QUITE GROSSE SCHEIDEGG PASS
VIA ALPINA DAY 46 – THURSDAY 6 AUGUST 2026
GUMMEN –>FERIENHEIM LAUCHBÜHL
DISTANCE HIKED: 28.50 km
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,484 m
TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 1,164.55 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 60,310 m
Hammer was woken by human voices sometime around 5 a.m. He woke me, and we started packing up. The voices were coming from somewhere below our campsite. Hammer worked out it was farmers herding their cows into the dairy for milking. When we passed the farm an hour later, the lights were on and the cows were all lined up in the milking shed.
Of the dozens of barns we’ve seen since starting our descent towards Meiringen, this was the only one that appeared to be active.
The morning was foggy, with the mountain tops completely shrouded. It was a shame, because it would have been our first view of the Eiger and Mönch summits.
The descent itself was fairly unremarkable since we couldn’t see much of the distant landscape. We passed a lone female hiker heading uphill. It was still so early, yet she looked like she’d lost the will to live. It made me wonder how much our faces reveal about our inner monologue.
About two hours after leaving camp, we reached the chairlift at Hasliberg. A hiker who had been descending behind us caught up. His name was Oliver, from Montreal. He’d spotted my backpack and thought we were Kristy and Mike. I wish my pack was in as good a condition as theirs. Mine is slowly falling apart. I’m praying it holds together just long enough to finish this hike.
Breakfast in Meiringen recharged us enough to get moving towards Grindelwald. We didn’t spend much time in town, so I can’t really say much about it, except that it seemed remarkably flat.
We left town excited and energised. That’s what caffeine and cake can do.
The climbing started almost immediately on well-formed switchbacks. I could see we were heading towards the Reichenbach Falls, made famous by Sherlock Holmes’ final confrontation with Moriarty. The trail paralleled the road, criss-crossing it from time to time. Our uphill grind was made a little easier by the company of numerous cyclists grinding their way up the mountain. No electric bikes here—just raw human power on lightweight road bikes. There is fellowship in suffering.
As we approached, the thundering of the falls became deafening. The sheer volume of water plunging from such a height, crashing into the rock walls on its way down, was both awe-inspiring and slightly frightening.
From the top of the falls, we followed the roaring river upstream until it finally quietened as it meandered through a lush green meadow in the enormous Rosenlaui Valley.
To our surprise, the meadow was full of people dressed in their finest, taking countless photographs. One group even had a suitcase full of clothes for costume changes. At first I thought it was a wedding party, but eventually I realised they were all there because of the backdrop. Towering above them was the Wellhorne Mountain —a huge pyramid of rock with the Rosenlaui Glacier visible to the east. Although partly hidden by cloud, it was impressive nonetheless.
I took a few photos, and we moved on, hoping to leave the crowds behind. No such luck.
A little farther upstream we came across a hotel and two large car parks. We shared the trail with day hikers for another couple of kilometres before they peeled away towards whatever attraction had drawn them there.
For the rest of the day we saw only cyclists and the occasional bus from Grindelwald as the trail continued to criss-cross the road towards Grosse Scheidegg Pass at 1,962 metres. The low cloud obscured much of the surrounding scenery, leaving only fleeting glimpses of the mountains.
We didn’t linger at the pass. We were keen to reach our accommodation. At the last minute I’d found a private lodge about five kilometres beyond the pass offering a room with full board. We couldn’t have been happier with the choice.
When we arrived, the staff welcomed us with a cup of tea and a slice of cake. I almost cried with gratitude—not just for finding this wonderful place, but for the kindness of the people who worked there.
