all images © James Tung, 2001-2008

view of Mürren and Jungfrau, near Busengrat

After from my hike around Zermatt, I continued to the Jungfrau region in the Swiss Alps. I only spent two days there, and barely scratched the surface of what this area has to offer. I stayed in the Mountain Hostel in a little mountain hamlet called Gimmelwald (1419 m), overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Gimmelwald is one of the stops on the gondola ride from the valley to Schilthorn (2970 m), where one can enjoy a nice meal at a rotating restaurant and get a stunning panoramic view of the three famous peaks: the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau. Here is the main tourist site for the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Day 1: Schilthorn

Climb to Schilthorn, via Mürren, Schilthornhütte, and Engetal.

This day was basically a steady climb from Gimmelwald to Schilthorn, which was more than 1500-meter altitude gain. I took the gondola down; it would be quite some damage to the knees to do this as a round trip. The view and weather at lower altitude (around Mürren) were great, but as I climbed higher the clouds came in and it became quite cold. Visibility was maybe 10 meters at the summit, so I simply relaxed and enjoyed a nice meal at the restaurant.

[For sunnier pictures near the top, take a look at Alan's accounts of Schilthorn here and here.]

cable car to Mürren	Mürren	pasture near Mürren
Blumental; Birg station barely visible	self portrait	left to right: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau
Jungfrau and snowy field	Engetal near Schilthornhütte	snowfield in the Engetal
very foggy	cool ridge	lack of view

Day 2: Oberhornsee

Descend into the Sefinen Lütschine valley. Turn toward the other direction at Im Tal (1259 m), cross the river shortly after, and climb up through the dense forest. Oberhornsee (2065 m) is a few hours hike via Busenwald, Tanzboden, Hotel Obersteinberg, and the Tschingel Lütschine river crossing. For the return trip trace back to just before the river crossing and take the steep descend into the river valley, and basically follow the river back to Stechelberg.

It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for hiking. The structures of Gimmelwald and Mürren and the cables of the Schilthornbahn were left behind as I hiked deeper into the upper Lauterbrunnen Valley. By the time I crossed the UNESCO World Heritage boundary at Tanzboden, there was a gorgeous view of the mountain range south of the Jungfrau. The UNESCO area did seem well preserved. The stretch of trail from Hotel Obersteinberg to the lake was pristine; for the first time in my whole trip it felt like I was in the backcountry.

The strenuous climb right before the lake was rewarded with the crystal clear water and the still reflection of Jungfrau in Oberhornsee. After a long break at the lake it was time to head back. About three hours later I was walking on paved road again. Another couple of hours later I was sitting in the train toward Bern for a transfer to Geneva, thus marking the end of my Alpine hikes.

initial descent to Im Tal	Im Tal (Sefinen Lütschine)	Gimmelwald; parts of Mürren above it
Spitzhorn at Untere Busenalp	view of Mürren near Busengrat	Busengrat
Schmadribachfälle	(Lauterbrunnen) Breithorn and Tschingelhorn	view near Obersteinberg
view near Obersteinberg; swiss flag visible	Hinteres Lauterbrunnental	bridge crossing Tschingel Lütschine
ice field near river	view on bridge	Breithorn and Tschingelhorn
view of Jungfrau near bridge	same view	Oberhornsee
lake	lake	view near lake
lake	time to go back	Im Tal (Tschingel Lütschine)
cow	Tschingel Lütschine	Innere Bodenbach
back to Sefinen Lütschine	Mürrenbach Fall	view of Stechelberg from cable car; the two Lütschines join

all images © James Tung, 2001-2008