Time needed to explore fiesch and eggishorn

hi

will be in switzerland from 3-5 may. we arrive late on day 1,so not much time to do anything

day 2 plan to travel from montreux to fiesch and up to eggishorn, how much time would you recommend to spend here.

reason beng is that on day 3 we plan to go to chateux de chillion and upto rochers-de-naye, hoping that we have time to have a walk round geneva late afternoon/evening before our flight back to uk, do you think that is possible

could we maybe go to chillion after we get back from eggishorn or would you recommend spending most of the day there.

thanks

Matt

Hello Matt,

You will have to count with at least 3 hours to reach the Eggishorn from Montreux and another 3 hours to go back. How much time you would like to be at the Eggishorn is hard to say: at what time do you want to leave Montreux, what will weather conditions be that day?
On a beautiful day, maybe you just want to enjoy being there and looking around. If you want to reach the summit of the Eggishorn you'll have to climb another 50 m. starting at an altitude of 2.870 m. There are no easy round walks as far as I know.

My suggestion would be, if weather conditions are good: don't hurrry, and leave Chateaux de Chillon for the next day.
I have no idea if on day 3 you'll have time enough to walk round Geneva.

I'm sure others might have different opinions. Nevertheless, I hope this helps!

thanks for the info

did some research last night and the plan is this, train from montreux at 07:40, arrives in fiesch at 09:56

from there get the cable car to eggishorn and walk to summit get some pictures. then the plan is to take the following walking route

tallisee>gletscherstube>majelensee>roti chumme>biel>moosfluh>bettmeralp. possibly skipping out moosfluh if pushed for time

then get the cable car back down to betten and train back to montreux

ive read that you can buy a hiking pass that includes all cable cars for 35chf with the flexi pass i've purchased for 2 people, so seems quite good

any idea of how cold it may be at the summit at beginning of may as the gf gets cold quite easy,hehe

http://www.eggishorn.ch/jwa/VFS-DFA-302213-Sommerpano_2011_Web.pdf

for anybody that wants to see the hiking paths

the 1 ive roughly chosen seems to be a long ish route, but an easier difficulty

Hello matt-uk. I'm glad you managed to plan your trip to the Eggishorn! Temperatures can vary a lot; I guess between 0 and 5 degrees (Celsius) would be an average. You can best dress in multiple layers of cloths to be prepared for all kinds of weather.

thanks annika : )

Hi Matt,

I think from 16 April 2012 to 08 June 2012 the Cable Car between fiesch and eggishorn will be closed on account of Inspection Work. This I know because I had also planed to go in May end but from the official source came to know this. Please visit (http://www.eggishorn.ch/jwa/VFS-DFA-385887-SommerFahrplan2012.pdf)

On 4th May Friday there will be only 2 rides at 07.45 & 09.30 and only up to Fiescheralp and Fiescheralp – Eggishorn will be totally closed. So to avoid the disappointment just doubly check it before you go.

Regards
Atul Bhide
India

damn, thats not good to hear : (

kind of just ruined my whole plan if this is definately true

might just have to go upto bettmeralp then and plan another route. i gather the summit at eggishorn is still accesable by hiking (weather permitting)

thanks for the info anyway

ive just translated that and i get the following "Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday and on public holidays set for operation"

so from that i gather that it will be running?

Hi to you both. According to the summer schedule Atul Bhide referred to, there's indeed no connection to the Eggishorn at all up to June 9. This is often the case with cable cars in Spring and Fall. The text on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays says that there's no connection between Fiesch and Fiescheralp then either. Thanks for bringing this up, Atul! Although it's a disappointment, I'm sure you'll find alternatives Matt. Fiescheralp, Bettmeralp and Riederalp are beautiful as well. Whether the Eggishorn is accessible, depends on the current snow conditions up at the summit. I don't think it's accessible by foot in May yet. You can best contact Fiesch tourism for up to date information. Do mind that it's a challenging hike, especially if you're an unexperienced hiker.

thanks for clearing that up annika, seems im going to have to re-plan my schedule and monitor the weather a few days before

and yeah, i gathered it would be a challenging hike, hence why i wanted to get cable car straight upto eggishorn

i would just like to get a nice view of the glacier, so will just have to see what happens between now and then and what i can plan out

ive checked bettermeralp site and riederalp and seems pretty much all trails will not be open, which if it ends up being that way will mean ive wasted money on the swiss flexi pass

is there any other places you would suggest for a nice day trip to make the most of the flexi pass, or is there any other way to get views of the glacier with most the trails closed

thanks

Hello Matt,

An idea would be to travel to Zermatt. You can take the train up to Gornergrat, and if it's clear, you will have a wonderful view at the Glacier, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa (and more). Webcams will give you an idea.
Your pass will be valid to Zermatt, from there you will get a 50% discount on your ticket to Gornergrat. With a bit of luck you can hike from Rotenboden to Riffelalp, but that will depend on weather conditions too. The train to Gornergrat is open all year.

thanks olga, much appreciated

ill keep this in mind and decide a few days before after checking the weather

anymore suggestions be greatful

thanks