Winter Wonderland in Switzerland

SUMMARY

Dates: Wednesday 8th Feb to Sunday 12th Feb – 4 nights with 3.5 days winter walking/snow shoeing

Guide: Our local english speaking guide Sabine Sres-Knippen-berg

Walking Grade: 2 Goats – this is an opportunity to try snow shoeing and snowy hiking. You don’t need to be experienced.

Base: Hotel Alpenblick, Wilderswil near Interlaken. An award winning alpine hotel run by Yvonne Stockli, Sommeliere Gault Millau and her Michelin starred and Gault Millau chef husband Richard. You will experience the warm hospitality typical of this Bernese Highlands region. Staying in the charming rooms and eating in the bistro restaurant serving local food and wine. Yvonne has a passion for Swiss wines and highly recommends and offers a large variety of them. In Wilderswil we are situated in the heart of the Bernese highlands with amazing mountains and wonderful walks all around.

WalkingWomen will meet guests who are flying to Zurich. Please arrive by 13.00 for the meet up.We will travel together by train to Interlaken and on to Wilderswil. We will advise on timings and how to get tickets once we have the full group.

Others travelling by train or car can join in Zurich or make their own way to Wilderswil. We recommend arriving at the hotel on Wednesday by 4pm.

Departure will be 12 noon on Sunday giving time for a morning walk. If flying from Zurich on Sunday book flights after 6pm.

Price: £980 fully inclusive of:

• Ensuite accommodation in solo occupancy rooms. There is a discount of £150 pp if you bring a friend/partner and you are sharing a room so £830pp in shared room.
• All breakfasts and dinners at the hotel restaurant
• Packed lunches on Thurs,Friday and Saturday.
• Local transport if required to and from walks. Most will be from the hotel door.
• English speaking guide from the local area

Not included:

• Travel to Wilderswil
• Additional drinks from the bar

We can help you extend your trip to have a few more days to explore Interlaken, Zurich or any other destination you are interested in Switzerland. Or to help you if you are spending time travelling in Europe.

DETAILS

We choose Wilderswil near Interlaken, in the heart of the Bernese Highlands, to be our base to explore this spectacular region of Switzerland. The hotel Alpenblick in Wilderswil we use is run by a family who have owned this traditional alpine hotel for over 50 years. The chalet house was built in the 17th century and in 1957 was acquired by Adelheid Stockli who created the hotel that we have today. She passed it on to her son Richard and his wife Yvonne and together they have been running the hotel since 1980. They are looking forward to welcoming WalkingWomen and giving us a taste of the history and culture of their much loved home.

Our hotel is situated in the village of Wilderswil a short walk away from the famous Interlaken which lies between the impressive lakes of Thun and Brienz. Also in the shadows of the most mighty mountains Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. In Winter this is a very popular ski region with over 45 mountain railways, aerial cable cars and ski lifts. All can be used to access mountain paths to walk amongst this fabulous landscape.

We will walk amongst this incredible scenery and find more hidden routes. There are also options to use the historic railway and the various cable car routes to rise higher and walk amongst these giants.

The area we stay in was one of the birthplaces of tourism in Switzerland and was always popular with tourists from across the world. Interlaken grew up around a convent of Augustinian monks (1130-1528). It’s one of Switzerland’s oldest and most frequented summer tourist resorts. We believe this is an important destination for WalkingWomen to bring guests to one of the wonderful places of the world – and in February a winter wonderland!

ITINERARY

Itinerary may change depending on the weather and at the discretion of our guide. There are options and we can vary snowshoeing and hiking depending on the group. Sleds can be rented and there are also opportunities to do other wintery things..

Arrival at Hotel Alpenblick by 4pm for a short walk, a briefing about the trip followed by dinner.

Day 1: Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg snowshoe tour

Distance: 5.2km.  Ascent:233m.  Descent:395m.  Hiking time winter: 2 hours 30 minutes as we go steady to find our snow legs and enjoy.

We take transport to Grindelwald Grund and take the gondola lift up to the Mannlichen where we see the unique panorama over the Lauterbrunnen valley, Mürren and Schilthorn and on the other side Grindelwald, Wetterhorn, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. An impressive view of all the mighty mountains.

On this snowshoe tour we will hike directly on “the north face” of the Eiger.  This legendary wall offers many stories … maybe we will see the “white spider”, the “Götterquergang” or “The Mushroom”….

We reach the Kleine Scheidegg via the freshly snow-covered alpine meadows and through the sparse mountain forest.  Here we can treat ourselves to a warm cuppa before boarding the train to Wengen.

There could be an option to walk down to the village of Wengen over freshly snow-covered alpine pastures and through forest passages, along the legendary “Lauberhorn World Cup race track” – a further 7km with 25m ascent and 818 descent. Approx 2 hours 50 mins of winter hiking time. This will depend on weather, fitness and energy levels.

 Day 2: Sulwald-Lobhornhütte-Sulsseewli snowshoe tour

 Distance: 5.6km.  Ascent/descent: 470m.  Hiking time/snowshoe: 4 hours

 We take the small gondola from Isenfluh to Sulwald at 1528m.  We walk on the Hüttenweg through the forest and over mountain meadows to reach the Sulsbach.  We see the Ars at 2195m which represents sun and moon in mythology. We leave it on the left and reach the Sulsseewli at 1921m.  This hilly plateau takes you to the Lobhornhütte, and leaves us with the breathtaking view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

On the way back we can enjoy the snowy powder feeling as we walk through the sparse forest back to Sulwald.  We board the gondola back.

 Day 3: Stechelberg-Lauterbrunnen Winter hike

 Distance: 6 km.  Ascent: 36m.  descent  159m.  Hiking time: 2 hours 15 minutes

From Stechelberg we hike comfortably, almost flat, through the snowy winter landscape of the rear Lauterbrunnen valley.  Over meadows, through forests and always accompanied by the cheerful gurgling of the water of the “Weisse Lütschine”, past the “Staubbach” ice fall to Lauterbrunnen.

We warm up with a cuppa  in the Lohnerbar and then enjoy the shopping mile in Lauterbrunnen.  Return by train.

 Day 4 Departure Day after a short walk on the ring-way in Matten between Wilderswil and Interlaken which is dedicated to Clara von Rappard, a famous Swiss painter (1857-1912) who grew up and lived there.