Switzerland, 9.6.16 - 9.17.16, Part 4 of 13: The Faulhorn
From our balcony, the building right below us turned out to be a bakery. Every morning they were up rolling doughs and baking long before we even got up. So the morning of September 9, on my 59th birthday, we headed into the bakery to get food supplies to eat on our hike to the Faulhorn.
They had chocolate covered pretzels, sugary donuts, rolls with frosting, all sorts of thin sliced meats and cheeses, bread loaves, croissants, fruit tarts, sandwiches, etc… and it was all freshly made. We bought some ham and cheese baguettes and of course some chocolate (I’m pretty sure Bridgit had a few chocolate stuffed sugar donuts as backup), loaded our packs with enough stuff to survive overnight and walked to the Grindelwald/First Gondolabahn for a ride up to First station (pronounced Feerst).
The local bakerie. The mean lady on the left got mad at Bridgit for reaching over the glass.
I picked this hike to give us the big picture of where we were. While our first day had covered the west side of the area and the Männlichen ridge protruding from the massif, the next two days would be spent on a long ridge above and behind Grindelwald. Being a bit further away from the Jungfrau Massif allowed us to get huge panoramas of the entire area, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I also picked this hike because throughout my research, several sites described the hike from First to the Faulhorn and onward to Schynigge Platte as possibly the most beautiful hike on earth. I wasn’t about to pass on that!
From Grindelwald, cable car to First (1), then hike to Faulhorn (2).
The ride up to First was quintessential Switzerland. The hillsides were a vivid green, with old farm houses and hay storage barns dotting the slopes. Waterfalls tumbled down out from higher valleys and cows munched on the grassy hillsides. Arriving at First, I was again getting a little anxious about the weather which called for increasing cloud cover as the day wore on. Just off the lift was a cool thing called The Cliff Walk and we had to check it out before heading up the trail.
The view up the trail from on the Cliff Walk. This is also not for those with a fear of heights. I couldn’t get over just how green everything was. Just beautiful!
This section wasn’t even attached to the wall. It just spanned a very long drop to the valley floor. And of course the walkway was see through grating for added effect.
The Cliff Walk wasn’t really that long and basically wrapped around the point where the gondolas arrived. At the end of it, the walkway stretched out to a spot hanging high over the valley and as you stood on the clear glass flooring, the peaks were right across the valley for just an incredible view.
Bridgit on the end of the Cliff Walk with the Eiger as a backdrop.
From the First station and the Cliff Walk, we set our sights on hiking to The Berghotel Faulhorn. The trail began as more of a smoothly grated road with sections of cobblestone. This first section started as a gentle climb and then stayed basically almost flat for the first mile and a half to a pair of pretty lakes called the Bachalpsee.
The trail to the Bachalpsee. The hotel can be seen high on the ridge in the center of the photo.
It didn’t take us too long to reach the Bachalpsee. This was another photo op that I had researched before the trip. I had seen photos of this lake as still as glass with the peaks of the Jungfrau Massif perfectly reflected in the water.
Arriving at the Bachalpsee
However, once again, the clouds were just a little too pesky and while we could see that there were huge peaks across from us, they were partially obscured by clouds (Floyd) and the breezes kept the water a bit too choppy for reflection shots anyway. So once again, a minor disappointment but nothing to affect how great everything else was going.
Hiking above the Bachalpsee
Another aspect to all this was that the temperatures were absolutely perfect for hiking. It was cool but not cold and oftentimes the sun would really cook for awhile. We were in the upper 60’s to lower 70’s the entire trip. Heavenly! The trail got steeper once past the Bachalpsee so we opted to plunk on a grassy hillside among the cows and take a lunch break. Another really cool thing about the Grindelwald area was just how many cows were milling around all over the mountainsides. When we stopped and listened the air was filled with the sound of cowbells clanging from every nook and cranny. It really wasn’t irritating at all and we loved the sound of it as we worked our way up the mountain.
Bob and Dana contemplating nature
Things kept getting steeper but we were in no hurry. My original planning had allowed for an option for anyone who didn’t want the rigors of the hike to the Faulhorn to turn back at the lakes and party in Grindelwald until the next day when we got back. I wanted to make sure nobody had to do anything that they weren’t comfortable with. Well everyone was pretty excited about the prospect of staying overnight in such an amazing setting so all of us dug deep and soon we were on the ridge above the Bachalpsee with just a few short switchbacks to go to get to the Berghotel Faulhorn. Right around here, Bob got a whiff of hops so he and Gina bolted up the hill while I waited for Bridgit and Dana.
The Berghotel Faulhorn
Of course, with each step up the mountain, more and more things came into view. Little mountain tarns could be spotted nestled into small pockets of nearby ridges and as we cleared the ridge and got above the valley of the Bachalpsee, the Jungfrau Massif came back into view.
Glaciers on the Jungfrau
One of the peaks that really captured my attention was called the Finsteraarhorn. It was a gorgeous pinnacle surrounded by glaciers and it looked like it would fit in just fine in the Karakoram mountains of the Himalayas. Further investigation determined that this bad boy is the highest peak in the Jungfrau Massiff at 14,022’.
The Finsteraarhorn
Looking up during our final push to the hotel, there was Bob and Gina holding a good dark beer over the rail as incentive. Finally we arrived and found a great table on the incredible patio with the most astounding views I’d ever gazed upon.
The Faulhorn is one funky place to stay. For starters, it has no running water or electricity. Solar panels provided some light and power but candles illuminated the dark hallways. They bring pitchers of water into your room but it’s not potable water. You pour it into a bowl for washing. This place got started in 1830 and you truly felt a sense of history in the walls of the hotel.
The Berghotel Faulhorn. Note that the trail signs don’t list distance but rather the time it takes an average hiker to get to a destination. We just doubled all the times assuming we would be poking along and taking tons of pictures.
The beer and wine and spiked hot chocolate flowed freely and I was beginning to think this might be the best birthday I ever had.
Life is good!
They don’t make birthdays any better than this!
This concludes Part 4. Stay tuned for Part 5: An Evening At The Faulhorn.