Hiking in the Haslital Valley from Grimsel Pass to Guttannen

Sunday July 29:  Two years ago we did a hike at Lake Grimselsee, in the Grimsel arena which is the source of one of Switzerland's major rivers: The Aar River, and loved it so much that we wanted to come again. Another stunningly beautiful area, the Grimsel Pass connects Canton Bern on the North side with Canton Wallis to the South, and besides being the watershed area for both the North Sea and the Meditteranean, it is an area of value for hydro-electric power production (produces yearly supply for one million people). 

From the Grimsel Pass North down the valley is a historic mule trail (14th century) that makes for a nice hike 8 km down to the point where is located the steep Gelmer Funicular (106% gradient) which was originally built to facilitate construction of the Gelmersee Dam (hydro-electric) and opened to the public in 2001. This funicular was the steepest in Europe until the opening of the Stoos Funicular in 2017. 

We started our hike at the large dam on Lake Grimselsee (not at the pass itself) and walking North along the milky lake Räterichsbodensee we watched the dozens of rock climbers for whom these glacier-sanded slopes are obviously popular climbing spots, and then continued along the mule track over several old stone bridges before stopping to admire from afar the little single-car 24-person funicular slowly and incredibly making its way up that steep mountainside. Unbelievable. And very popular. Especially on a Sunday. At 2 pm. you didn't need to bother going up anymore if you hadn't already booked your trip down. (about 20 minutes for each passage).

Well we should have stopped here I guess. But we'd only done 8 km, and what is 6 km more (to the next bus stop) after that? Well, it was just hot and uninteresting, but who knows this in advance??? We were glad when we saw the village of Guttannen ahead and made it, as usual with just 3 minutes to spare for the bus... (next one two hours later). But... the alternative was just coming back to an overheated apartment...

As the PostBus leaves Meiringen and heads South, this view is down the Haslital Valley toward the Grimsel Pass

On the ride up by bus to the Grimsel Hospiz, this is one of the dammed lakes up here near the Grimsel Pass. The Mule Trail goes along the back of the lake to the dam

Grimsel Dam as seen from the bus. You can also just make out the trail we are going to come down after first crossing the dam

We got off the bus here at the Grimsel Hotel and power plant just below the Grimsel Pass. The sign says "Guttannen: 4 hours" but it took us 5 and a half.... To the Gelmer Funicular (Handegg) it is 2 hours 15 mins.

In 2016 we walked along the right side of the lake to the Unteraar Glacier (not visible) at the back, and spent the night there in an Alpine Hostel. One of my favourite hikes which I would do again.

On the old mule trail it is 8 km to Handegg to the Gelmer Funicular, and we walked an additional 6 hot kilometers to Guttannen further North. In retrospect, we should have ended the day in Handegg

Crossing the dam, then the trail goes up through that enclosed stairway then along the rock face

By "Along the Rock Face" I mean up a wonderful set of stone steps

Looking down at the Grimsel dam from the other side

The steep trail back down to the valley bottom was mostly set with stone steps, so the descent was not difficult

Heading along the old mule trail on the West side of Lake Räterichbodensee

Lake Räterichbodensee, one of several dammed lakes in the Grimsel arena

These slopes are a prime example of the scouring effect of the glaciers. Also a favourite of rock climbers. There must have been about 20. It was like looking for ibex and chamois

Popular with the rock climbers

At the end of the Räterichsbodensee Lake is this dam with its renowned hand-painted mural called "Mélisande", painted in 2004. It has suffered much in the last 14 years! At the time, this was the largest painting/mural in the world.

http://www.ens.ch/ens/places/europa/schweiz/melisande/index.html

From on top of the dam we get this fantastic view down the Haslital Valley, to the Gelmer Dam, and a sense of how steep the Gelmer Funicular runs

The old mule trail from Grimsel to Handegg

We crossed the Aar River several times on these old stone bridges

We crossed the Aar River several times on these old stone bridges

As we approached the Gelmer Dam, which was very high up obviously, this zoomed photo shows how magnificent this construction is

Until 2017, this was the steepest funicular in Europe. The single car transports only 24 people at a time, 10 minutes up, then 10 minutes down.

This is not quite the steepest portion...

VIDEO:

We watched the Gelmer Funicular from a few angles. It's maximum speed is 2 meters per second, but most of the videos on the Internet are sped up to make it look like a roller coaster

We walked to the base station of the funicular to get informed for our eventual trip up to Lake Gelmersee

The suspension bridge takes you back to the main road

There wasn't much worth of note on the additional 6 km we walked to Guttannen, except maybe this anthill. Most of the rest of the way was near the busy road as well.

We were glad to glimpse our destination of Guttannen, and made it to the bus stop with about 3 minutes to spare. This valley got 4 meters of snow in February 1999 and was cut off from the "outside world" by a massive avalanche

 

A taste of Guttannen

Restored in 1970, this church is under Federal Protection

In 2016 we walked along Lake Grimselsee to the Unteraar Glacier. This time we walked along the old mule trail down the Haslital Valley. Total 14 km, took us 5.5 hours. Normal would be about 4.5 hours.