72625 posts
Hi,
As far as I know the trail from Grutschalp to Murren will be open, have walked it several times in Winter, hope to do so again in early Feb. With a half fare card the cost of a one way ticket from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen is CHF 3.30 and the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp is CHF 4.40. I would suggest walking from Grutschalp to Murren stopping at Winteregg or Murren to eat, then either going up the Schilthorn by cable car and then back down to Stechelberg or going from Murren to Stechelberg, then catch the bus back to Lauterbrunnen and train to Wengen.
The Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg trail I would also expect to be open, train to Kleine Scheidegg from Wengen one way is CHF 23.00 but with the half fare card I would expect it to be CHF 11.50.
Try http://www.jungfrauregion.ch for a map of open facilities etc. or http://www.jungfrau.ch for ticket prices, times etc.
Hope this is of some help, have a great time,
Phil
72625 posts
Thanks that is great.
What about from Kleine Scheidegg all the way down to Wengen? Or Wengeralp?
Also was looking at Schynig Platte. Will it be possible to walk around there this time of the year? I heard there is a panoramic point where you seek the lakes below.
606 posts
The Schynige Platte railway runs only June 1 – Oct 20 so not possible.
I doubt that the trail from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen will be open, hopefully someone else knows. You can also contact the tourist office in Wengen for their advice. [email protected]
15484 posts
Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen will not be open I think. Last year the section from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengernalp, about half way, wasn’t even open at the end of April/early May, because of snow.
72625 posts
I got email back from the Wengen tourist office that it is open. I guess snow could change that but right now, I’m typing this on the train from ZRH to Wengen and it’s clear.
72625 posts
Well until about noon on Monday, it was overcast and the cameras at Jungfraujoch showed poor visibility. So I went to Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp to Winteregg to Murren and then down to Stechelberg.
It cleared up so the view across the valley was really spectacular. Missed Jungfrau and today it’s looking overcast as well so I may not go all the way to the top. Maybe the Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg will be more viable.
I thought about going up to Schilthorn but it was already pretty late in the day and the cable car down to Gimmelwald and Stechelberg departed like 15 minutes before the next one up to Schilthorn so that made the decision easier. That and the additional 40 CHF or so it would have cost to go up.
72625 posts
Today, took the gondola up from Wengen to Mannlichen and set about hiking to Kleine Scheidegg. Day was overcast but thought that if it cleared up when I reached Kleine Scheidegg, I might go up to Jungfrau.
Actually, it started snowing and the wind was pretty strong in Mannlichen. The views were great up there but they got worse as it snowed more.
It took me over 2.5 hours to do this hike, more than double the description of the hike on this site. I did take a lot of pictures because I was geotagging and wanted to record as many locations. Plus the path crossed a lot of ski runs and I didn’t always spot the next purple poles ahead right away.
In the end, I would estimate having walked about 10 km. My fitbit shows about 8.36 miles, which is well over 12 km. However, my hotel is about 1 km away from the gondola and the train station.
Maybe the trail is different in the summer? Certainly would have been easier without the snow. The trail is groomed but in you veer off the trail, you sink into the snow. I did it a few times, including almost up to my waist.
15484 posts
Thanks for all the updates hyych! High altitude trails are very different in Summer. If they are accessible at all in winter, navigating is hard and the snow slows you down. We’ve clocked this one at 1h20, but that’s in summer without breaks. Also they may have opened up a different, longer, trail in Winter, I’m not sure. The regular trail is about 2.5 miles. So I think you did very well in Winter and including photography 😉 I hope you liked the experience!