Hiking in Switzerland – Gabrielle and Urs

January 21, 2017

First Real Winter Hike this Season: Hasliberg in the Bernese Oberland

January 21, 2017 -- Finally we have some nice snow in the mountains and today was a particularly nice day for a real winter hike! Only problem is that most of the trails prepared for winter hiking are also in popular ski areas, and because it's one of the first really nice Saturdays, all of the country seems to flock to the hills, and here where we walked on Mount Hasliberg was no exception! The small villages on the hillside just aren't equipped for so much traffic, and the already narrow mountain roads were turned into one-way lanes with all the cars parked for several kilometers around the ski lifts... cars were being turned back because all available parking for over 5 km was occupied!

The entire 12-km route we walked (550m up and then down again) was on wide level prepared trails (in summer local roads) which also double as toboggan runs. All the way we had sunshine, warm weather and fantastic views of the Bernese Alps including the notorious Eiger North wall, and the view West was along the Brienzer Valley where Lake Brienz and Interlaken are, but were blanketed by fog all day... as was most of our route back home.

So glad we have opportunities to still do 3 or 3.5-hour hikes on nice winter days as well. Next time: Tobogganing!

On the way toward Brünig Pass, the fog is high... here we usually get a lovely view of Lungern Lake.

Once at the level of the Brünig Pass, the air here on Mount Hasliberg is clear and wonderful.

Cars parked along the entire length of 5 kms along the hillside have turned this already narrow road into a single lane road. Back near the pass, signs advertised that all parking in all the villages was full, and cars were being turned back by traffic controllers. Times like this we are glad we travel by bus, although with the traffic, we were 10 minutes off schedule.

Most of the action is around the ski lifts.... on our walking trail we are almost alone.

This view across the village of Reuti (our starting point) on Mount Hasliberg is along the Brienz Valley where the lake is covered in fog.

We started our 12-km hike on Mount Hasliberg in Reuti above Meiringen (last village on the bus run from the Brünig Pass) in the Bernese Oberland. We walked for 3.5 hours on a lovely prepared trail, and then caught the bus back to the Brünig Pass from the village called Hochfluh.

Wonderful warm and sunny day for a winter hike.

View Southeast into the Hasli Valley.

The trail (regular road in summer) doubles as a toboggan run.

This view is South to the Bernese Alps, with the tip of Mount Eiger peaking out in the center in the Grindelwald Valley.

The infamous Eiger North Face (the pyramid-shaped peak) and the massif to the left is Mount Wetterhorn.

The Eiger North Face.

Later in the day the fog is still thick in the valley below.

The winter trail heads down to Hochfluh on the main road below.

Below is the village of Hochfluh on the road back to the Brünig Pass

Heading back home through the fog, no more sunshine for us on this day!

These are the hikes in this area that we have done in the last 3½ years.

January 18, 2017

Affluent Ascona

January 18, 2017 -- We had really been wanting to go on a long winter walk high up in the middle of the Alps, but although the forecast was for lots of sun, temperatures were at -15 degrees with a fairly strong and cold NE wind, so the obvious choice was to go South again.

South of the Gotthard Tunnel had also received snow, and even though the further South you go the less snow remains, at Lake Maggiore near Locarno there was still a smattering left on the shady spots (also slick and icy) and for this area also cold at about +6 degrees, although still better than -15!

On the Maggia Delta just across the river from Locarno is the lovely lakeside town of Ascona, popular with tourists in summer and a magnet for wealthy people, as it is almost like living on the Italian Riviera... in fact, from here it is only 10 km to the Italian border.

We only did a little walk this time, 5 km high along the West Shore of the lake above Ascona, an area I had not been before. Somehow it reminded me a little of Hollywood. But very pretty and so much to see!

Highlights were a villa for sale for about $8M and a restaurant in Ascona that sells cheeseburges and fries for about $30: An American diner with definitely non-American prices! (It claims to be the place to see and be seen!)