Just Chris and me now - John had left early in the morning to meet a friend in Zurich and go climbing in the Dolomites. The two of us had already decided to climb the Schilthorn, starting from Mürren. We'd do a traverse of the mountain, going up the tourist path which ends on the SE ridge, and coming down the W ridge. We opted to travel light - one rucksack between us, and approach shoes instead of Alpine boots.
The weather was fair and warm when we set out from Mürren, where the signpost showed 4h 15min to the summit. Cloud came and went over the surrounding tops. The track, tarmac at first, then unsurfaced, follows the route of the Schilthorn half-marathon, the "Inferno". Major pipelaying works had churned up large sections of the route.
We were rather warm when we reached the Schilthorn hut, and stopped for a drink before carrying on. The driveable road continues for a while, but eventually comes to an end and the path continues more steeply over rocks. One or two sections have steps cut in the rock, and there is a narrow section on the final ridge approach to the summit.
The top was in cloud by the time we arrived, but we'd made good time. I'd hit the wall at about 2700m, but still clocked 2h 45min with the stop at the hut. Chris had taken about ten minutes less.
We had a quick look round the crowded public areas, waited an age to buy a coffee at the bar, and had our lunch in a corner set aside for picnickers. We resisted all opportunities to buy James Bond themed merchandise (Schilthorn, aka Piz Gloria, is the one with the revolving restaurant).
It was raining by the time we left, and the cloud had thickened into a dark grey mist. We headed off along the W ridge towards a small col known as Rote Härd, about a kilometre and a half away. The first crack of thunder came a few minutes later. The manual says "Get off the ridge", but that didn't seem such a good idea. To the right was a near-vertical drop. On the left a steep slabby scree slope disappeared into the murk, threatening a drop to who-knows-where. Back? Just as dangerous as going on. We went on as fast as we could.
The rain got heavier, and a second clap was closer than before. No lightning, though. Keep going, watch your feet, don't fall, don't slip. Where's the col? A third crack, almost overhead, and a sharp sting on the top of the head beneath hood and cap. Still no lightning. Good thing we'd got no metal tools with us. And at last a signpost indicating the route down.
Descending as quickly as we could, the rain eased but we were drenched. Although we'd brought waterproof tops, neither of us had overtrousers. Losing height we came out of the cloud, and gradually the rain stopped and we began to dry out. By the time we got to the Rotstock hut the sun was shining. Inside, we took stock: no damage, though stuff in the rucksack was pretty wet, including the map. We wrung out our socks, spread the map out to dry, and ordered hot chocolate. The Schilthorn restaurant, 931 metres above us, glinted in the sunshine.
| time | altitude(m) | distance(km) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mürren | 1030 | 1638 | 0 |
| Schilthorn hut | 1135(a) 1155(d) |
2432 | 4 |
| Schilthorn summit | 1315(a) 1405(d) |
2970 | 7 |
| Rotstock hut | 1510(a) 1545(d) |
2039 | 11 |
| Mürren | 1700 | 1638 | 16 |
| extra ups & downs | - | 73 | - |
| Total height gain/loss (m) | 1405 | ||
| Total time | 4h 45m (plus stops) | ||
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Last updated 7 September 2002