Lake Bachalpsee Hike

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?

>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

Contact the Grindelwald tourist office and ask them. touristcenter@grindelwald.ch

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

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

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.

"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.

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.