Week 1 - Grindlewald.

We left Symington very early on Saturday 4 August to fly from Edinburgh to Geneva with Easyjet. We arrived in Switzerland at 10am and traveled by Swiss Rail to Grindlewald via Bern and Interlaken. By 4pm we'd collected the apartment keys and unpacked and were ready to go exploring. I'd wanted to visit this area of the Alps for years to see the famous Eiger Nordwand. Although it was visible it wasn't the classic view - that would have to wait until Sunday.

Arriving in Grindlewald.

Our apartment was in Chalet Fagus.

We woke on Sunday to a cloudy scene but that didn't put us off and we were soon heading off to walk up to Kleine Scheidegg - the famous hamlet at the base of the Eiger's North Wall. As we climbed form 1094m to 2061m the cloud slowly built up. There were still some good views but sadly not of the North Wall. After a short break at Kliene Scheidegg we started to climb again to pick up the Eiger Trail right at the base of the mountain. We, however, stopped almost immediately as it started to rain and there were loud cracks of thunder. Not wanting to be caught out in a storm we returned to the railway station to, hopefully, sit it out. Within an hour the sky started to clear and we decided to carry on. As we climbed it got brighter and brighter and the North Face came in to full view - fantastic!!! I'd read many books about routes on this famous wall and to see it was great. It was, however, noticeably bare of snow and ice compared to pictures I'd looked at in the past.

We followed the Eiger Trail, opened in 1997, down to Alpinglen and had some amazing views of the Nordwand and the Grindlewald valley. The track was always interesting and we were soon down in Alpinglen where we caught a train down to Grindlewald. An excellent first day on the hill.

Starting the climb up to Kleine Scheidegg.

A drink break.

Nearly at Kleine Scheidegg.

Meeting the 'locals'.

The station at Kleine Scheidegg - often overrun with Japanese tourists.

An interest Swiss snack - waiting for the rain to stop.

Clearing skies.

Susan posing below the Eiger.

On the Eiger Trail below the Nordwand.

A sign to show the Classic 1938 North Face Route - there was no one on it.

Enjoying the sunshine on the trail.

One of several stream crossings.

The view down the Grindlewald valley.

Many streams pour down from the Eiger - this was the most impressive.

We again woke to a cloudy sky on Monday but stuck with Plan A. We caught the free bus into town and then the cable car up to First. As we climbed higher things didn't look great but in true British style we 'proofed up' in the cable car station and set off to climb the Faulhorn (2686m). As we climbed the skies began to brighten which gave some tremendous views and by the time we reached the lakes at Bachalpsee we were walking in T-shirts and shorts. During the next stage of the climb we saw Chamois and the first of many Marmots but then the weather changed again and by the time we summited we were in the 'clag'. There is a hut just below the summit and we had a very expensive lemonade before heading down for the hamlet of Busalp. The cloud got thicker and thicker and before long we were in a full blown thunderstorm. Susan upped the pace and we reached Busalp in less than the signed 1hour 30mins by which time the sky was again clearing. After a short wait the bus arrived bang on time and we were soon drying off in the apartment.

'Proofed up' and ready for the climb.

One of many shelters along the route - all equipped with 'Bothy shovels'.

The 'proofs' coming off.

Some great views as the sky clears.

The summit - 'are we back in Scotland?'

The skies clear after the thunderstorm.

On Tuesday we again woke to overcast skies but again we stuck to Plan A in the hope that it would clear up. The plan was to catch a train to Kleine Scheidegg to climb the Lauberhorn then in the afternoon to take the train up through the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch - 'The Top of Europe'.
Things looked promising as we set off from Kleine Scheidegg and we had some good views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. However, the cloud base soon dropped and we saw little from the summit of the Lauberhorn. We decided to change the plan and just extend our walk as the ride to Jungfraujoch would have been a waste of money in such poor visibility. Our extended walk took us out to Mannlichen Giffel (2342m) and then back to Scheidegg to take the train back to Grindlewald. This section was very busy as it links two valley uplifts - the train and a cable car - and most folk seem to just walk between the two. Although we hadn't reached the 'Top of Europe' it was a good day out and we had some great views down the classic U-shaped Lauterbrunnen valley - it's in all the GCSE Geography Text Books.

Early views of the high peaks were great.

Good views still but the cloud base began to drop.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley from Manlichen.

On Wednesday we woke to perfect blue skies so Plan A was on again. We took the cable car to First and headed off to climb the Schwarzhorn (2928m) - the highest peak north of Grindlewald and an excellent view point. We set off at a steady pace and had soon passed 3 other parties. The going was easy at first but later the path worked it's way up steep scree to the south ridge and became a little more difficult. The ridge narrowed as we climbed higher and we passed a lady descending (she'd turned back before reaching the top). We then met an Englishman on a narrow section above a steep drop protected by a chain. He'd been there for some time wondering which way to go. To us it seemed obvious and having put our poles away we were soon down and climbing the last steep section to the summit. We were first up and the views were superb. We passed several groups coming up as we dropped back to First and had a sunbathing session near a 'wee Burn'.
Back at First it was too early to descend so we headed back up to the lake at Bachalpsee to see the views we'd missed on Monday. It was worth the effort and we sunbathed looking across at the Wetterhorn, Schreckhorn and Finsteraahorn. A superb mountain day.

Ready for the Schwarzhorn - visible in the background.

Climbing the Schwarzhorn uner blue skies.

Susan reaches the summit first - again.

On the summit.

The view south.

Susan climbs the 'bad step' on the descent.

Sunbathing by a 'wee burn'.

Sunbathing at Bachalpsee - what a view!!!

Thursday was another Plan A day with blue skies when we got up. We wanted to explore another area of the valley so caught the 'free' bus to Hotel Wetterhorn towards the head of the valley. From here we climbed to Michback and then traversed to Pfingstegg below the Schreckhorn. After a short break it was then on to the SAC Hut at Baregg overlooking the rapidly retreating Grindlewald glacier. It was a hot climb so we had a good rest at the hut before descending via the same route. A good and harder day than we expected due to the heat and the 'British Sacs' - why do I always carry waterproofs?

The view across the valley to the Schwarzhorn.

Looking down into Grindlewald.

Climbing up to the hut.

Nearly there when the flags start to appear.

The excellent track on the decent.

Friday was our last full day in Grindlewald. The sky was a perfect blue when we got up so it had to be the Jungfraujoch - 'Top of Europe'. We didn't want to take the train all the way so caught it to Alpinglen and then walked up to Kleine Scheidegg. Here we bought a ticket to the top station along with what appeared to be thousands of Japanese tourists. We had to forget we were British and push our way on to the train to get a seat. The jorney up through the Eiger takes 50 minutes and isn't cheap but it was well worth it. From the Jungfaujoch we could access the Jungraufirn glacier and were able to walk the 2km to the Monchjoch Hut (3657m) used by climbers ascending the Monch and the Eiger. The scenes of the glaciated mountains were amazing and several parties could be seen climbing the Monch. Back at the 'Top of Europe' station we had a good wander around all the viewing platforms and then caught the train back to Kleine Scheidegg. From here it was down to Alpiglen on foot and then Grindlewald by train. A fantastic day out in the mountains.

Getting a bit carried away on route to Kleine Scheidegg on a beautiful morning.

Susan climbing to the Monchjoch Hut.

At the Monchjoch.

On the Jungraufirn glacier.

Some fantastic views of the glaciated peaks.

On the 'Top of Europe' viewing platform.

It was time to leave Grindlewald on Saturday. We'd had a great time in this quiet and beautiful Alpine resort. The apartment was excellent and we'd had six great days out. It was another sunny day when we left for Zermatt. The journey, despite 3 changes of train, was easy thanks to the brilliant Swiss rail and we arrived at 1.30pm. By 2.30pm we'd booked into our amazing apartment and by 3.30pm we were out looking around the town we'd last visited 8 years ago at the end of the Chamonix to Zermatt High Level Route. On that brief visit the towns iconic mountain - the Matterhorn - was shrouded in cloud but this time we'd see it every day of our stay.

Outside our 'wee' Grindlewald apartment.