Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg

 A lot of the tracks up passes use these cogs - including the one near Grindelwald

We got up early, as usual, and caught a series of trains to Grindelwald (through Brig, Spiez, and Interlaken Ost, if you’re interested). We arrived around 11, changed some money, got some groceries and snacks (thank goodness for paprika chips, my now-beloved source of salt), and headed out. Grindelwald is right below the Eiger (think North Face), but we had to walk further down into the valley on the Via Alpina to start our hike (because it’s always reassuring to go downhill when you know you have a very large mountain to climb). Once at the lowest nearby altitude, we began to climb. And climb. And go straight up some more. I’m not saying it wasn’t worth it – it was completely worth it, and now I can brag a little about how much we friggin climbed. We went up to Alpin-something on 65% paved/gravel paths and then changed to the Eiger Trail. The Eiger Trail is amazing. In the most stunning way possible, it winds you up the side of the Eiger – first through flower-laden meadows, then over some rock near glacier-fed streams and waterfalls, and then into the gravel fields right next to the face. It was a ton of climbing – Grindelwald is at roughly 1100m and the Eiger train station is somewhere over 2000m (the top is in the high 3000m range). The top of Eiger was drifting in and out of clouds; the north face of it was pretty soaked-looking; and there were a ton of hikers, considering the terrain (granted, many had come from the train station near the top of the trail). There were also a lot of cairn-villages, where there’d just be an especially rocky place that would hold tens if not hundreds of rock cairns. For us, the trail also kept deceptively leveling out, leading to another good uphill around the next turn. Near the end of the trail, there was a large grassy hill for us to climb, and from the top, we could look down at the train station where we would pick up the next trail. (I’m a bit bitter that they carved up and through a perfectly good mountain just so people could visit an observatory between the Monch and Jungfrau.) To get to the station, we descended through a gravel field and then went right back up it. We were a little weary by the station, so instead of walking around on what looked to be the faces of the Monch and Jungfrau, we headed straight across the grassy pass to the hills opposing the 3 famous mountains (which were largely obscured by clouds). Our hut was a short climb up from the station at Kleine Sheidigg (tourists come here from Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen to see the mountains up close and personal). And man, what a hut. We got a clean room all to ourselves, warm beds, and an included breakfast for 40CHF (awesome price here); plus, we splurged for some really good fondue and some rivella (a weird soda that’s made with whey). The only things we had for the fondue were bread and potatoes, but I’ll get some fruit and veggies somewhere.