- 4:00 h
- 8.98 km
- 727 m
- 559 m
- 1,210 m
- 1,773 m
- 563 m
- Start: Hotel Wetterhorn, bus stop
- Destination: Pfingstegg, cable car mountain station
Unfortunately, nothing is left to see of the Upper Grindelwald Glacier. Even the former staircase path is now closed. 900 wooden steps led up to the Glacier Bar with views into the gorge exposed by the glacier. Without this now impossible detour, we quickly reach the Pfingstegg mountain station. The path snakes along the northwest flank of the Mättenberg with views of Grindelwald, Schwarzhorn, Grosse Scheidegg, and Wetterhorn. A rockfall-prone section is crossed via the 150-meter-long Breitlouwina tunnel.
Then it gets magnificent: behind Pfingstegg the path heads straight toward the high mountains. The Lower Grindelwald Glacier has retreated far. This is why this path was marked as a climate trail and equipped with information boards. And then the story of the legendary Stieregg hut: It had to be abandoned in 2005 when a glacier moraine shifted and the hut suddenly stood close to the brink of collapse. Then we are up at Berghaus Bäregg. Rarely is the term “scenic location” so appropriate. The Berghaus is located about 100 meters above the former Stieregg hut. From the terrace we look at the Fiescherwand and down to the glacier lake. Sometimes there is a loud rumble. That is when the glacier sends a piece of ice tumbling down.
Good to know
Pavements
Best to visit
Directions
Hotel Wetterhorn (1228 m) – Milchbach (1348 m) – Pfingstegg (1392 m) – Berghaus Bäregg (1770 m) – Pfingstegg.
Equipment
Directions & Parking facilities
Arrival: From Interlaken Ost by Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) to Grindelwald, then by Grindelwald bus to the Oberer Gletscher/Hotel Wetterhorn stop.
Return: From Pfingstegg by cable car to Grindelwald.
Additional information
Jungfrau Region Tourism, Tel. +41 (0) 33 521 43 43, www.jungfrau.swiss
Grindelwald Tourism, Tel. +41 (0) 33 854 12 12, www.grindelwald.swiss
Jungfraubahnen, Rail Info Interlaken, Tel. +41 (0) 33 828 72 33, www.jungfrau.ch
Grindelwald-Pfingstegg Cable Car, Tel. +41 (0) 33 853 26 26, www.pfingstegg.ch
Places to eat and stay, e.g.:
Hotel Wetterhorn, Tel. +41 (0) 33 853 12 18, www.wetterhorn-hotel.ch
Mountain restaurant Pfingstegg, Tel. +41 (0) 33 853 11 91, www.bergrestaurant-pfingstegg.ch
Berghaus Bäregg, Tel. +41 (0) 79 121 09 09, www.baeregg.com
Literature
Jochen Ihle / Toni Kaiser: The 55 most beautiful hikes in the Bernese Oberland. ISBN 978-3-03865-073-7, Rothus Medien, Solothurn, www.wandershop-schweiz.ch
Jochen Ihle / Toni Kaiser: The 101 most beautiful hikes of Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-03865-041-6, Rothus Medien, Solothurn, www.wandershop-schweiz.ch
Bernadett Barta / Jochen Ihle: The 88 most beautiful hut routes in Switzerland. ISBN 978-3-03865-090-4, Rothus Medien, Solothurn, www.wandershop-schweiz.ch
License (master data)
Author´s Tip / Recommendation of the author
The hike can be varied as desired. If you prefer a shorter ascent, you can take the cable car from Grindelwald to Pfingstegg and start the hike there. There are also options for the descent: you can walk back to the Pfingstegg cable car station (and take the gondola down to Grindelwald), or you can extend the route and descend on one of the hiking trails to Grindelwald.
Safety guidelines
Map
Map scale 1:50,000, 254T Interlaken.
Nearby
