[Removed user]

16 November 2015 at 17:08:01 #808133

I am planning on taking my 15 yr old grandson hiking in and around the Wengen area. I have hiked the Kandersteg and Chamonix areas and the TMB last year. My usual tour group is not taking anyone under 18 this year through Pontresina and Kitzbuhel. What are your suggestions re: should I hook up with another tour group or can I get a local guide if I do enough research about the area. I plan on one week hike – haute route is acceptable – or train transport to villages. I really want to give him the flavor of the area. Any suggestions as to a moderate to strenous route. We live in Colorado and hike year round.

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[Slowpoke]

17 November 2015 at 16:25:07 #847013

Hi MunichMaria-

Here are a couple of links that might help you in your decision .

http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/tips-about-wengen-and-the-jungfrau-region-by-kim

http://www.jungfrau.ch/en/som mer/tourism/destinatio ns/kleine-scheidegg/hiking-trails/

http://www.myswissalps.com/ju ngfrauregion

Off hand, if you want to give him the flavor of the region, you might consider day hikes, as well as cabin to cabin or mountain hotel to mountain hotel walks.

There is a lot in the Wengen (or Jungfrau area) that can be done while based in, for example, Wengen or Grindelwald.

This map link to the Swisstopo website map for the region has tremendous detail. In the menu, I chose to turn on Hiking Trails. It shows lifts and rail as well as trails. Combine it with a look at the timetable, and you will be able to do some planning.

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&lang=e n&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo .pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisst opo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs. gebaeude_wohnungs_regi ster,ch.bafu.wrz-wildruhezonen_portal,c h.swisstopo.swisstlm3d -wanderwege&layers_visi bility=false,false,fal se,true&layers_timesta mp=18641231,,,&X=16220 0.00&Y=634900.00&zoom= 5

http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

The hike from Schynnige Platte to Firtst is fairly strenuous, at over 2100 meters, and takes the best part of a day, depending on how fit you are for a 400 meter climb and descents near Faulhorn, which reaches 2680 meters. You can see it north of Wengen on the map link.

At least, it is an option to consider day hikes.

Slowpoke

[Arno]

17 November 2015 at 18:08:38 #847014

Hello Munichmaria,

With your level of hiking experience I would say that you don’t need a tour group nor a private guide. Unless you plan to do potentially dangerous high Alpine trails like the glacier tour from Jungfraujoch to the Valais. Day hikes give you the flexibility of adapting your plans based on the weather. Several are listed on myswissalps.com/ jungfrauregion/ activities.

[Removed user]

18 November 2015 at 20:41:19 #847015

Thank you for this. I will begin to look around this area. Can I ask – if we fly to Zurich do we take a train to wengen or grindelwald? Thanks so much.

[Slowpoke]

18 November 2015 at 22:33:24 #847016

<<” Can I ask – if we fly to Zurich do we take a train to wengen or grindelwald? Thanks so much.”>>

Not only can, but may. 😉

The answer is yes.

Please refer to the timetable link I gave you in my first post.

You will see something like the attached screen grab image.

Here are a few things to look for:

1.- I expanded the first journey by clicking on the “+” at the left.

2.- Once you have done that, you get a lot of detail about train services ( e.g., restaurant or mini-bar to the right), connections, connection times (they seem short, but they will be fine if you move quickly with your luggage. From track 5 to track 6, for some of the train connections (but not all) at Bern is on the same platform. This station map from the SBB website shows the track numbers if you zoom in.

I believe that all trains pass through Zurich HB (main station) in some cases, you may have to change there for Bern. In other cases, the train stops at Zürich HB, but continues to Bern. expand each journey in the timetable and you can see that.

plans.trafimage.ch/ber n#?lang=en&layer=bern_inn enplan&x=600112&y=1996 75&r=0.12

3.- in the fine print, after you have selected your journey and expanded it, you can chose a map.

In addition, the map I would use for general views of Switzerland – railways, highways, cities, accommodations, etc, is:

Mapsearch.CH

for general overviews, and, if you work the options menus, you can zoom in far enough after selecting “Traffic” in the Points of Interest” and the icons for the train stations, etc., will show up. Mouse over them and you get abbreviated transport schedules to/from that station.

map.search.ch/

If you spend some time with that map, you’ll see how the train gets you there via Bern

I picked a date at random for that screen grab. I chose early September, because I think it is the best time. Since your grandson is probably in school then, you might be looking at July? August gets pretty crowded, since so many Europeans are on vacation then.

it would be helpful to know your dates, because some things have seasonal gaps in service. Unlikely in the summer, but, for example, Swiss National Day is August 1, and lots of stores and restaurants close then.

Finally, although I find topo maps most useful fro hiking, the various panoramic maps of the Jungfrau Region found with a Google search may help you visualize the lay of the land better.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Panoramic+map+of+the +Jungfrau+region&ie=ut f-8&oe=utf-8

Slowpoke

[Slowpoke]

18 November 2015 at 22:34:47 #847017

Correction of spelling –

Schynige Platte to First.

Slowpoke