Central Oberland Trek

2008 DATES Click Dates To Book.... Week 32: 2 Aug - 9 Aug Full Summer Programme Click Here COURSE DURATION 6 days 7 nights ALL INCLUSIVE PRICE £920 Your course price covers: • Guiding + guides expenses • Full board + accommodation • All picnic lunches/snack food • All course transportation • All mechanical uplift • Loan of technical equipment Click here for Full Details RATIO 7:1 COURSE GRADE Difficulty: 1 Fitness: 3 Click Here for Grading Details

This trek runs through the most scenic and spectacular part of the Oberland, centring on the chain of magnificent peaks known as the 'Lauterbrunnen Wall'. It includes a trip on the famous Jungfraujoch railway, a crossing of the biggest glacier in Continental Europe and an ascent of one of the high summits of this celebrated 'wall' - the Äbeni Flue (3962m).

Starting at Kandersteg we ascend past the Oeschinensee, a glacial lake ringed by cliffs and waterfalls, to the Blüemlisalp hut. The next day, after a short and steep descent, we cross the Gamchi glacier and climb up to the Sefinenfurgge col at 2612m. From this col we drop down beneath the Schilthorn into the Sefinental; a beautiful valley with spectacular views of the north face of the Gspaltenhorn (a face even bigger than the celebrated Eigerwand). We continue on down to Stechelberg in the picturesque Lauterbrunnen valley, staying in a hotel here overnight.

A 2000m ascent on the Jungfraujoch Railway (with obligatory photo stop at the Eiger North Face!) takes us to the Jungfraujoch at 3464m. From here we hike down the great snowy corridor of the Jungfraufirn to the hut at Konkordia, the 'crossroads' of the four principal Oberland glaciers. We ascend one of these glaciers, underneath the impressive Aletschhorn (4195m), to the Hollandia hut. It is from this hut that we climb to our highest point of the week: the Äbeni Flue (3962m), a long but technically straightforward snow climb to one of the major summits of the ‘Lauterbrunnen wall’. The trek continues with a long descent to Fafleralp in the Lötschental and then up again to the hut on the Lötschenpass at 2690m. We climb to another great viewpoint on the Hockenhorn (3293m), before crossing the glacier and descending into the Gasteretal and back to Kandersteg.

Maps

Jungfrau 264 or Berner Oberland 5004.

day by day itinerary

day 1: Meet in Leysin
Your guide will meet you in the lounge of the Grand Hotel in Leysin at 7.00pm for a thorough briefing before dinner.

day 2: to Kandersteg and ascent to the Blüemlisalp hut (↑1200m. ↓0m. 2 hours drive and 5 hours walking)
Our drive from Leysin takes us through the picturesque Simmental to Spietz and then up the Kandertal to Kandersteg. From Kandersteg we take a chairlift (which saves a good 500m of ascent!) to the Oeschinensee, a beautiful alpine lake surrounded by huge rock walls and the high peaks of the Doldenhorn and Blüemlisalp. From the lake (at 1600m) we follow a good path which climbs up steeply, through lush alpine meadows, and continues on under the end of the Blüemlisalp glacier to the Blüemlisalp hut at 2834m. It is important not to rush this ascent as we need take time to enjoy the scenery and to adjust to the altitude. The Blüemlisalp hut is a spacious hut, with beer on tap!

day 3: Blüemlisalp to the Gspaltenhorn hut (↑450m. ↓850m. 6 hrs.)
This is not such a long day in terms of walking time but gives us a chance to run a thorough training session on the glacier, so that everyone is familiar with the equipment required for glacier travel, including crampons, ice axe and basic rope work. From the hut there is a good 800m of descent to the Gamchi glacier, which we reach by leaving the main path and following a small chamois track that contours around the valley onto the glacier. We will walk up the glacier to find a suitable location for our training session. We then cross over the glacier and climb up onto the track that takes up another 400m. or so to the cosy Gspaltenhorn hut (2455m).

day 4: Gspaltenhorn hut to Stechelberg (↑300m. ↓1800m. 5-7 hrs.)
From the Gspaltenhorn hut two ways are possible into the Lauterbrunnental: either via the Sefinenfurgge (2612m) or the higher and glacial Gamchilüke(2837m.). The latter is only possible if the conditions on the Gamchi glacier are good and the bergschrund below the col is not too big. These conditions change all the time and your guide will make the decision as to which route to take on the day. The route via the Sefinenfurgge is on a small track that starts some 100m below the hut and traverses between some impressive cliffs before climbing up to the col. On the other side the paths drop down beneath the Schilthorn to the Rotstock hut, then down into the Sefinen valley with good views of the Gspaltenhorn north face. A good track leads on down to Stechelberg at the road head. The route via the Gamchilüke involves ascending a steep snow or ice slope to the col and then descending the Tschinglefirn to gain the very head of the Lauterbrunnental before following the path on down, right below the immense ‘Lauterbrunnen wall’ into Stechelberg. From Stechelberg we will catch the bus down the last few kilometres into Lauterbrunnen.

day 5: Stechelberg to Jungfraujoch and glacier descent to Konkordia (↑100m. ↓700m 3-4hrs walking time)
We catch the famous cog train up from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg, where we can join the tourists trying to spot climbers on the north face of the Eiger. The train then continues on up through the Eiger (with a stop at the north face window) to the Jungfraujoch at 3464m, a total height gain of over 2600m. Here we rope up and quickly leave civilisation behind descending the vast Jungfraufirn to Konkordiaplatz. Here four ‘tributary’ glaciers join up to become the Aletsch glacier, the biggest in the Alps. From Konkordia the climb up to the hut is evidence enough of the effects of global warming as the ladders leading to the hut (once at glacier level) are frequently extended, with now over 100m of ascent! The hut is big and has been recently renovated but is rarely busy during the summer.

day 6: climbing the Abeniflue to Hollandia hut (↑1200m. ↓800m. 8-9hrs)
We will make an early start as this is a long day all on snow covered glacier. We head up the Aletschfirn, which ascends gradually to the Lotschenlucke and the Hollandia hut (3240m). We can leave some gear here before climbing the final 720m up the broad snow slopes to the summit of the Abeniflue ('the Baneful', 3962m). The climb steepens a little near the top and the top is a fantastic viewpoint. This peak is one of the summits that form the 'Lauterbrunnen wall' and we can see down into the Lauterbrunnen valley, over 3000m. below. It is a relatively quick descent back down the snow slopes to the hut (if the snow is not too soft!).

day 7: descent to Blatten (↑0m. ↓1700m. 5hrs walking, 2 hrs. drive)
We start by descending the glacier and then cutting across to the new Aben hut, from where a good path leads to Fafleralp at the road head in the beautiful and once very remote Löschental. We will walk on down to Blatten where we will meet our transport back to Leysin.

day 8: depart from Leysin
Breakfast is included at the hotel before your departure from Leysin.

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