STAIRS AND SCREE ON SEFFINENFURGE PASS

VIA ALPINA DAY 48 – SATURDAY 8 AUGUST 2026
LAUTERBRUNNEN –> BELOW HOHTÜRLI PASS

DISTANCE HIKED: 29.60 km
ELEVATION GAIN:  2,595 m

TOTAL DISTANCE HIKED: 1,222.90 km
TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN: 64,382 m

Church bells were ringing as we started the steep climb out of Lauterbrunnen. Let’s hope that’s a good omen. After surviving yesterday’s horrible descent, we could certainly use some luck for today’s ascent and descent of the tricky Sefinenfurgge Pass.

Lauterbrunnen sits in a deep, narrow river canyon. The river below us was a dark, turbid grey and moving incredibly fast. It seemed an unlikely place for the local sightseeing helicopter base, given how confined the valley is. Yet all morning, as we climbed out, the sound of helicopters taking off and disappearing up the canyon accompanied us.
The climb out of Lauterbrunnen was every bit as steep as yesterday’s descent. It started almost vertically before finally easing off near the top. That was when I heard the unmistakable sound of a train somewhere above us.

Too late, I realised we could have taken the train from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren.
Another missed opportunity to take the Swiss-recommended way up.

Mürren was an eye-opening contrast to the quietness of the trail. It was hectic, busy and absolutely full of tourists. My first impression was strangely reminiscent of the Wes Anderson film The Grand Budapest Hotel. Hotel porters were ferrying guests’ luggage to and from the station, and I desperately wanted to go inside one particular hotel that looked as though it could have been the inspiration for the film. I wanted to see whether the bellboys had the same impeccable uniforms.

The narrow street around the station was buzzing.  We walked through the village, stopping at the Coop store to buy breakfast and lunch before heading back into the mountains. Hikers were heading in every direction, including ours, and for much of the rest of the day we seemed to be hiking with groups of day-trippers.

I couldn’t quite work out what the attraction was. Perhaps it was the spectacular glaciated peaks, or the beautiful open trail leading towards Rotstock Hut and then onwards to the Sefinenfurgge Pass at 2,612 metres.
Whatever the reason, there were plenty of people.

We had a relatively good ascent to Rotstock Hut, where we were hoping we might finally lose some of the hikers ahead and behind us. We lost a few, but quite a number continued upwards.

It was a beautiful blue-sky day, and when I looked back, even the Eiger and the surrounding peaks looked completely clear. After yesterday’s foggy weather, it felt like a gift.

From Rotstock Hut, Hammer noticed way off in the distance, a long line of cattle being driven up into the mountains along the trail. We eventually caught up with them and followed the herd upwards, hiking through increasingly impressive piles of cow droppings.

The cattle were eventually left in an area that looked like a beautiful wetland nestled between two ridges. I found myself feeling quite upset watching the herd trample through it. Whatever ecological function that wetland once performed was surely being disrupted by the sheer number of cattle.
From there, the trail became increasingly demanding.

The final ascent and descent of the Sefinenfurgge Pass was every bit as challenging as we had expected. The pass involved climbing up and down around 150 wooden stairs, followed by a steep descent over loose scree. By the time we reached the bottom, we were exhausted.

All we wanted was somewhere to stop.
Eventually, we found what looked like the perfect campsite, above the treeline,  no cows, no farmhouse nearby. We put everything down, settled in and thought we were finally done for the day.

Then, out of nowhere, a farmer appeared.
Camping here, he told us, was VERBOTEN.
Forbidden. Prohibited. Absolutely not.
There were no cows anywhere near us. We weren’t disturbing anything. But apparently our mere presence I presume on his land was enough.

So, after a very long day, we packed everything up again and started climbing.
It was dark by the time we finally found another place to camp, high on the mountain and just 2 kilometres from Hohtürli Pass.

I’m too tired to write anymore.

At this particular moment, I am having some very uncharitable thoughts about farmers, cows and the entire concept of alpine grazing.

Tomorrow is another day.