Rule number 1: do not underestimate the mountains.
That sounds a little dramatic. But anyway, it’s a good rule if it’s your first time.
My first hike in the Swiss Alps was probably the most breath taking (literally and figuratively speaking) hike I’ve ever done. If you ever want to feel like you can take on the entire world – go hike in the Swiss Alps, it’ll be unbelievable.
For the beginning hiker and people who haven’t experiences high altitudes, I want to give some information about how to prepare.
What you need to know about the different kinds of routes:
There are 3 difficulties: yellow (easy), red (middle), red+white (difficult).
The yellow ones are for everyone. The red+white ones only for very experienced hikers. The red ones are doable for everyone with a little preparation and fitness. The tips I’ll give here, are for people who’ll be trying out the red routes. It’s definitely way more exciting, as the trails are smaller and not as easy as the yellow ones.
What you need to know about altitude:
The higher you go, the less oxygen there is. If you’re in better shape, it will probably affect you less. But I have know people who where in no shape at all, and didn’t experience any problems. Then there are the quite-in-shape people who feel like they’re almost dying the whole time (like me).
In general this means: at a certain altitude (for me: 1800m), physical efforts become more difficult. Walking uphill can make you feel out of breath after 5 steps. Higher up (for me: 2800m), my hearts starts racing even if I’m not doing anything. Those are signs telling you to GO DOWN.
This is my general advice: if you ever start to feel sick, get headaches or feel like you’re suffocating, there’s one cure: drink water & lose altitude.
Now, this thing about altitude applies to altitude in general. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Alps, Andes or on Mount Everest. But something that can be different depending on the region is the weather.
What you need to know about the weather:
The higher you go, the colder it gets. Someone once told me that it gets 1 degree colder with every 100m you go up. So if you go op 1000m, that’s 10 degrees colder. I am not sure how exactly true this is, but it sure works in most situations.
The Swiss Alps are lower than the Andes, but they’re also located in a colder region. Meaning, if you’re at 2500m, it will be rather cold – so don’t forget your jacket and something to cover your head or a scarf.
What you need to know about the duration of your hike:
All routes have a duration indication. Check if this is uphill or downhill!!
And if it’s your first time, calculate at least +1 or 2 hours for a mountain hike – just to be safe.
What to bring:
– a backpack. Duh.
– hiking boots/shoes. Please don’t go on sandals, slippers or even just normal closed shoes; You won’t have any grip on the trail.
– water. LOTS of water. At least 2 liters
– food. My personal preference is bread, cheese, some carrots, chocolate or other sweets and fruit.
– dress in layers. It will be cold once you get on the mountain, but as you’re walking and the sun is shining, you’ll be hot. And then maybe you’ll be walking on the shadow side of the mountain and you’ll be freezing again. So 5 layers of light clothing would be fine 😉
– scarf. I recommend it, since you’ll probably feel hot from all the climbing, but the wind can be very cold.
– walking sticks. Your knees will thank you for it afterwards.
– trousers that can change to shorts. I can’t believe I’m actually defending them after all these years, but if it’s hot, you’ll cherish them.
– sunscreen. Trust me.
– sunglasses. Definitely.
– camera. But I guess that’s obvious.
– your phone. There’s actually a pretty good service up in the mountains. You never know why you’d need it.
Where to start?
Speaking from experience I can recommend Grindelwald. It’s a mountain village, so picture perfect, a post card doesn’t do it right. From Grindelwald busses and cable cars go up to several mountains from where you can start your hike.
In Grindelwald I can recommend the official youth hostel.
Recommended routes:
Of course, I can only recommend the ones I did myself, but there’s definitely more to check out.
Bussalp to First
Duration: officially 3h downhill. It took us 6h uphill (breaks included though).
Difficulty: medium
Trail: steep, rocky, small, cliff walk
How to get there: Take the bus from Grindelwald station to Bussalp. There follow the red/white indications on the rocks. From First you can take the cable car back down to Grindelwald.
The route: views of Grindelwald, snowy mountain tops, meadows, flowers, rock formations and the famous Bachalpsee (lake).
Männlichen to Eigergletscher
Duration: 3h
Difficulty: Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg: easy / Kleine Scheidegg to Eitergletscher: easy trail, difficult because of the altitude
Trail: easy
How to get there: Take the Männlichenbahn from Grindelwald to Männlichen. There follow the sign “Panoramaweg” until Kleine Scheidegg – which is very touristy. It’s a nice view and a good warm up though. From Kleine Scheidegg you can continue to walk up to the Eigergletscher. For me it was the best, but also the most difficult part of the route.
From Eigergletscher there’s a train back down to Kleine Scheidegg. There you can change on the train to Grindelwald.
The route: views of Grindelwald; glacier; perfect view on Jungfrau, Eiger, Mönch
I haven’t done, but would want to:
– First – Faulhorn – Schynige Platte (min. 7 hours, ca. 15km)
– Eiger Trail (2h downhill, 3 hours uphill)