Alps – David Kotz

Grindelwald – redux

An amazing week in Grindelwald!

What a week! My friends and I rented a house in Grindelwald (Switzerland) and spent the week hiking in the heart of the Swiss Alps. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with six sunny hikes:

We spent very little time in town – an aprés-hike visit to a pastry shop, a brief tour of the gift shops – but we did enjoy an excellent fondue meal at Hirschen, and the many sights, sounds, and tastes of the Wednesday-evening street festival. More photos in the gallery!

Street party in Grindelwald, with the Alps looming in the background.

Postscript: unfortunately, about 15 days after we left Grindelwald, a massive storm blew through the region and caused terrible flooding. The village of Brienz was devastated, and both Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen were cut off for several days. I feel horrible for the people and businesses affected.

Grindelwald – Faulhorn

Hiking a classic alpine route, on a gorgeous day.

On the third day of our week in Grindelwald we decided to hike one of the most classic routes in the area, from Schynige Platte to First – although in the opposite direction. My hike there in 2019 was one of the most moving hikes I’ve ever experienced, as the Alps emerged out of an undercast sky like so many islands in an endless sea. Today, I was thrilled to share it with friends!

Today, we hiked from First (reached by gondola from downtown Grindelwald) to Schynige Platte (reached by a historic cog railway that climbs into the mountains from a valley close to Interlochen). The weather was perfect, so we were treated to a day full of stunning vistas as we hiked the high country above Grindelwald, over the pointy peak of Faulhorn (with lunch at its summit hotel!), along the rocky ridgeline, through alpine meadows brimming with wildflowers, across a couple of stubborn snowfields, and past another hut at Männdlenen (with a stop for apfel strudel, of course!). Read on, and check out the gallery.

The Faulhorn traverse offers amazing views of the Alps from meadows filled with wildflowers.

Grindelwald: Bussalp to Waldspitz

Our first hike above Grindelwald brought us out of the clouds and into spectacular scenery.

Our first hike out of Grindelwald was a relatively low-altitude stroll across the high terrain above town, from the end of the bus line at Bussalp to the end of another bus line at Waldspitz. The sky was cloudy as the bus wound up the steep and twisty road from Grindelwald, past the holiday homes and into the farm country high above town. Still, the clouds looked like they were struggling to hold form as the daylight grew stronger, so we headed up the trail in high spirits. Soon we were following a narrow track that meandered among the cows, across streams, and through meadows strewn with wildflowers. The clouds began to dissipate and the incredible peaks of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peeked out from across the valley. Read on, and check out the photos!

Descending through a verdant valley, with alpine peaks looming ahead.

Grindelwald

Home base for a week of alpine hiking!

My first visit to Grindelwald was in fall 2019, after an incredible overnight stay at the alpine hut perched on the summit of Faulhorn mountain, with sunset views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. It was so stunning that I brought my family back there in December, to see it in winter – and then again in June 2020, to hike from there up to Kleine Scheidegg in the shadow of the Eiger. Each visit to Grindelwald was magical, surrounded as it is by the stunning beauty of the Alpine peaks and pastoral meadows. So, despite its intense tourism (after all, I am hardly the first person to notice Grindelwald!) I decided Grindelwald would be an excellent base for a week of hiking with college friends. We rented a house on Vrbo, and settled in on Monday evening for a week-long stay.

View of the Eiger’s north face, from the bedroom balcony of our rental house.

In subsequent posts I will highlight each of our daily hikes, then wrap-up with a few photos of Grindelwald itself.

Alpine view

All the Alps in one view.

Zürich woke to yet another cloudy morning, as the sun rose on winter solstice. On this, the shortest day of the year, we hopped on a plane to Washington, DC, following the sun to the west. Flying high above the clouds, we enjoyed daylight for 15+ hours, though inside the plane we never really got to enjoy the sunshine. When I checked out the window, soon after we reached cruising altitude, I was blessed with a grand panoramic view of the Alps – the French, Swiss, and Italian Alps – spread out beyond a sea of clouds.

The Alps, seen from the airplane leaving Zurich… with low clouds covering all the lowlands.

Zermatt sunrise

Early morning light on the Matterhorn.

We were fortunate to stay at a hotel with a fantastic view of the Matterhorn, seen across the village of Zermatt. As the sun rose shortly after 8am, the first light illuminated the tip of the Matterhorn. See the gallery for more.

Alpine sunrise

A grand view from a grand spot.

I returned to my morning walking route, climbing through the streets and stairs of Zurich to the viewpoint atop Zurichberg. Today, I arrived not long after sunrise; with fewer clouds, the sun shone through to the Zurich valley. Indeed, it seemed the orange glow of the rising sun was bouncing off the cloud deck above, illuminating the light fog hovering over the lake Zurichsee.

Sunrise view from the Zurichberg viewpoint, Zurich.

Zooming in to the Alps spread across the horizon, we can see the morning sun illuminating the Eiger and its neighbors.

The Eiger is the dark triangle just left of center.

Earlier, I paused along Spyristrasse at a point where I knew one of the multi-story condo buildings hosted an impressive sight: a three-story cat staircase, mounted outside the building, allowing the cat to come and go from its residential balcony. Today, for the first time ever, I saw a cat sitting atop the stairs, surveying its territory and guarding the homestead from all comers.

A cat rests at the top of a three-story cat staircase on the outside of a condo building; Spyristrasse, Zurich.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Braunwald Panoramaweg

A return to Braunwald for the summer perspective.

Although it was tempting to think of Friday’s climb of Piz Palü as a grand finale for my time in Switzerland, today’s sunny summer weather just couldn’t be ignored. With only a few days remaining in Switzerland – a hiker’s paradise – I decided to maximize the opportunity. So this morning I hopped a train back to Braunwald, where in March I spent an intense day postholing my way across the high country toward Schwanden. It was quite different today! Read on and check out the gallery.

Piz Palü

I grew up hiking in the Adirondack mountains of New York, and later the White Mountains of New Hampshire – places that are still near and dear to my heart – but ever since I was a young boy, leafing through pictorial mountaineering books from legendary climbers like Chris Bonington and Reinhold Messner, I’ve dreamed of ‘Real Mountains’ capped with snow and glacier. Yesterday, I finally had my chance and summited Piz Palü (3900m, 12,811′). Although relatively simple on the grand scale of mountaineering, it was nonetheless the most challenging mountain I’ve experienced in my 50 years of hiking. Read on and definitely do not miss the gallery – we were blessed with outstanding weather and snow conditions.

Return to Flumserberg

Another fine day on Flumserberg.

Tuesday’s weather was promising to be gorgeous, and I could not let such a day pass me by – despite an afternoon full of meetings. Waking early, and browsing the weather maps, train schedules, and hiking routes, I decided to return to Flumserberg – because it is close and offers many options. The catch?: the best train would leave in 13 minutes. Good thing I keep my backpack ready to go! Jump on the train with me, read on, and check out the gallery.