A Trip to the Faulhorn

How about a 4 hour hike up to a hotel where the only way in or out is by foot or helicopter? That idea sounded intriguing to me when I first heard of this place years ago. Eventually, I made it up there three times.

The Faulhorn Hotel is a far cry from the usual 5 star Swiss hotel, but it is an experience. When you get there, you are about 8000 feet above sea level and looking across a valley directly at the Jungfrau, Moench, and Eiger Nordwand. The view is free for as long as the light lasts and you sit on the terrace. There is a separate building that houses the kitchen and dining area. Then the main hotel building houses two large rooms and quarters for the employees and family that run the place.

You say, "Only a two room hotel?" Well, that is right. However, each room sleeps about 40 persons! Whoa Boy!! Who would sleep in a room with 39 other people? The answer is that so many that you have to call for a reservation. Since the hotel is only open about three months a year, a lot of hikers want to get there in a short time. These rooms are called "Matratzenlagers" or mattress areas. Picture a double bunk that has been widened to hold 40 beds with stairs at each end and then put two of these across from each other with an aisle between them. There you have a Matratzenlager. Each person has an individual mattress and blanket with a pillow running the length of the bed. The whole room is spotless and clean with windows high near the ceilings. All shoes are deposited outside in a cloakroom area, so only sock feet ever touch the floors. The night and breakfast will cost about 25% of what a regular room in a hotel costs.

The dining room serves as a communal place to eat, drink, and entertain one's self for the evening. The food is not fancy, but after a 4 hour walk up (only the last few minutes are really tough), it tastes mighty good. Then people talk, play cards, or read. No one has trouble sleeping either. On my first visit there was a howling wind most of the night, but insomnia was not a problem. If you must heed nature's call in the night, it can be done in a communal bathroom with running cold water. On the first visit, one had to go outside (I did not) to use the facilities. On the later visits several years ago, they had upgraded the bathroom beautifully.

The hike can begin either in Grindelwald or Schynige Platte. My visits have always begun at First, reached from Grindelwald by cable car, and with the return by way of Schynige Platte and the rail down to Interlaken. This means about 4 hours up and 5 hours across the next day to Schynige Platte and home. The walk both ways is scenic, and only about 40 minutes is steeply up to the hotel. After arrival, one checks in with the lady in the restaurant, and she will assign a bed to you.

On one visit, we were treated to a magnificent thunderstorm the rolled across from us obscuring the view for some minutes. One should not miss the sunrises and sunsets from here. The tips of the mountains look like golden spikes at both events. By 9 or 10 PM, all are ready to pile it in for a night. Sleeping with 40 people can be a hoot. There are the usual sounds, snores and otherwise, but sleep comes quickly. Once, as we lay in the dark, this Indian guy who was a bit drunk started telling jokes to his friends in dialect with a Hindi accent. The whole room was in stitches even though we couldn't understand what he was saying, but this guy had a head the next day, I am sure.

Most people are up early since the sunrise is a treat. Breakfast is the usual milchkaffee or chocolate, bread, rolls, jam, butter, and cheese. Then the new day's hike begins. Ours has always been over to Schynige Platte, where a good lunch can be had on the terrace before a ride down on a cog rail to Wilderswil where the train to home begins. I enjoy this hike every few years, but it is always good to get home to a shower and my own bed.