Starting: Sternen 1825m Destination: Gr. Sternen 1969m & Spirstock 1171m Distance: 4.2 km Elevation: 196m Time: 3:05:27
After complaining for several weeks, we finally got an okay weather last Sunday to go hiking. Since we were not actively hiking this year, we thought we’ll start easy this time. We had a few hiking routes to choose but settled for Hoch-Ybrig, a famous ski area during winter. During ski season, our local TV would show live webcams from some of the popular ski resorts early in the morning. Hoch-Ybrig was in the broadcast. The sunrise at this place looked amazing on TV. My fellow companions have not been to Hoch-Ybrig in summer so this is a good chance to actually visit when the area is NOT covered in white snow.
So we started our journey by taking a cable car at Weglosen to Seebli 1465m. We were there a bit tad early and boarded the cable car at 08:30. We bought a day pass which cost CHF28. It’s valid for the whole day and you could use the cable car/ski lift facilities as many times as you want for the entire day. From Seebli, we have two choices to go up to the upper station, Sternen. Option 1: Hike up about 400m elevation or take the ski lift. We took the ski lift and it was my first ski lift experience in summer. It was quite chilly and windy on the way up but it was super cool and absolutely not scary. We stopped by Restaurant Sternen for a quick breakfast before we start hiking up to Gross Sternen 1969m. They have very cool website. This interactive map will come handy if you want to do ski lift hopping in the area.
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Taken from Restaurant Sternen.
GR. STERNEN 1969M
Gr. Sternen is only about est. 100 meter elevation from Restaurant Sternen and the distance is quite short. However the trail is marked Blue & White which means it is an Alpinwanderwege (Alpine trail). Basically the trail is difficult and it is important to have good equipment (for eg, hiking boots) and physically fit. Tricky and risky would be how I would describe this trail. The path is narrow and slippery because it was raining past days. When the path is muddy and the stones are slippery at steep path, it is easy to slip and fall because your shoes have no grip especially during descent. Herr Hallo was quite worried for me because he was sure I would slip as I am quite clumsy. I could fall simply from tripping on a baby stone. At this path towards Gr. Sternen, the path is quite narrow and the wrong step could cause a plunge a few hundred metres hitting rocks and causing serious injuries or even death. So if you are planning to visit this place, please approach with caution.
You get 360° view atop Gr. Sternen. From Gr. Sternen, you could proceed to neighbouring Alpinewanderwege peak like Tisch (1996m) or Forstberg (2215m) – see map above. However we decided to go the opposite direction towards Spirstock 1771m. We wanted to utilize our day pass. On the way down on Gr. Sternen, I slipped a least 5 times. It’s quite hard to descent without any hand support (like walking stick) and nothing to hold. I was grabbing the grass on the side but it was useless. We descended very slowly and made it down to Sternen with no injuries. Phew!
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The way up to Gr. Sternen 1969m.
Blue & White: Alpine hiking trails are challenging mountain hiking trails.
Herr Hallo following.
SPIRSTOCK 1771m
The trail from Sternen towards Spirstock is quite easy and effortless except when approaching Spirstock. I think it’s an excellent place to hike for family with small children. The view is stunning. Greenery all around surrounded by contoured mountainview. As you walk towards Spirstock, Vierwaldstättersee, a lake in Luzern is visible from sight. That day, it was foggy for us but the lake was still visible. The view must be amazing when the sky is clear. Along this trail there is a restaurant to grab a bite or two. We stopped for snack time on a panorama bench. We were on Hoch-Ybrig for about 3 hours and our moving time was only 1.5 hours. We are definitely not your average competitive hikers! 😀 😀 😀
The walk from Sternen towards Spirstock is a short one. Perhaps about 30 minutes or lesser. However when approaching Spirstock, there is a stair way that lead up to the restaurant. As I am writing this, I am suffering a bad muscle ache on my thigh from climbing those stairs. Hoch Ybrig seems like a popular hiking place and would be filled with crowd if the weather is good. We had a small lunch at the self service restaurant. The fresh mountain air made us all quite tired. Soon we made our way down to Seebli with the ski lift.
Hope you enjoy the post. If you have comments, suggestions etc., do write in the comment section. We’d love to hear from you.
Love, Frau Hallo 💘💘💘
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Towards Spirstock.
Spirstock.
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