The Jungfrau Tour
28 Mar 2006
THE TOUR OF THE JUNGFRAU REGION
One of the classic images of Switzerland has the Eiger, Mönch and snow-glistening Jungfrau towering over alpine pastures grazed by cows with bells clanging at their necks. It’s an image almost guaranteed to have you reaching for your boots and rucksack.
At least, that’s how it effects me.
If you fancy tackling the Tour of the Jungfrau Region, which makes a 9-10 day trek among highlights of this stunningly beautiful district, you will almost certainly experience the reality of that image. Yet it’s only part of the experience, part of the backdrop. The reality also has lakes turning the mountains on their heads; an avenue of waterfalls spraying down the steep cliffs of the Lauterbrunnen Valley; glaciers suspended above old moraines or draped from the valley’s headwall; an airy ridgewalk to a summit almost 3000 metres (9843ft) high; and some of Europe’s finest views practically every step of the way.
Starting at the magical viewpoint of Schynige Platte, the Tour is a terrific walk of about 107 kilometres (66 miles), linking what I consider to be the region’s most scenic trails, and some of the most memorable locations for an overnight stay - in mountain huts, small hotels and atmospheric inns or gasthofs. Atmosphere is the key word for this trek, so busy resorts such as Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren are avoided throughout, although they’re near enough to make a visit possible should you wish to do so.
For the most part, the walk itself is fairly modest in its demands, and broken into short day stages so you can enjoy the scenery at a leisurely pace, or have sufficient time to stray to a nearby viewpoint, or linger over a cold drink at a wayside hut or rustic gasthof. There are one or two reasonably tough stages, though, so you’ll need to be mountain fit to fully enjoy them - and these are the stages that naturally give the greatest sense of achievement. Like the day you traverse the Schilthorn – up its West Ridge, over the summit and down the East Ridge – with mind-boggling views throughout. These views include (of course) Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, and lots of neighbouring peaks that are every bit as impressive as those icons, even if their names don’t exactly trip off the tongue with familiarity.
But having known them for decades from wandering hundreds of kilometres in their shadow, and having seen seen them in all seasons, and in all their moods, I used to dream of making a multi-day tour of the region, linking the best trails with some of the most remote lodgings. Yet dreams are wasted unless turned into reality, and in turning this particular dream into reality gave some of the most rewarding days of all.
I guess I’m biased, but I reckon the Tour of the Jungfrau Region has the potential for becoming one of the classic treks of the Alps. Try it for yourself, and see what you make of it.
Kev Reynolds
