Stunning hike in the Alpstein Massif, from Stauberen to Wildhaus via Mutschensattel

Saturday September 4, 2021 -- More wonderful weather! There was an especially good forecast for Eastern Switzerland (pure sunshine, although once again this usually means in the valleys and not in the mountains!) and we decided to hike in the popular Alpstein Massif, an unusual and geologically intriguing (and very popular) mountainous region near the border of Liechtenstein. The main mountain in this massif is the renowned Mt. Säntis.

The last time we were here was in July 2019 doing a similar hike to what we chose to do this day. At that time we walked along the Eastern ridge of the massif from the peak called Hoher Kasten (there is a popular revolving restaurant there) via Saxerlücke and down to Lake Fählensee, where we overnighted in an Alpine Hostel. On the second day we crossed the Zwingli Pass to Wildhaus in the Thur Valley.  [Those photos can be viewed HERE]

It was at that time that I became so fascinated with the rocky crags on the eastern edge near the Saxerlücke, that I really wanted to go again and hike up a different couloir and cross a different pass, although once again ending up in Wildhaus. This time, though, we started not at the Hoher Kasten, but at another mountain hotel called Staubern, accessed by a cable car from the Rhine Valley over 1200 meters below. (Starting here meant we could complete the hike in a single day, although it was a good five hours of walking, and a very long downhill stretch). The ride in the cable car was an expensive one, but it's the only cableway into the massif from the Rhine Valley side, and also the first cableway in the world to be wholly operated by solar power. 

The first half of the hike to the Mutschen Saddle was on the western side of the crags, which meant morning shade but superb views of the entire massif to the West. By the time we got to the pass, clouds had formed and we lost the sunshine for a while, but the entire hike, although a good five hours of walking, never became tiring or boring, even the long uphill hike to the pass. Nowhere else have we encountered such stunning rock formations. No wonder it's such a popular area...

Heading North up the Rhine Valley by bus, the Alpstein Massif is to our West. This is exactly the stretch we walked, on the other side of the peaks mostly. The left section is called Chrüzberg. 

Up on the ridge is the Stauberen Mountain Hotel/Restaurant. A solar-powered cable car from this side of the valley takes you 1200m up there, from where you can walk along the ridge in both directions. 

Frümsen-Stauberen Cableway, the first in the world to be fully powered by solar energy alone. Eight people can ride at a time, and one direction costs 18 SFr. 

From the ridge at Stauberenkanzel, this is the magnificent view South along the Rhine Valley! This is the northern part of the Rhine Valley, shortly before the Rhine flows into Lake Constance on the German Border. To the left on the East side of the Rhine River is Liechtenstein. The river forms the country border.

Our hike starts here behind the Stauberen Gasthaus. The sign says 1 hr 20 minutes to the Saxerlücke, from where we then head up to the Mutschensattel Pass. We have walked this section of trail two years ago (photos HERE)

Looking down at the Staubeen Gasthaus as we head South on the trail. Those hills in the background are in Austria, as the Rhine River also forms the country border here. 

Down below is Lake Sämtisersee (the only view we got of it). The highest peak in the background is the Hoher Kasten with the revolving restaurant, where we started our hike in this direction in 2019

This was a good 5-hour hike, with the Mutschensattel Pass at almost the half-way point. We could have taken a small cable-car down to Wildhaus, but we did that last time we were here (when we crossed the Zwingli Pass), and it is almost faster to walk! (Walking adds a lot more downhill, though)

Heading along the crags

The trail to Saxerlücke was on the West side of the craggy peaks, so we had shade most of the way as it was still fairly early morning (10 a.m.)

But the morning light on the Alpstein Massif to the West means we get a good view of Mt. Säntis. Back in 2014 we descended the couloir on the right, and in 2019 we walked up the couloir on the left (currently in shadow). 

A look North along the ridge trail

And the first glimpse South to the Churfirsten mountains. On the right is the valley we are climbing, passing across the saddle above the remaing patch of snow. 

This is the view that impressed me the last time we were here, when I decided I wanted to walk up and across the Mutschen Saddle some day. This is the day!

A closer look at the valley/couloir we are headed up after first descending to the Saxerlücke. It was a 430m climb, and 1hr 15 minutes to get to the saddle. We passed by the farm buildings below, and also observed rock climbers on the peaks of the Chrüzberg

At first we were worried about the snow, but an even closer look shows a well-trodden trail, and people on the saddle. So it shouldn't be too hard to cross. 

The last time we were here, we descended here to the lake below (Fählensee) and the alpine meadow called Bollenwees. There is a hotel there, but we overnighted in the Alpine hostel Hundsteinhütte (in the red circle) and headed up the valley along the lake the next day. 

This time we are heading up that valley behind me! It's called Roslenalp, and it looks like quite a hike, but it wasn't really that bad!

The trail markers at Saxerlücke tell us that it takes 1hr 20 minutes to the pass, and another 2 hrs. 20 minutes to Wildhaus! A long hike, and I wasn't at all tired!

Climbing uphill again from the Saxerlücke, this look behind us shows where we came down from the ridge, and a really close look shows lots of people descending and ascending! Also surprisingly many people came up the same trail we did. 

A surprisingly interesting short stretch with a fantastic look down into the Rhine Valley. Switzerland on this side of the river, Liechtenstein on the other. 

Heading up the couloir. This whole "valley" is a summer alp called Roslenalp. 

A really good view behind us of the whole ridge section from the Hoher Kasten in the far back, and the section we descended in the middle!

If you look really closely, there are people climbing up there!

Making our way across the large amount of snow which still (surprisingly) remains up here. This is very close to the highest point of the tour

Near the pass, looking back down the couloir where we came. What a fantastic landscape!

At the pass (Mutschensattel). This is not actually so high, just over 2000m, that's why the amount of remaining snow was a surprise. From here we have another 2.5 hours to walk to Wildhaus, so we're almost exactly at the halfway point of our hike here. 

As we got to the saddle, though, some large dark clouds had gathered here, and we had very little sunshine for the descent. This is the view down the couloir on the other side of the saddle, looking into the Thur Valley and the North side of the Churfirsten mountains. We had lunch here and waited in the hopes the clouds would lift. It didn't happen...

There was a lot of karst (limestone) here, which causes underground caves and tunnels. Looking down into this deep hole we also spotted a whole lot of unmelted snow. 

A bit of colour

We saw no chamois this time, but it's always fun to spot the marmots! You can tell they are around because they whistle warnings when you pass by.

A look up the couloir to the pass

There were a lot of cows on this sloping couloir, so we were accompanied by the sounds of cowbells the whole way down. 

Finally some sunshine as we reach the large flat Teselalp. It is down at the road where the other trail from the Zwinglipass meets with this one (from the right). Last time we were here, the farmers at the alp were serving refreshments. This time there was nobody there. Just some goats

Arriving down at the Teselalp

Another look back up the couloir where we had descended. There are even more clouds gathering there now, so it was good we didn't wait any longer at the top. 

Last time we walked to Gamplüt to take the cable car down to Wildhaus. This time we decided to walk down the Flürentobel Gorge instead.

Crossing the meadows above Wildhaus, we watched the Gamplüt cable car on its very slow descent, and we were sure that we had descended faster than if we had taken this cable car!

A final look at the Alpstein Massif behind us. 

Wildhaus, where we caught the bus to Wattwil and then a variety of trains home. 

What our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps. Cable car from Frümsen to Stauberen, 2.5 hours to Mutschen Saddle, and 2.5 hours descent to Wildhaus.

All the hikes we have done in the Alpstein Region. The Blue one is a 2-day hike we did in 2014, the purple one is the 2-day hike in 2019.

Region of the Alpstein Massif near the Austrian and Liechtenstein border. 

Two-Day Hike in the Alpstein Massif in Eastern Switzerland

Friday and Saturday July 5&6 -- Still enjoying our vacation week, we had planned a two-day hike in the Appenzell area (with overnight in a Swiss Alpine Club Hostel at Lake Fählensee), in the Alpstein Massif (whose prominent mountain is Mount Säntis), a very popular hiking region as it turns out, even with the large amount of snow still at these "lower" altitudes.

The weather report promised us full sunshine and no clouds for both days, but that is not how it turned out. On Friday morning, from our vantage point at Urs' brother's house, we could see the low-lying clouds hanging over the peak of the Säntis, and as we got to our starting point at the mountain called "Hoher Kasten", it was miserably cold. We started walking anyway, and the clouds lifted quite quickly after that, so as it turned out, we had a superb 10-km ridge hike and down to the lake. These were some of the most fantastic geological formations I have yet seen. We did have some moments of concern though, with full view of the mountain pass we were planning to cross the next day (Zwingli Pass) which from up here looked like it still had too much snow...

Spending the night at the hostel actually worked out well. There were only nine of us and all "mature" hikers, who respect the 10 p.m. bedtime, and who all slept very quietly (6 in our room, normally sleeps 18). Starting out in the morning, the day looked promising. Not a single cloud, deep blue skies... but that only lasted for as long as it took us to walk to the back of the lake (35 minutes after leaving the hostel). On the other hand, this made the steep 500m hike to the pass easier to conquer. Not so hot. Plus all the snow fields we ended up having to navigate after all made for a good distraction. 

Up at the Pass it was also very cold, so we didn't stay long, continued on our very long descent toward Wildhaus, and very surprised at how many people were passing us on their way up to the Pass that late in the day. Turns out we were lucky with our timing: At Wildhaus we had just gotten on the bus when a very strong surprise storm came up with huge gusts of wind. I thought the bus was going to tip over. Plant pots and tarps were flying all over the place, and a tree fell into the road just where we passed. But the bus driver made it exactly on time to the train station, I was impressed.

I wonder what happened to all those hikers who were on their way up to the Pass? There was no shelter on that stretch.....

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DAY 1: From Appenzell we took train and bus to Brülisau, the "home" of the Hoher Kasten Cable Way. On the way up we could see the clouds hanging low over the place we were walking to. We were going to wait it out, but it was too cold, so we got going, and then the clouds lifted pretty quickly. On this stretch I saw some of the most fantastic geological formations. For most of the trail it was a ridge walk where we could see to the East way down into the Rhine Valley and to the West way down to Lake Fählensee, the Hostel and the Pass we were going to cross the next day. 

At the Hoher Kasten Cable Way station in Brülisau, wooden carvings of some very traditional Appenzell musicians.

Straight up ahead is the peak of the "Hoher Kasten" where we will start our hike across the ridge (to the right). It was cold and overcast up there.

From the Hoher Kasten look-out platform, a view of the entire Alpstein Massif. You can just see the trail on the ridge below, then it continues along the ridge on the left, with views to Liechtenstein on the left, and Lake Sämtisersee on the right. Then further on past the toothlike peak where we then descended to the hostel

After passing the peak on the left, the trail descends to another lake (Fählensee, not yet visible) above which is our hostel. The next day we want to cross the Zwingli Pass, but from here we can see there is still a lot of snow.

Looking Northwest we can make out the hill that we walked over the day before, right across the ridge from left to right, ca. 10 km. 

Tracing this route on the map did not take into account the actual terrain, which though not difficult did require watching where you walked. Regular walking time is at least 4 hours. We started at Hoher Kasten, and spent the night at the Hundsteinhütte SAC hostel.

First a steep descent off the Hoher Kasten, then heading South. The trail goes to the right of all the jutting cliffs. The weather just took a turn for the better. Below is Lake Sämtisersee. Our destination is the snowy V-shaped valley in the back.

Way down in the back is the Rhine Valley, and behind that the mountains in Austria

I always enjoy the lush meadows with their large variety of flowers.

The trail here was along a ridge, but very wide so no fear of falling off

The wide Rhine Valley looking southward. Liechtenstein across the river on the left. 

Approaching the restaurant at Stauberen, where there is also a cable car down into the Rhine Valley. 

Here we get the first glimpses of Lake Fählensee, where we are spending the night.

The steep drop on the East side of this ridge is hard to photograph. The geological formations are stunning here.

This was my favourite landscape. The cliffs on the left are called the Chrüzberge

On our descent to Lake Fählensee. You can see the hostel which is an additional 20-minute uphill hike after you get to the hotel Bollenwies, where one can also overnight in more private rooms, but pricier.

Chrüzberge. We are heading down to a saddle called "Saxerlücke", from where you can actually ascend again and walk up this valley called the Roslenalp and Mutschensattel (you can also descend to the Rhine valley to the East). [Side note: We did hike up that valley later, in September 2021]

After a long and winding descent, we got to the beautiful Lake Fählensee. It's about 6 p.m. and there will soon be shadow at the back of the lake. 

A 20-minute ascent takes us to our hostel, the SAC Hundsteinhütte. Seven of us had dinner there (they cook for you and you all sit at a table together) and there were nine of us for breakfast. Bottom right: Evening view of the ridge that we walked.

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DAY 2:  At the hostel, breakfast is at 7 a.m. When we left at 7:50, the skies were brilliant blue and we were so looking forward to the most stunning day. 40 minutes till the back of the lake, then the sky got overcast, which I guess was OK for the next two hours to get up to the pass. But up there it was so cold, that we couldn't even really stay to rest, had to start making our way down the other side right away. We were surprised at how many people were up there, especially the number of people continuing up higher toward Mount Säntis, where there was even more snow. Even children!  We took a long time for the descent because it was quite steep, and realized that the cows must just recently have used this same path to be brought up to the alpine pastures. We saved ourselves 250m descent by riding the cable car at Gamplüt, and just made it onto the bus in Wildhaus when the storm hit. 

The trail measured on the map also underestimates the time it takes to climb to the pass, especially if you have to navigate around the snowy parts. And we went way slower on the descent as well. Total walking time for us was about 5 hours altogether. We saved about 250m descent by taking the cable car at Gamplüt

Leaving the hostel in the morning to descend to lake Fählensee. The day is looking promising!

Still fantastic weather for the walk to the back of the lake.

A real treat! Urs spotted the chamois, I would have missed it again. This one was alone, usually they are in groups.

VIDEO:

Chamois running across the mountainside

Start of the steep climb to the Zwingli Pass. Looking back across Fählenalp and Lake Fählensee. The sky had suddenly become overcast. It took us about 40 minutes to walk to this point from the hostel.

This young lady is telling us she is not going to make way for us on our trail. We don't argue with cows, no matter how small, and always make a detour around them. Far from their hind feet as well.

Approx. mid-point of our 2-hour ascent to the pass. This is a good place for a rest...

This is a good indicator that I have worked up a sweat!

First of many snowy patches covering the trail

We decided to cross most of the snowy patches instead of going around them. The snow was soft and easy to navigate.

Another look back down the valley as we get closer to the pass

The landscape gets more and more karst-like so if we are going around the snowy patches, it takes longer to walk on the rocks.

Up here the first alpine flowers are just emerging as the snow melts.

We decided to walk around the final patch of snow, which I then regretted after seeing that even children could cross it!

Proud to reach our goal! It was easier to ascend without the heat. Total walking time after leaving the hostel was 2 hours 30 minutes, and we have another similar stretch to Gamplüt. So this day was at least a 5-hour hike for us.

First views of the Churfirsten mountains on the other side of the pass

Up here is another popular hostel called the "Zwinglipasshütte". On our descent we passed many people going up (late in the day) so we are assuming they will stay in this hostel. 

And further up the mountain I spied that group of people with the kid, who had crossed the snow patch earlier on. They seem to be quite experienced hikers! I was amazed at how many people were hiking up higher in the snow.

They were up there, on that patch of snow.

This particular rock formation fascinated me. It actually has a name: Girespitz

Descent into the Tesel Valley via Chreialp

The trail was steep so we went slowly. Based on the amount of fresh cow poop on this trail, we assumed the cows were driven to the upper meadows only recently, along this trail. There was no where to get out of the way if we had run into them.... 

Never thought I'd say this, but I was actually looking forward to walking on that wide flat road down there, on the Tesel Alp. My feet were pretty sore by this time.

We found out from a local that there is a lot of Marmot activity on this wide open alp (Teselalp)

Finally back on level terrain, a look back toward Mutschensattel and the Chrüzberg peaks we had seen from the other side the day before (up the valley straight ahead). We came down from the left. 

And now the last little bit of downhill to the cable car station at Gamplüt

Another cool new cable car for us to try out, saved us 250m (or 40 minutes) of additional downhill walking to the bus in Wildhaus.

Actually, the hike wasn't even finished at the cable car station. We still had another 15 minutes to get to the bus. The wild storm started about 10 minutes into the bus ride to Wattwil. Plant pots and tarps and placards were whipped across our trail, but the bus driver got us safely and in time to the train station...I was impressed.

The entire 2-day hike. Traced map claims it is 7 hours, but it is more like 9-10 hours to walk. It was a very successful excursion for us, even with lack of sunshine on Day 2.