiger and Grindelwald. We could have started the walk from Meiringen, but having looked at the weather forecast and the ascent, we decided to shorten the day. The day had started with heavy rain, which seemed to be clearing when we were leaving. We popped into the Migros supermarket which opened at 8am.
We caught the first bus of the day from outside the train station at 8.20am, bus number 164 in the direction of Schwarzwaldalp, having bought tickets on line in advance. The bus also takes supplies up the valley, it is interesting to watch the bus driver collecting and delivering fresh bread, cakes etc.
We alighted the bus at Hotel Rosenlaui at 8. 50am, having a coffee on the outdoor terrace, whilst waiting for the heavy rain to clear. Leaving once the rain had stopped at 9.50am, there was still some cloud drifting over the mountains. The path basically follows the road to Hotel Schwarzwaldalp- taking 30 minutes, 1.3 miles, 106m ascent. We then turned left crossing the river, walking through a beautiful forest, before crossing the river again. The path now goes along the road or near it all the way to the top of the pass. There were many cyclists on the road, mostly on electric bikes. The road is shut to traffic except buses and bikes.
It was a relatively easy walk, we arrived at Grosse Scheidegg after 2 hours 40 minutes, 4.65 miles, 617m ascent from the Hotel Rosenlaui. We sat and ate our lunch, looking back towards Meiringen, imagining what should have been great views, but the mountains were covered in cloud. Grosse Scheidegg is a large berghotel with dormitories, a restaurant, and toilets for a payment of one franc.
The guide book said follow the road down for a little while, before turning right. We did this, but after about 15 minutes we realised we were not on the correct path. Instead of turning round, we continued. It was a very pretty path, through the trees, and meadows with tremendous views to all the mountains. At one point the walk was quite scary with cables to hold onto, as it was high above a river gorge. We picked up signs for Grindelwald and followed the very quiet track, then along the road into the town.
We arrived at our destination Hotel Residence at 4.20pm, after 6 hours, 20 minutes, 10.2 miles and 646m ascent. On reading the book again, we realised that the path follows the road down. We decided that our route was much quieter, (the road was busy having bikes and buses on), and more interesting, with better views as it was higher up the side of the valley.
We really enjoyed the days walking, after the start we had no rain, and we had bright sunshine all afternoon. The views down the valley to Grindelwald were some of the prettiest we have ever had, even with some cloud over the mountains.
Grindelwald is a very pretty place, set amongst some of the best scenery that we have ever experienced. The town was busy with tourists, there are plenty of shops, restaurants, cafes and walking shops.
We went to the local supermarket buying, salad, bread, salmon and yoghurt, which we ate sitting on our hotel balcony with views to a glacier and the north face of the Eiger. There can't be many balconies with such a fabulous view.
Distance 10.3 miles (16.5km)
Duration of Walk, 6 Hours 30 minutes
Ascent 3825 feet (652m)
Descent 2985 feet (910m)
Average Pace 37 min/mile
Steps 26,322
Information
We were very impressed with the first day, the bus was on time, the path was mostly well-signposted, and the views were incredible (once the rain had cleared).
We could have visited the Reichenbach falls made famous in the Arthur Conan Doyle’s book-The Final Problem, about Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty.
Hotel Rosenlaui is an old Victorian hotel with rooms and dormitories, in its original elegance. Together with its amazing views it would have been a lovely place to stay.
The bus cost us 23 francs each, booking it in advance. At all the accommodation we used in Switzerland we could ask for a local transport discount ticket, which was definitely worth having.
By catching the bus, we avoided the rain, and also saved ourselves 2.5 hours of walking, and about 800m of elevation.
Websites used
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
https://www.booking.com/ Hotel Residence Grindlewald
www.sbb.ch booking the post bus
Day 2 - Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen
Grindelwald to Lauterbrunnen 20km, 1120m ascent, 1430m descent. 6.5 hours, in the book, via Kleine Scheidegg (2061m).
If the weather is favourable, this can be one of the best days of walking, with views of many famous mountains. The path is steep all the way from Grund to the top of the pass. Once there it is a relatively straightforward route down, there are no steep drops, or edges. Once again transport could be taken to avoid walking the whole distance.
We were up early, as we wished to try to avoid the forecast afternoon heat, a delicious breakfast in Hotel Residence started at 7am. We left the hotel at 7.45am, walking through the busy town to Grindelwald station, then turned left down the steep path signposted 20 minutes to Grund. I was surprised at the large number of people about. There are plenty of shops, hiking stores for any extra items, and the supermarket which opens at 8am.
We arrived at Grund station with toilet at 8.30am (1.5 miles, 17m ascent, 45 minutes). Leaving Grund, the path was steep and unrelenting under the baking sun, making it harder. As it was a Saturday, many people were walking, and they all seemed to go past us. I put it down to the fact that they were younger than us, and not carrying large backpacks. We passed Restaurant Brandegg after 2 hours, 3.5 miles, 422m ascent. We had great views over the mountains and valley of Grindelwald. Fortunately, it had now clouded over.
We stopped at Berghaus Alpiglen at 10.45am, 690m ascent, 3 hours, 4.7 miles, for 2 coffees and one cake (18 francs). Leaving at 11.10am.
We were happy to arrive at the top of the Kleine Scheidegg pass at 12.40pm, 1120m ascent, 4 hours 50 minutes, 7.7 miles. We sat and ate our lunch with great views back to Grindelwald and the surrounding valley and mountains. We had been following the train line for some of our walk. The station is at the top of the pass with trains to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, and up to the top of the Jungfrau. There are restaurants, bars and free toilets. Many people were thronging around enjoying the views and the food. We left at 1.15pm, following the line of the mountains, the Monch and Jungfrau, complete with glaciers to our left. We sat on a bench taking in the truly resplendent views.
We reached at Wengenalp train station at 2pm, 1138m ascent, 6 hours 20 minutes, 9.68 miles. After the station the path goes to the right, over some fields, and down through the trees. Continuing with views across the valley to Murren, the path swings to the right away from the Jungfrau range.
We took a slight detour off the path to Wengen. It was an interesting place, with lots of tourists and shops. It is car free, and people are driven to their hotels in golf buggies. There are free toilets at the station, a coop supermarket that we called into, and many hotels, restaurants and cafes, 1150m ascent, 8 hours, 12.8 miles.
We continued under the railway line, re-joining the path, descending a very steep hill, along lovely paths under the trees. There are beautiful vistas over the valley, and massive waterfall at the far end of the Lauterbrunnen valley.
On arrival at 4.45pm in Lauterbrunnen we called into the tourist office (closes at 5pm) to ask about transport to Murren for the next day. Then we checked into our accommodation-Base Cafe, -before visiting the Coop supermarket (shuts at 7pm), near the station. We went to Food Point for dinner, near our accommodation sharing a pizza and portion of chips (28frs). Later we walked through Lauterbrunnen to visit the impressive Staubbach waterfall.
In hindsight we would have stayed at Murren, instead of Lauterbrunnen- catching the cable car and train. We did not realise that this service runs all evening, saving us doing this in the morning. Another reason is to witness the dawn over the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.
Distance 14.87 miles (24km)
Duration of Walk 9 Hours 10 minutes
Ascent 3825 feet (1166m)
Descent 1376m
Average Pace 36 min/mile
Steps 37,440
Information
We stopped to watch the trains moving slowly up the steep mountainside, interesting to watch. All the train stations seem to have clean, free toilets. There are information boards about the climbing of the Eiger.
We Stayed at Base Café, Lauterbrunnen with a shared bathroom. It is not often that we criticise a hotel. But, in this case, the bathroom was very poor, with a broken shower, very dirty bath and cold water. The room was nice though, overlooking the street.
The supermarkets open from 8am till 6.30pm or 7.00pm
The tourist information centre opens from 8.30am till 5pm, with very useful English-speaking staff.
If the walk is too long, the train could always have been caught for a couple of stops.
Websites Used
Base Café
Food Point Kebap Lauterbrunnen
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
Day 3 - Lauterbrunnen to Griesalp
Lauterbrunnen to Griesalp 22.5km, 1910m ascent, 1300 descent, 9 hours 15 minutes, via the Sefinafurgga pass (2611m)
Because it is a long day’s trek we decided to take the cable car to Murren. This saves approximately 2.5 hours of walking, and more importantly about 800m of ascent. There is a steep shale scree slope up to the top of the pass, then a long wooden staircase down, to ease the descent, with further scree when it ends.
We caught the 7.36am cable car to Murren, which is found opposite the station, then train to Murren, arriving at 8am, at a cost of 23 francs each. We took many photos of the valley, and mountains, again looking incredible. We could see back up the valley where we had walked previous day. There is a memorial stone to Sir Arnold Lunn, who set the first ski slalom in 1922, and the first downhill event in 1931. Happily, there are signs to Griesalp 6 hours 20m.
We called into the Coop supermarket to buy coffee, croissants and fruit for breakfast, sitting on the convenient bench to eat them. Leaving at 8.40am, we passed a cable car, took the road for 400m, then turned left by a house. We passed through the woods, crossed meadows, again with the most amazing views.
To our right we could see the Schilthorn mountain (2970m). This has a cable car up to the revolving restaurant on the top, made famous in the James Bond film “on her Majesty's Secret Service”.
We arrived at Pension Spielbodenalp 174m, 50 mins, 1.5 miles, with its honesty café and dormitories. The path then became steep, up to 2 benches at the top, 385m, 1hour 45 min, 2.2 miles. It then evens itself out. We arrived at Rotstock hut (2040) at 11.30am, 477m, 2 hours 40 mins, 4.1 miles, ordering coffee, a large coke, and delicious apple pie for 15 francs.
At 11.45am we left the hut, walking over the grassy basin, over old moraine banks before reaching the steep shale scree. Just before the top there are steep steps with chains to assist. Be careful though as some of the chains had become detached from the rock. On reaching the pass of Sefinafurgga at 1.30pm, we were very pleased with our accomplishment of 1044m ascent. There was a sign for Murren 3 hours, and Griesalp, 2 hours 30 minutes.
On looking down into the next valley, wooden steps have been installed to avoid some of the black shale scree, with a loose cable-sometimes along the ground. I found this very steep and scary, and wished the cable had been more firmly attached. At the end of the steps the path goes to the left, zig-zagging down the loose shale. I was happy when we reached the grass at 2.30pm, 7.25 miles, 5 hours 45mins, and stopped for a sandwich. It had been too windy at the top to stop for long.
We reached Obere Durrenberg farm at 3.30pm, 1046m ascent, 6 hours 30mins, 8 miles. Then followed the easy path and track down to Steinenberg, where the friendly locals were just leaving church.
We arrived at Hotel Golderli near Griesalp at 4.15pm, having booked it directly on line, with half board. A 4-course dinner was served at 6.30pm and a large buffet breakfast is available from 7am till 9am. The hotel is very authentically Swiss, with lovely rooms, furniture etc, and shared bathrooms. Hotel Golderli, is found on the route just before Griesalp (making the walk slightly shorter).
Distance 10.9 miles (17.5km)
Duration of Walk 8 Hours 5 minutes
Ascent 3448feet (1051m)
Descent 4028 feet (1218m)
Average Pace 44 min/mile
Steps 31,616
Information
In hindsight we could have stayed in Murren for the night, instead of Lauterbrunnen, as it looked like a very pretty alpine village. The cable car and railway run to Murren in the evening, something that we had not expected. Also to watch the dawn from Murren over the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau would have been very memorable.
Two days later, very bad weather came in, with lots of snow on the top of the Sefinafurgga Pass. I felt sorry for the people who had to make the crossing, I would have hated to come down the steps and scree in the snow.
Take away packed lunches were at Hotel Golderli, we had not realised this, so we had bought food for 2 days from the Coop in Murren.
Websites used
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
Day 4 - Griesalp to Kandersteg
Griesalp to Kandersteg 18km, 1460m ascent, 7.5 hours, via the Hohturli Pass (2778m). The Hohturli Pass is the highest point on the walk. The walk passes through trees, steep slopes, then just before the top steep steps with chains, a scree descent, before arriving at a beautiful lake, and eventually Kandersteg.
After an amazing breakfast, we left at 7.30am, bearing in mind the rain and possible snow forecast for the afternoon. Turning right out of the hotel, re-tracing our steps from the previous day, through Steinberg, then after 10 minutes, we turned right towards Kandersteg. The lovely path follows the trees, then open pastures arriving at a road with a bench and a sign to Kandersteg, (55 minutes, 248m ascent, 1.45 miles, 8.30am). At 9am we arrived at Ober Bundalp (1841m), 400m ascent, 1 hour 25 mins 2 miles, which does refreshments, and accommodation, however, it was very quiet when we arrived.
We continued along the road for a while, then the path crosses and re-crosses the road. The path reaches a sign, goes straight on, steeply up black grit with gullies in. There are benches at intervals, the views back over the valley, and yesterday’s walk, are once again incredible. We reached the snow line at 1000m, making our way carefully across the lingering patch. Turning a corner, we were pleased to see the top of the pass. However, the height is steeply gained by following a series of wooden steps, and chains, with some benches to rest on too! Take your time to look back.
We were very happy to arrive at to the top of the pass 1323m ascent, 4 hours 36 minutes, 4.7 miles. There is a bench to rest on looking south, on a different day we may may gone up the further 60m, 15 minutes to the Blumlisalp Hut, but given the inclement weather forecast, and distance we still had to cover, we decided against this. Some people we met walking up were staying here for the night, and going to visit the nearby glaciers. But for us we thought it was a bit early to finish for the day. There is a sign to the lake 2 hours 15 minutes, and Kandersteg 3 hours 15 minutes-this seemed rather over-optimistic for me.
We left the ridge at 12.20pm, following the scree slope down, steep but not as bad as the previous day’s descent. We had fabulous views of glaciers on our left, and down to the valley. Once clear of the screes, we sat and ate our food, having bought it the previous day in Murren. We met quite a few people walking up, to us it seemed a bit late in the day, and they seemed to be toiling up the steep slope. We hope that they all made it to the Blumlisalp Hut, before the snow came in. We met one person who was aiming for Griesalp that day- that it seemed too far to us.
At 3pm we reached Ober Bargli hut, 1339m, 7 hours 30minutes, 7.65 miles. They served only drinks, no food, and was cash only, with many cows around the tables. We had fabulous views over Oeschinensee Lake, which did not look that far!! We were joined by more people who were on a circular walk from Kandersteg.
We turned left on the signed path down towards the lake, passing Unter Bargli hut, which looked really nice, but was closed. It seemed to take us a long time to arrive at the lake, but it is stunning all the way.
Oeschinensee lake is one of the most beautiful in Switzerland. Its turquoise waters are held in an amphitheatre of mountains over 1500m, some with snow. There are some beaches, people swimming, and birds flying overhead.
At 4.45pm, 1374m ascent, 9 hours, 10.2 miles, we arrived at the top end of the lake where there is a restaurant, free toilet, and cafe with ice creams. There is a gondola down to Kandersteg, but this is a 20-minute walk away, then it does not go quite into Kandersteg, so we continued walking. We had just reached the pines forests, when a massive thunderstorm started, which continued for the next hour. We got our waterproofs on and put up our umbrellas and went quickly down, the path running with water. We arrived in Kandersteg at 5.45pm, going to the Coop shop before checking into our Hotel Pension Spycher.
Distance 13 miles (21 km)
Duration of Walk 10 Hours 18 minutes
Ascent 4530 feet (1381m)
Descent 1647m 5,400
Average Pace 47 min/mile
Steps 37,574
Information
Again, we were so lucky with the views, and the scenery, was absolutely stunning.
The walk took us nearly 3 hours longer than the book said, so be careful not to underestimate the length and difficulty of this day. We did stop to take photos, eat etc-but we were always aware of not stopping for too long.
It is a long ascent, and we needed to be at least at the top of the pass before the weather turned. Had the bad weather arrived earlier than forecast, we could have turned round, come back down and caught a bus to Kandersteg instead. We had been warned to be careful in the high passes. We were very lucky as we had passed the lake before a thunderstorm rolled in, and torrential rain arrived, which continued all night.
We met many people who were staying at Blumlisalp Hut, at the top of the pass. The snow came in later in the afternoon. We later met people who stayed there, who said it had been very tricky coming down the scree slope the following day with 30cm/50cm of settled snow.
In Kandersteg there is a coop store opening at 8am and a Volg store which opens Mon-Fri 6.00 till 20.00 and Sat and Sun 07.00 till 20.00.
Websites used
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
Hotel Pension Spycher.
Day 5 - Kandersteg to Adelboden
Kandersteg to Adelboden - 17.5 km 1480m ascent, 1300m descent, 7 hours, via Bunderchrinde pass at 2382m.
This is the last of the great Alpine passes on the Via Alpina, it sounded like a hard day in the book, with more scree slopes and steps-not the place to be in bad weather
A very wet day was forecast, and when we left, we could see fresh snow on the surrounding mountains. We contemplated what to do, and decided to set off anyway and to see how the day fared. We had a hotel guest card with us which gave us either free or reduced-price public transport in the local area, which was an option.
Breakfast where we were staying at Hotel Spycher, is normally served from 8am. When we checked in, we asked if there was a possibility of it being served earlier. They kindly said we could eat at 7.30am, so we could leave at 8.15am.
We crossed the road, going over the bridge with the river roaring underneath, passing the Coop store and the station, before turning left, then right out of town. We headed down the path on the right-hand bank on the very fast-flowing river, passing a cable car station, then the international scout centre at 9am. (13m ascent, 30 mins, 1.3 miles.) It was raining hard, and we were pleased we had brought our umbrellas. The path turned right, leading over the meadow, then steeply through the woods. The path crosses and re-crosses the road, then we followed it uphill once more, with a large waterfall to the left.
Earlier that day we had met 2 young girls from Denmark, also heading to Adelboden. At this point they decided and we decided, that the weather was too bad to go over the high pass. Presuming it would be tricky with rain, snow, fog, and wet steep scree. They turned round retreating back down the mountain, we decided on a different plan down.
We emerged onto the meadow in the Uschene hanging valley (1548m) at 10.15am, 367m ascent, 1 hour 50 minutes, 3.34 miles. The restaurant Lohner was closed, but it had a drink vending machine and an honesty box. One other couple past us walking very quickly towards the pass to Adelboden, we could see the snow lying at the top of the pass.
We turned right signed posted Ryharts 40 mins, and the cable car at Allmenalp down in 1 hour 15 minutes (this now was the best plan). We reached Ryharts (1751m) farm at 11.30am, (570m, 3 hours, 5 miles). Then at 11.50am arrived at Alpschelehubel hut, 622m ascent, 3 hours 20 minutes, 5.7 miles. The hut has fabulous views over the valley and the pass back to Griesalp. There is a beautiful terrace, but we went indoors to warm up. We still had our shorts on, but with coats, hats, gloves and buffs. We ate a “handy sandwich" (cheese toastie) 7.50francs each, cash only. We had a lovely chat to the very friendly owner, and young German man who was on a walking trip.
Continuing towards the cable car, over a wobbly scary bridge, it was another 15 minutes to Allmenalp cable car, 642m ascent, 4 hours 24 minutes, 6.56 miles. There were 2 alpacas in the field and another restaurant. Initially we were confused by the unmanned cable car, and waited, watching the alpacas in the field. Then reading the instructions for the cable car, we got in and operated it ourselves. Quite scary really, then paying when we arrived at the bottom (1.15pm).
We wondered back into Kandersteg, knowing that we had had a lovely walk, with some great views through the cloud. But we had definitely made the right decision to curtail the walk. Whilst waiting for the bus to Adelboden, we bumped into 3 ladies whom we had met the previous day, who had stayed at the top of the Hohturli Pass. It snowed heavily overnight-maybe 30cm, apparently a group of about 20 or 30 people walked down the steep screes together. It was lovely to see they got down safely, but we were very pleased that we had walked down the day before.
We caught the bus at 1.55pm taking an hour to Adelboden, checking into Hotel Bristol. This was by far the nicest place we stayed in. We headed for the sauna, paying the additional 5francs each for a 30-minute jacuzzi. It was fabulous, with only us in it, whilst it continued to rain outside.
Later we walked round the lovely town of Adelboden, eating a delicious dinner of pasta and lasagne at Restaurante Alfredo.
We really enjoyed our day, a morning walk, cable car trip, bus journey, and a spa in a lovely hotel with views to mountains with snow-so happy that we had curtailed our walk.
Distance 6.6 miles (10.6km)
Duration of Walk 4 Hours 30 minutes
Ascent 2112 feet (644m)
Descent 400 feet (due to catching the cable car down) 121m
Average Pace 40 min/mile
Steps 15,288
Information
An alternative route could be to catch the cable car to Allmenalp then hike up to the Bunderchrinde pass, then joining the main route down to Adelboden.
Websites used
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
Afabus.ch Bus
Hotel Bristol the best hotel that we stayed at, with very friendly staff, lovely room, beautiful spa, and delicious breakfast
https://www.ristorante-alfredo.ch/unsere-kuche
Restaurant lovely food, with great staff
Day 6 - Adelboden to Lenk
Adelboden to Lenk 640m ascent, 990m descent, 14 km, 5 hours via the Hahnenmoospass at 1950m.
This was our final day of walking on the Bear Trek. Compared to previous days' this is a comparatively easy day, with no scree slopes, or high drops. Cable cars could alternatively be taken for some of the walk.
We ate a delicious breakfast at 7.30am, wishing we had time to stay longer. Leaving Hotel Bristol at 8.15am we visited the nearby Bakery (Michel which opens early), with very friendly staff, buying a couple of delicious cakes. We walked up the main street, (away from the bus station) I was surprised to see most of the shops open, passing walking signs and maps. After 5 minutes were turned left at sign to Hahnenmoospass 3 hours, Lenk 4 hours 40 minutes.
We went down the steep road leading out of town for 15 minutes, over a river, then turned right at a sign. We followed the left-hand bank of the river, arriving at 8.50am at a very interesting looking adventure park, with lovely benches, 57m ascent, 40 minutes, 1.3 miles. We continued along the river, then turned left along the road with an AV1 sign, 1 hour, 145m ascent, 2.18 miles. We passed a fridge containing cheese and ham with an honesty box. In England it probably would contain cake and drinks.
We arrived at the Berglager cable car station, 217m ascent, 1 hour 20 minutes, 2.88 miles. There are 2 lifts here and a cafe. We left the river, crossing the meadows, until reaching the tree line once more. We stopped at Geils ski station (1700m) for a snack, sitting on a chair lift-now used as a bench, 510m ascent, 2 hours 20 mins, 5 miles.
The views of the snowcapped mountains and valley below, are sensational as we continued up the hill complete with benches and signs. We stopped to observe model gliders flying overhead, their owners silhouetted on the ridge.
We arrived at Hahnenmoospass at 11.15am, 675m ascent, 3 hours, 6 miles. We stopped on the terrace for a coffee, not wishing to leave the perfect views all around. But forcing ourselves to leave at 11.30am, as we had places to be. Another time this would be a superb place to stay the night. We could only imagine how resplendent the snow on the mountains would look in the dusk and dawn light.
We descended to Buelberg, 685m ascent, 4 hours 15 minutes, 7.7miles, with the first view to Lenk in the valley below. Once you can see the destination, it always seems further than it actually is. We stopped on a bench to eat our lunch. Arriving in Lenk at 2pm, we called into a small shop near the station.
Distance 10 miles (16km)
Duration of Walk 5 Hours 50 minutes
Ascent 2,300 feet (703m)
Descent 3238 feet (987m)
Average Pace 35 min/mile
Steps 25,964
Information
If required, there are plenty of options to make the walk shorter by taking the numerous cable cars in the area.
There is an alternative route down from the Hahnenmoospass to Lenk via Pommernpass, taking an extra 2.5 hours, via a waterfall, and further fabulous views
We had really enjoyed this 6 day walk. It can be continued over another 5 days to Montreux on Lake Geneva. The last day does look tremendous with views all the way down the lake. However, we had decided on another trip.
Last year we had walked from Lucca to Rome for 19 days along the Via Francigena which takes about 90 days from Canterbury to Rome. One of the highlights of the walk is the day over the Great Saint Bernard pass from Switzerland to Italy. So, we fancied giving this a try.
We caught the 2.35pm train from Lenk to Zweisimmen, then going to Montreux, (with a nice shop, and toilet 1franc with a card) continuing to Martigny, Sembrancher, then a rail replacement bus to Orsieres, before another bus to Bourg-Saint-Pierre. Arriving at our hotel Rest du Cret at 7pm. All the transport had run on time. From Bourg-Saint-Pierre, it is a one day walk to Great Saint Bernard, then another day down to Aosta.
Websites used
App Meteoswiss-which had very accurate weather forecasts on. We were very impressed with this.
App Swisstopo-which shows the terrain-but not where you are.
www.sbb.ch
Advice and Summary for the Bear Trek,
Via Alpina, Switzerland
We booked all the accommodation 4 months in advance, using Bookings.com, or directly in the case of Golderli, at Griesalp.
On most of the stages there is accommodation along the way, with dormitories at a few locations. This enables the walk to be broken up, with either longer, shorter or rest days. A fabulous excursion would be to stay in Murren, and take the cable car up the Schilthorn. The summit restaurant being used in the James Bond Film-For her Eyes Only, and then maybe walking down.
In hindsight we would have stayed at Murren, instead of Lauterbrunnen-we did not realise that the cable car and train ran all evening.
Items to take
Besides the obvious-
We wore boots, we also take trainers, just in case of any problems with the boots. Some of the paths were rocky with loose stones, and some snow, so we thought boots were the best option.
We take fruit, snacks, cereal bars, lunch tends to be canned tuna on bread etc, and plenty of water, as on some days there are no refreshments en-route. We also take energy tablets, and isotonic drink tablets to add to the water. The downside this makes the packs heavier.
As usual take sun tan lotion, sun hats, a tick card, insect repellent, spare laces, a good first aid kit, umbrellas, winter hats, gloves, buffs, walking poles, waterproof stuff bags. Take a phone and a battery charger, so the apps can be used. We took our swimming things, in case the hotels had pools.
We had taken European plug adapters, which do not fit Swiss plugs. Fortunately, in Meiringen there was an electrical shop, which opened at 8am.
Information
Ask in the hotels for the local public transport discount card, this is free when staying just one night. This saved us money on a couple of occasions.
We always check the following days route, and make sure we carry enough spare food in case there is nowhere to buy it, or places are shut.
Out of interest my pack tends to weigh 7kg, and Daves is 8kg, before he puts water and food in, which can add quite a bit of weight on.
Switzerland has a reputation for expensive. Money can be saved by visiting the supermarket and buying food to carry.
In Switzerland, public transport links are good, which gives the advantage of in bad weather options of bus and cable car can be taken, or if the stage becomes too long.
We kept an eye on the weather using the Swiss, Meteo weather app.
We booked the trip online ourselves. Alternatively, a very similar trip could be booked through Bookatrekking, a company which we have previously used.
https://ryderwalker.com/ We met some Americans who had booked the trip through this company, and had their bags carried too.
We were advised not to cross the high paces in snow or in thunderstorms/advice that we took.
This trip has been incredible. We were so amazed by the stupendous scenery, walking day after day passing mountains with snow and glaciers, cannot be beaten. We will definitely be returning; we were so fortunate to be able spend the time here and managed to miss the bad weather on the high passes too.
We were also very lucky to see a huge variety wildlife, including vultures, a snake, (maybe a viper), plenty of insects, chamois, goats, pigs and so many cows complete with cow bells.
Accommodation
www.bookings.com Hotel Ilufa Meiringen
www.bookings.com Hotel Residence, Grindelwald
www.bookings.com Base Café Lauterbrunnen
www.bookings.com Golderli, Griesalp
www.bookings.com Hotel Spycher
www.bookings.com Hotel Bristol
Getting there
We were up early to catch the 6.45am EasyJet flight from our home in England to Geneva. Geneva airport is very easy, signs in English, clean toilets and the train station is within the airport. We had booked the train tickets to Meiringen in advance, which takes about 4 hours. The double decker train, was empty with clean toilets, and has fabulous views across the lake to some enormous mountains beyond.
We decided to alight in Lausanne, putting our rucksacks in the lockers on the station. After downloading the locker on a QR scanner, we paid by card. 10francs for 6 hours. We walked up the steps into the town, via cobbled shopping streets to the free cathedral of Notre Dame, passing free public toilets. There are fabulous views, and picnic benches. It was a hot day, so we just took it easy and wondered back to the station. We were very impressed with Lausanne; it was clean with friendly, happy people, and there are various museums to visit. Retrieving our rucksacks, we caught the 1.48pm train to Visp, Spiez, Interlaken Ost, arriving in Meiringen at 5.06pm. We were so impressed with the integrated train system.
We went to the very helpful tourist information centre in the station, picking up maps, information etc. It is worth getting the local transport discount card from your hotel, giving some free or reduced transport costs in the area. After checking into our Hotel Ibufi, we strolled round the town.
Cafes Visited
Food Point Kebap Lauterbrunnen
https://www.ristorante-alfredo.ch/unsere-kuche Restaurant lovely food, with great staff In Adelboden
Resources used
Book -Trekking the Swiss Via Alpina, by Kev Reynolds and Jonathan Williams. Cicerone press. The walk is mostly very well signed, but the book gives more information.
Swiss, Meteo weather app, this is an amazing free resource. It seemed very accurate too. Even on July the snow came down, making some of the passes extremely tricky.
Another app is Swisstopo, which has all the maps on Switzerland on line.
We both have Garmin watches, on which the walk can be recorded, and down loaded onto our phones later
https://www.sbb.ch/en Train site
Total Distance 65.7 miles (106km)
Total Ascent 18,356feet (5595m)
Total Descent 20,531feet (6258m)
Average Ascent 932m each day.
Our walk was curtailed by bad weather between Kandersteg and Adelboden.
Happy travels, and hopefully, many more walks.