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BRIENZERGRAT

 

The Brienzergrat is an incredibly long (27km) ridge visible from the whole region of Brienz/Interlaken/Sörenberg. It is a narrow path, very exposed and not without risks, moreover it requires good condition due to 3100m of vertical gain.

But if you dare to walk on this ridge path, told to be one of the most rewarding worldwide, you will experience some fantastic moments of joy (and ok, a bit of fear)... Watch our video to understand.

 

Difficulty: T3-T5 only for skilled hikers!!                                     Gpx Files:  

 

Day 1: 6h30, 2445m up, 770m down
Route: Kaiserstuhl OW - Hach Summe - Schönbüel - Brienzer Rothorn (16 km)
 
The train brought us to Kaiserstuhl at 9:45am. We crossed the dam of the Lungernsee towards Bürglen. The beginning is easy. It gets a little challenging above Alp Emmetti (you should find a vague path through a long, narrow clearing at 1000-1020m) and in the meadows above (there's a white-red-white marked post around 1170m to aim for).  A little higher, we joined the Äschligrat. From here on, we have been going roughly along the ridge all the way to Brienzer Rothorn.

From the summit cross of Männli (P. 2055, see picture), we took a look at the neighbouring crag Mändli (P. 2059). We continued to Höch Gumme. Several other Hikr reports have advised against following the Höch Gumme west ridge directly (steep and brittle), so we just followed the official hiking path. This soon joins the popular high route from Schönbüel to the Brienzer Rothorn. Soon, we had all the views on the Berner Oberland 4000m peaks above the clouds.

After 6h45, we reached the Berggasthaus Rothorn Kulm, nicely in time to enjoy a deserved dinner and a deserved sleep.

 

Day 2: 3 hours, 590m up, 590m down
Route: Brienzer Rothorn - Brienzer Rothorn (6.5 km)
 
After breakfast, we set off for the Brienzergrat, a fantastic line of grass ridges and summits, which also boasts an incredible diversity of flowers, including the protected edelweiss. First up is the Schongütsch, immediately above the rack railway station. There is a nice but very short scramble on the Schongütsch west ridge (T5-, I), after which easier terrain brings us back to the main hiking path below P. 2243. The famous concrete steps of the Lättgässli soon follow, where we surprised chamois. At the Chruterepass, the official hiking path leaves the ridge!  We missed it and started a descent to Brienz and lost 30 minutes. After 30 minutes on the ridge, we had to interrupt our second hiking day for two reasons: the visibility was not guaranteed along the whole ridge due to clouds coming up, and the path required very much caution. Left and right of the path, very steep hangs challenged our mind constantly. We will be back soon, but for now.. safety first. We took the 124 year old steam train down to Brienz.

 

 

 

 

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