High Altitude Cappuccino

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Arnensee dam parking Highest point: Approx. 1,550 m Total elevation gain: 30 m Total distance: 3.2 km Total time: 1 hour (without stops) Technical difficulty: Easy – suitable for families and strollers Download GPS file The tour of Lake Arnensee near Gstaad, in the canton of Bern, is a perfect family hike. It goes around the artificial lake on a path that is accessible with strollers, even though you'll struggle a little in a few places. I went with my 5-year-old, Gaia. To get there, turn onto the small road in Feutersoey. Just beyond the village you'll find a toll booth where you have to pay CHF 7 to reach the lake. You can pay either by card or with coins. Once you arrive at the dam, there is plenty of parking, but the area is popular, so it's better not to arrive too late. We got there at 10 a.m. and had no problem finding a space. You can walk around the lake in either direction. We started to the right, going clockwise. There is a bea...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Jaun lift parking (1,030 m) Highest point: Gastlosen ridge (1,940 m) Total elevation gain: ~910 m Total distance: ~14 km Total time: 5 h (from the valley) / 3.5 h (using the lift) Technical difficulty: T2–T3 (short exposed sections, one chain-assisted passage) Download GPS file The Gastlosen tour is a classic in the Fribourg region that can be done in many different ways. Starting in Jaun, the only German-speaking commune in the Gruyère district, you hike around the impressive rock ridge of the Gastlosen. You can do this hike either by taking the lift or by starting all the way from the valley floor. It took me about 5 hours from the bottom, including lunch. Starting from the lift would reduce the hike to around 3.5 hours. In this post, I will focus on the longer version. I started the hike at the lift parking (1,030 m), where a gravel road passes the station and continues toward Jaun. After a while, it becomes paved. About 10 minutes later, you reach...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Simmenfälle parking (approx. 1,100 m) Highest point: Siebenbrunnen (approx. 1,400 m) Total elevation gain: ~300 m Total distance: ~8 km round trip Total time: 2–3 hours walking time (5h30 including breaks) Technical difficulty: Easy (some steeper and uneven sections on the path to Simmenfälle) Download GPS file The hike to Simmefalle and then to Siebenbrunnen starts at the end of the valley after Lenk, at about 1,100 m altitude. There is a parking area next to the restaurant, and you can even get there by bus. At the end of the parking lot, a path starts along the river, which already roars at this point. After a short stretch, you can choose whether to climb via the road on the left or the path on the right. I took the path and, to ease the flow of hikers, keep in mind that it is marked as a one-way trail and can only be used uphill. The first part of the path is the most beautiful. It runs right along the river, which has several rapids and small wa...

🗺️ Overview Starting point: Feydey (1400 m), above Leysin Highest point: Approx. 1550 m Total elevation gain: ~150 m Total distance: ~4 km Total time: ~2 h Technical difficulty: K5 (very athletic via ferrata) Download GPS file The via ferrata Planpraz is probably the closest to a village I’ve ever done. It is located just above Leysin . To get there, we left the car in Feydey (1400 m), which can also be reached by train. From there you continue uphill on the road. Where it bends, you can go both ways: on the left around the church or on the right via a shortcut uphill (see GPS). In about 10 minutes, signs indicate a path on the left side of the road. It is the same path leading to La Berneuse at the beginning, but after a couple of minutes you reach a crossroads where the path to La Berneuse goes left and the via ferrata, clearly marked, continues straight uphill.  Another 5–10 minutes on a rather steep path lead to the start of the via ferrata.  The via r...