Bernese Oberland Day 2

Welcome to my personal diary of the trip to the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland in September 2003

Day 1 .. Travel to Switzerland
Day 2 .. Meiringen to Grindelwald .. the Grosse Scheidegg
Day 3 .. Grindelwald to Mürren .. the Jungfraujoch
Day 4 .. Mürren to Griesalp .. the Sefinenfurgge
Day 5 .. Griesalp to Kandersteg .. the Hohturli
Day 6 .. Kandersteg to Gemmipass .. Leukerbad
Day 7 .. Gemmipass to Engstligenalp .. the Chindbettipass
Day 8 .. Engstligenalp to Lenk .. the Ammertenspitze
Day 9 .. Travel to Zurich
Day 10 .. Travel home

It's the first day of walking .. and it's hot and sunny, even at this early hour of 8am. After an excellent buffet breakfast, we're wrapped and ready to go at 9am!

Arlene and Brandon decide to ease themselves into the uphill effort and take the 0915 postbus up to Schwarzwaldalp. They'll continue the ascent to the Grosse Scheidegg and probably walk round to First at high level, then get the gondola down to Grindelwald.

No-one is opting for the ascent of the Schwarzhorn, so the group sets off up the main street (595m) to start the long 1360m ascent to the high pass between the Schwarzhorn and the Wetterhorn called the Grosse Scheidegg. The 'Sherlock Holmes' waterfall is passed on the way, where Conan Doyle decided to allow Moriarty to fall to his death .. or was he pushed by the great detective?? At Gasthaus Zwirgi (983m), the heat and unrelenting ascent force a stop for refreshments .. and for some the first beer of the day! The group begins to string out from here as everyone settles to their own pace, with the first glacier view at Gschwantenmad .. the Rosenlauigletscher on the Wellhorn .. but most make a lunch stop at Schwarzwaldalp (1458m), with some preferring to complete the ascent before eating. Very wise!

After a beer and a huge salad, the prospect of a further 500m of ascent is quite daunting .. and it turns out that a postbus runs from here over the Grosse Scheidegg and down into Grindelwald .. very tempting! Liz has been having difficulty with the weight of her rucsac, despite John taking some of the load, and arranges with the bus driver to leave their sacs at Grindelwald bus station.

It's now 4pm at the Grosse, and most of the group are on the descent. Ian, Iris and I decide to walk round towards First at high level and take the gondola down. The timetable indicates that the last descent is at 5.30, so we should have just enough time. But why walk to First you're asking? To get the most incredible views of the Eiger, which would not be as good with a straight descent.

The bunkhouse at the Alpenblick Hotel is a bit intimate, but turns out to be really comfortable. We enjoy a superb evening meal outside in the shade of the Eiger, and watch the cloud settle on the high summits as darkness falls and the lights come on round the mountains. Beautiful! Most decide to call it a day, but some head into town in search of local flavour! The question is .. will the weather hold for tomorrow so that we can visit the Jungfrau? We'll see in the morning.

Iris takes off her rucsac, wipes her brow and adjusts the front of her slightly damp T-shirt at exactly the same moment as the Grindelwald PostBus gives a raucous toot on approaching one of the many hairpin bends.