Welcome to your course notes for the Tour of the Jungfrau.
This is a beautiful trek in the Swiss Alps through some of my favourite mountains in the world – it is a fantastic trip! These course notes set out the kit that you need to bring with you and a few other points about safety insurance and transport. I hope you find them useful and see you soon.
Rob
THE PROGRAMME:
Day 1 – Schynige Platte to Hotel Faulhorn
We will meet in Wilderswil where we will take the traditional Cog Trailway to Schynige Platte where our trek will start. The trailway ride slowly opens up more and more views of the Jungfrau 4000m giants. Starting at 2000m means we can escape the heat of the valley and enjoy the views across to the Eiger as we head to the Hotel Faulhorn.
Accommodation: Mountain Hut
12km of trekking with 1100m of height gain
Day 2 – Hotel Faulhorn to Grindelwald
Starting our day at the Hotel Faulhorn means we have little hight gain during the day and can enjoy more stunning views as we pass the Bachsee lake and traverse to Grosse Scheidegg, before descending down into the famous mountain village of Grindelwald for the night. There is a lot of decent on this day that often the knees do not like! There is the option to catch the bus into Grindelwald to cut this out if you wish.
Accommodation: Simple hotel
19km – 200m height gain
Day 3 – Grindelwald to Klein Scheidegg
From Grindelwald we head up to Alpigen, before taking the Eiger Trail path which will have us walk underneath the most famous of all the Alpine North faces before arriving at Eigergletcher. From here more views open up of the Monch and Jungfrau before we head the short distance to Kleine Scheidegg for the night.
Accommodation: Simple hotel
14km – 1500m height gain
Day 4 – Klein Scheidegg to Murren
Leaving the historic Klein Scheidegg and all of its Eiger history behind today we will cross to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, one of Switzerlands most beautiful valleys with its towering cliffs and thunderous waterfalls. We then climb out of the valley to the car free village of Murren for the night. To reduce the ascent in the afternoon heat we will catch the cable car to Gimmelwald from Stechelberg and then walk to Murren.
Accommodation: Simple hotel
17km – 600m height gain
Day 5 – Murren to Lauterbrunnen
Our final day has us traversing high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, enjoying the views of our weeks walking as we pass in and out of forests. We will then catch the cable car down into Lauterbrunnen for a celebratory drink. We will arrive in Lauterbrunnen early afternoon giving you time to do a spot of tourist sight seeing in the afternoon or star your journey home.
12km – 600m height gain
- We book all of the accommodation listed above and ask you to pay directly at the hotels/refuge during the week.
- You need to arrange your own transport to and from
- You need to arrange any accommodation before or after the course ie Sunday night and Friday night
GETTING THERE
You can get to Geneva from London for as little as £70 on the train. Alternatively you can fly or drive out from the UK.
From Geneva you catch a train to Interlaken. As one would expect in Switzerland the whole journey is efficient and simple. Visit this website for timetable and prices: http://www.sbb.ch/en/
At the end of the trek it is equally simple to return to Geneva.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COURSE COST?
The course fee includes leadership and logisitical organisation.
You will need to pay for your own flights and transfers. I will arrange the trekking accommodation prior to the trip and you will need to pay for it, together with your food and other expenses on a daily basis. Hut fees and hotels are generally about 120 Swiss Francs per person per night. You will need to arrange your accommodation for the nights prior to the trek and the final night. This gives people the flexibility to tag on days before and after the trek and to allows you to find accommodation that suits your own tastes and budget.
Typical total expenditure in 2022 was about £1400 per person including the course fee, accommodation, food & drink, transfers and insurance.
There is no need to carry much cash. We are able to pay by card everywhere that we visit. The most cost effective way of doing this is to use a travel card such as the Post Office Travel Money Card or Revolut. You can then avoid the transaction charges associated with your normal bank cards. Sometimes local buses are cash only but even they can be booked and paid for online in advance.
Insurance:
We do not include insurance within our course fees. For all overseas trips you will require travel insurance and we will require a copy of the policy. The cover needs to include:
- Cancellation/curtailment
- Emergency medical expenses
- Search & Rescue Expenses (helicopters are expensive in Switzerland)
- Personal accident
For this trek the BMC “Trek” policy is ideal but you are equally welcome to source your own cover.
Kit List
If we are very lucky and have perfect weather there are things that you might not end up using but more likely you will be very glad to have them! There will probably be things on here that seem odd but bear with me – all will become clear on your trek. Here is a video where Sandy runs through the kit and now to pack for an enjoyable trip: https://youtu.be/XDm3cdbZGNY
What to wear:
Light weight trousers – quick drying and not cotton
Long sleeve wicking top – preferably in white or a light colour so that it is not so hot
Sun hat
Sun glasses
Sun cream – preferably a mountain cream and we recommend Factor 50
Fleece jumper in the morning
Walking boots and walking socks
What to carry:
Rucksack – 30 litres approx
Lightweight Waterproof jacket
Lightweight Waterproof trousers
Head Torch
Drinks bottle
Hat and Gloves
1 x spare gloves
Fleece jacket
Lightweight T Shirt and Shorts
Spare food
Personal First Aid & sanitary supplies – include head ache tablets
Sunglasses and Sun Cream
Silk sleeping bag liner for huts
Ear Plugs for the huts
Spare underwear x 3 to include spare walking socks
Trekking poles – can be useful but not essential
Waterproof rucksack liner and a couple of drybags to pack sleeping bag liner, gloves and spare warm layer in.
Insurance Certificate – photocopy will be fine
Passport
European health card
Travel tickets
Money
Blizzard Survival Jacket (Emergency kit)