Riding the Eggenbergli Farmer's Cable Car in the Schächen Valley

Wednesday August 10, 2022 -- After two long trips we wanted something close by, so we headed once again to our beloved Schächen Valley to ride yet another fun cargo cable car which we hadn't tried out yet. This cable car from Witerschwanden near the Schächen River to high up above a large alpine pasture called Eggenbergli runs on tokens which you first have to procure from locals or a designated business. (You operate this cable car yourself, basically)

In our case, the village grocery store in Spiringen sells them, so we took the Klausen Pass bus as far as this village (we were the only people getting off here....) and bought our token (8 CHF for both of us for one ride up) and walked down from Spiringen to the cable car station at Witerschwanden, about 30 minutes. After another fun ride up the hill (600 meters ascent), we simply walked back down past several mountain farms, talking with the farmers who were busy harvesting the summer hay, finding out that the cable car with its four intermediate stops (towers with stairs) allow them to spend all winter on this steep hillside. (Meaning their kids have to take the cable car down to the valley to go to school). It took us a leisurely 2 hours to walk the 1-hour 15-minute trail back down to the river (partly following an inofficial trail, which turned out to be quite good).

Since we still felt like walking, we decided to continue down the river to the bus stop at Brügg, another one hour walk. But since a section of the official trail was along the busy road with no shade, we decided to follow another inofficial trail shown on our map, keeping south of the river. This was a mistake as the trail simply disappeared after we had been following it for a while, and when we finally found it again, it was so damaged that it almost became dangerous to follow. We didn't want to turn back, but are quite lucky we made it out. 

This is the village of Spiringen where we picked up the token for the cable car ride, which will take us up to the very top of the cleared hillside on the left of this photo. The view is down the Schächen Valley.

In Canton Uri there are many areas where quartz crystals are found (you need a permit to harvest them) and individuals sell them "self-serve" from their homes or along trails. This display was in front of someone's home. Since I couldn't take one of the large rocks with me, I bought the little jar with quartz crystals and pyrite blocks for 3 CHF. (Including a sticker for Canton Uri). 

Some cute houses in Spiringen

A look up the Schächen Valley

Church in Spiringen

Urs' forefathers on his mother's side come from Spiringen. Her last name was Arnold. Gisler and Müller are also Uri names. In this graveyards, most of the gravestones carry the names Arnold, Gisler or Müller, and combinations thereof!

Heading down the path toward Witerschwanden from Spiringen, a 30-minute walk to the cable car. On the upper left is the summit station of the cable car. 

Village of Witerschwanden down below

A quick look at the St.Wendelin & St.Antonius Chapel in Witerschwanden. It had a nice wood-panel ceiling

A swallow's nest under the roof overhang of the chapel

Normally they expect you to travel in the "cabin" where there is a bench, but with the door closed, I could not have taken any photos. So I decided to ride as "cargo". It was fun! Urs rode in the cabin

Leaving the little cable car shed!

We found out later from one of the farmers on this hill, that there are four such "intermediate stations" where you can get on or off. It makes it convenient for each of the residents to transport goods to their farms. 

A look down at the village of Witerschwanden and the hillside we walked down later. 

A look across the beautiful Schächen Valley. Straight across is the pass called Chinzig Chulm, which the Russian General Suvarov crossed with his troops during his battle with Napoleon in 1799

The Eggenbergli cable-car summit station, looking down the alpine pastures. 

VIDEO:

I rode in the cargo portion of this cable car (Urs rode in the cabin) so I could take some video footage. This is our ride up in the Eggenbergli cable car. 

Straight walking time back to the valley station of the Eggenbergli cable car is 1 hour 15 minutes. We took a leisurely 2 hours, talking with the farmers busy harveting their hay, and following some unofficial trails. 

Starting in Spiringen, we walked 30 minutes to the cable-car station for a ride up to the top of the steep alpine pastures. It takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to walk back down to the river. We then walked along the river through the forest for another hour, to Brügg. Total about 3 hours' walk on this day. 

Straight across from us are the peaks called Rossstock and Fulen, and below them the very popular Schächental High Trail which starts near the Klausen Pass. 

Heading down the trail 

A look down at the town of Altdorf, and you can just see the south end of Lake Uri and the Reuss Delta

Enjoying the view. 

These farmers are raking the hay by hand instead of using a leaf blower. Both men were barefoot. I made a comment about it, and he said it saved on buying shoes!

A mistle-thrush

This view is up the Schächen Valley toward the Klausen Pass

Each farmhouse also has a barn

It is hard work harvesting hay on these steep slopes, but there is not much else you can do in these mountains

Another look straight across the valley. There are several cable cars on that side as well, to access the high trail

The sign says "Attention, Cable-Car", just in case you don't see it on the cable! We spoke to this farmer as well, he was just loading the hay into a blower into the top part of his barn. He told us he lives here all year round, and the cable car is convenient for trips into town!

House and barn

There is another cable car we haven't tried out yet, it goes straight up that section and you walk straight down past all the zigzags. That trail is called the Via Suvarov, in honor of the Russian General who traveled with his troops up this pass and into the Muotathal Valley on the other side. 

Up there is the summit station of the Eggenbergli cable car

Back down at the Schächen River and the valley station of the cable car. It was nice weather so we decided to walk another 1 hour down-river to catch the bus out (there are 3 other bus stops along the way!)

Schächen River looking up-valley

Some neat decorations along the forest trail next to the river. Fun for kids out walking

It was lovely and cool to walk in the forest next to the river

Here at this farm we deviated to an unofficial trail so that we would not have to walk on the road in the heat. 

For a while we could kind of see where the trail was, but later, when we got to a forested section, the trail either disappeared or was pretty damaged. 

It was a bit far to head back the way we had come, so we very carefully crossed the damaged part of the trail. To our right was a pretty steep drop. We're very glad we made it across safely!

The final five minutes were along the road, and even with our difficulties with the trail, we still finished this section in an hour. 

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite Maps

There are many cable cars in the Schächen Valley, so we have access to a lot of hiking trails here. 

On our way out of the Schächen Valley by bus back to Altdorf, this is a look back at the town of Bürglen, the alleged birth place of William Tell (if in fact he was a real person and not just a story character)

One of my favourite views on this stretch of railway which we travel a lot. This is Lake Lauerz, and behind it the distinctive Mythen mountains. (Just before Arth Goldau Station). 

Hike from Tällihütte in the Gadmen Valley, to Engstlenalp in the Gental (Gen Valley)

Monday August 8, 2022 -- After some cloudy weather on the weekend (and even some rain), our next hiking week started on Monday. Weather prognosis? Pure sunshine all over the country, all week (albeit still up to 30 degrees in the low-lying areas).

In June last year we did a fabulous hike in the Gental (Gen Valley) in Canton Bern, from Engstlenalp at the back of the valley all the way to Hasliberg to the South. (Those photos HERE). From that vantage point we saw a great-looking hiking trail on the opposite side of the valley, and that hike has been on our to-do list since then. This seemed like a good day for it, so the plan was to start with a cable-car from Gadmen to the Tälli Mountain Hostel on the South side of the ridge, (saved us 550m ascent), hike up to the saddle aptly named Sätteli (Little Saddle) to get a really good view of the Trift Glacier to the South, and then walk UP the Gen Valley to Engstlenalp. 

To get to the start of the hike we had to do what seemed a world tour: Train all the way to the Gotthard Tunnel, then a bus over the Susten Pass, and down the other side, a 3.5-hour trip. What a disappointment when we woke up to thickly clouded skies! We went anyway, expecting the clouds to dissipate, but only the Susten Pass was cloud-free... we could even see from there that we were headed into the fog! Wishful thinking didn't pay off. Not only didn't we get the view of the glacier to the South, but the fog moved up and into the Gen Valley! We waited there for 45 minutes, and luckily the fog cleared in the Gen Valley at last, and we had a good walk into the valley.

Engstlenalp in the Gen Valley is a bit hard to get to and out of (expensive bus has to be reserved ahead, and cable cars from both sides run only till 4:30 p.m.). We chose to return via three cable cars to Engelberg, but had to push to make it on time (having started late due to the fog). And the end of the day was a bit of a downer with all the tourists there. (We might have been better off hiking up toward Melchsee-Frutt).

(Note: in 2020 we hiked from the Susten Pass Road to the Tälli cableway along the Gadmerflue flanks. At that time we did see the Trift Glacier from the Berggasthaus. Those photos are HERE. They are worth a look because we took the same bus route to get there, and had wonderful weather)

Coming up the Meien Valley from the East, we had low cloud the whole way. It was only when we crossed the Susten Pass, that we were above the cloud. What fantastic weather up here, I almost changed plans for the day to stay here...

The fantastic Stein Glacier. There is an alpine hostel somewhere at the top on the right, one we will never be able to access!

Heading West down from the Susten Pass into the Gadmen Valley, it is very clear to us that the fog is thick and at the level of where we want to hike (at the far end of the Gadmerflue range) 

A good close look at the thick fog in the Gadmen Valley. We had high hopes that it would dissipate when we got there, but it only moved higher up. We had no view into this valley any more. 

Heading down into the fog in the Gadmen Valley. 

Since we had already traveled 3.5 hours to get here, we decided to go on with the original plan. This is the Tälli cableway which goes up to the Tälli Berggasthaus.

The Tälli Cableway, owned by the Grimsel Power Company, can be used by the public for 8 CHF for a ride. It saves us 550m of ascent and almost two hours of hiking. We got to the top at 10:45

We risked waiting at the Tälli Gasthaus (35 minutes) with a much needed coffee and dessert (I also had a fabulous piece of homemade plum and peach streusel cake). In retrospect, we should have left on the hike right away, as there might still have been a view above the fog. 

This is the best view we had on the way up to Sätteli. (The sign at the Gasthaus said 90 minutes to Sätteli, we did it in exactly one hour. Nothing to stop for along the way!)

This is a section of Trail no.38, Via Berna. This is about as much view as we had to the South, into the Gadmen Valley. So we missed out on that. 

I think there were some pretty nice cliffs along the way!

Some hikers who had passed us on their way down said that there was sunshine on the saddle. By the time we got there (12:20), the fog had gotten there before we did.

We waited for 45 minutes up at the saddle in the hopes the fog would clear to the South (Fortunately, we had sun here quite soon). We couldn't wait longer or we would miss any opportunity to get out of the valley again. 

The fog started lifting to the north in the Gen Valley, so we decided to head out that way, but 90 minutes later or so than originally planned! 

A couple of photos before heading into the valley. Can you see me? The sign says 2.5 hours to Engstlenalp. 

Finally, the fog has lifted enough for us to enjoy the rest of our hike. It is now 13:10, kind of late for us to "start" a hike. 

On the opposite side of the Gen Valley is the trail we walked a year earlier. We had our picnic lunch at that time at the farm directly in the center of the photo

On the map, this hike draws out at 3 hrs 40 minutes. The suggested time on the trail markers is longer. We did the first section from Tällihütte to Sätteli in an hour, and took another 2.5 hours to the lake (Engstlensee). Getting to the chair lift to Jochpass took another 30 minutes, longer than expected. So at least four hours total. 

Hiking along a very nice trail into the Gental

The cliffs above us are quite impressive

A look back toward the saddle

At some point the fog did clear a bit in the South. You can just see the summit of Mt. Wetterhorn and the Rosenlaui Glacier. 

Behind that hill ahead is Lake Engstlensee where we are headed. 

A look down the Gental (Tal = Valley)

Here we had a bit of a break before the final 30-minute walk to the other end of the lake, where there is a chair lift to the Joch Pass (from there two more cable-ways down to Engelberg)

A young fellow practicing his "throw"

Showing off my new hiking boots. My 8-year old ones (twice re-soled and once sewn) are now ready to throw away!

It took 30 minutes to walk to the back of the lake, with a final tiring uphill section, to get the chair lift to Jochpass. The Internet implied the facility is shut down at 16:15. We made it there at 16:10! Looks like there is plenty of fog on the other side as well! NOTE: The Joch Pass is the border between Canton Bern (where we are) and Canton Nidwalden

Looking back over Engstlensee, on our way uphill to the chair lift

You can just barely see the chair lift station nestled in the cliffs up ahead. This last section was very tiring to do. 

Riding the chair lift up to Joch Pass, a look back down toward Engstlensee and Engstlenalp.

At the pass you change to another chair lift, a long ride down to the popular upper plateau called Trüebsee. Interesting fact: At the Joch Pass (from one cable-way to the other) we crossed the Canton borders from Canton Bern to Canton Nidwalden. At Trübsee at the start of the third cableway we crossed from Nidwalden to Obwalden. 

It was actually a lovely, scenic and peaceful ride down to Trüebsee. For this section, we are in Canton Nidwalden. 

The clouds sitting low on the Trüebsee pastures made for very interesting scenery. 

From the base station of the Jochpass-Trüebsee chair lift (out of the photo far left), you have to walk another 20 minutes to the gondola station at the far back. It was here in this area where we encountered so many tourists. Many come to continue up to Mt. Titlis, somewhere on the right. 

Final section of the cableway (gondola) to Engelberg. We are now in Canton Obwalden.

From this base station we had to walk another 10 minutes to the train station. It was hot down here, and the train to Luzern, as usual, very full with very loud tourists (Indians and Spanish, not Americans!)

The Trüebsee-Engelberg gondola cable-way. We got to Engelberg at 17:01, and had to wait almost an hour for the next train home. At least from here it's only 1 hr. 40 minutes to get home!

To get to the Tälli cable car station near Gadmen, we had to travel 3.5 hours over the Susten Pass (it would be bottom right out of this picture). Returning via Engelberg takes less than two hours (not counting the time for the chair lifts and 30 additional minutes of walking at the end of the hike!). In total we walked about 4.5 hours again. 

All the hikes we have done in this area. From the Sätteli, we should have gotten a good view of the Trift Glacier, but the entire valley was in fog. 

This map shows how we had to travel south first (by train) through the Reuss Valley to Göschenen, then with the bus back via Wassen and the Susten Pass to Gadmen. This took 3.5 hours. For the way back at the end of the hike via Engelberg, we were 45 minutes on cable cars, 30 minutes more of walking, and the train back home was just over 90 minutes (about 3 hours total).