[puneetgup]

23 May 2014 at 2:28:01 #806379

We were planning a hike from First to Lake Bachalpsee early June and travelling from Lauterbrunnen. When I looked up sbb.ch/en, it shows a route from Lauterbrunnen->Grindelwald; Grindelwald->Grindelwald Bahnoff(walk);Grindelwald Bahnoff->Grindelwald FirstBahn (Bus); Grindelwald FirstBahn ->Grindelwald BGF (walk) and then finally the Gondola up to First. is there a better way to get to First early in the morning? also what is the best way to get to the Bort Children’s playground from either First or Grindelwald?

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[jackdebear]

23 May 2014 at 13:44:07 #840015

Stay a Berghaus First.

[kim11]

23 May 2014 at 16:18:59 #840016

>We were planning a hike from First to Lake Bachalpsee early June<

Very high probability that the walk will not yet be open due to snow. It usually doesn’t open until mid-June. The gonodola up to First is running so you can at least go up and have a look around. The Bort children’s playground is at a gondola stop about half the way up to First. You can’t miss it, it is well marked and you simply get off there.

The routing you are seeing at sbb.ch is technically correct (of course) although it sounds much more complicated than it really is. Here is ,my favorite way:

1. Train from Lauterbrunnen to Grindelwald.

2. Walk through Grindelwald, admiring the views and the nice shops (including a very good bakery) along the way. This will take about 10 minutes if you don’t stop. But the bakery is compelling.

3. At the end of town you will arrive at the gondola. It is on your left.

4. Get on gondola, go to Bort or all the way up to First

[puneetgup]

23 May 2014 at 16:25:28 #840017

Thank you so much for the response. How can I find out whether the walk is open? One of the main reasons we were planning to go to First was this hike..

[kim11]

23 May 2014 at 16:34:44 #840018

Contact the Grindelwald tourist office and ask them. [email protected]

However, the walk can close at any time with a late snowstorm. When that happens it usually re-opens within a couple of days.

[puneetgup]

23 May 2014 at 17:53:51 #840019

Thanks again. I have sent mail to the Grindelwald Tourism office and will share their response with forum

[puneetgup]

28 May 2014 at 15:15:18 #840020

Grindelwald Tourism confirmed that the path from First to Lake Bachalpsee is open though it is still partially covered with snow and they recommend good hiking shoes to take the path

[kim11]

29 May 2014 at 0:31:22 #840021

Thank you for letting us know the good news! Hopefully the weather stays nice and the snow will melt a little every day.

[puneetgup]

29 May 2014 at 18:20:19 #840022

Is there actually a good site to check for weather? I check Weather.com / Accuweather.com and they have conflicting weather forecasts.

[kim11]

29 May 2014 at 18:24:15 #840023

the most reliable forecast I’ve found is at http://meteo.search.ch/. Type in the name of the nearest city to get a more local forecast. Lauterbrunnen for Wengen and Mürren.

It is only 5 day forecast but anything longer than that is fiction anyway. And the 5 day forecast is about 4 days of guessing! But it tends to be the best predictor. Note that when rain is in the forecast it sometimes means off and on showers, sometimes sunny all day with a late afternoon shower. Particularly in the mountains.

[Arno]

29 May 2014 at 19:32:19 #840024

“The 5 day forecast is about 4 days of guessing“: that’s very well put 🙂 One has to be flexible. The best approach is to go on vacation with a wish list and only choose what to do the evening before. Of course the list should contain activities for various weather types.

I like the weather maps of SRF meteo, which are shown on TV after the evening news. We have them on our site here too.

[puneetgup]

9 June 2014 at 15:29:01 #840025

Thanks all for your help. The trail is indeed open but the lake itself is still frozen. We had also intended to do a hike from Mannlechin to Keine Scheidigg but could not do this hike due to snow on the trail.

[Removed user]

9 June 2014 at 15:40:08 #840026

We just returned from the area and on June 2 the longer hike from First to Schyngge Platte (sp?) was NOT open. But Schnygge Platte itself was open and beautiful to hike around. Many hikes in the area were still closed, but the information desk in Lauterbrunnen was excellent in recommending alternate hikes. Our favorite was from Gimmewald to Rotschutte (sp?).

[Arno]

9 June 2014 at 16:05:51 #840027

Thanks for letting us know puneetgup and curlygrrrl! It would be great if you could post a trip report about your adventures in the Swiss Alps. There are still a few days left to win a hotel gift card.