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Day 7 Saturday 12.8.00  

We left Meiringen along, initially, steep paths through woods close to the Reichenbach Falls. On reaching the floor of the hanging valley the gradient eased considerably. Most of the route to Grosse Scheidegg was through forests and meadows with only a little road walking. At first the valley is quite narrow but opens up considerably as the pass is approached.

Wetterhorn seen from above the Reichenbach Falls

The Wetterhorn dominates the east side of the Grosse Scheidegg 1962m). We could hear ice cracking on the glacier as it fell over the cliffs. It was rather a long (5 hours) climb to the summit but the view of the Eiger on cresting the summit was unforgettable.  

Looking east from Grosse Scheidegg  

Wetterhorn Glacier

  After a short break we dropped down slightly along the path to escape the crowds. The path drops steadily down to Grindelwald. One section was, unexpectedly, rather exposed on a shale ridge with a steel cable handrail. Not a place I’d like to be in bad weather. Later on we crossed the repaired section of path where the accident caused by a mudslide had occurred. The Obere Grindlewald Glacier could be clearly seen just above the level of the road to the Grosse Scheidegg. Grindelwald was as busy and charmless as we both remembered; still the hotel was excellent with a view of the Eiger as promised in their letter. At night we could see several lights on the North Wall (presumably the lights in the passages at the stations of the Jungfraubahn).  

View looking west from Grosse Scheidegg summit with the Eiger above Grindelwald

Rest Day Sunday 13.8.00

We took the train to Brienz changing at Interlaken. Then we returned to Interlaken on the paddle steam “Lotschberg “ before continuing back to Grindelwald for a lazy afternoon and evening which would hopefully help us through the next three very demanding days. In the evening there was a heavy thunderstorm.

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