Altitude effects for the Schlithorn &/or Jungfraujoch (late Sept '23)

Do you have respiratory problems Alan? If not I would not worry about it. The Jungfraujoch is a little bit higher than 11,000 ft, but you take the train to get there, and the increased load on your cardio system is not a heck of a lot if you're just calmly walking around. And if you start to feel weird because of elevation, you can simply leave. Short walk back to the train and right back down to thick oxygen quite quickly.

As a reference, most commercial aircraft are pressurized to simulate 8,000 vertical feet of elevation. Just sitting there and minimally moving around. Most people don't really even notice at all.

If you decide that you're going to go outside and vigorously hike, you might be well advised to just take it a little bit easy. But the idea that you might need to sleep a couple of nights at high elevation to cope with the places you mentioned is in my opinion more cautious than necessary, particularly because you can just leave if the elevation is getting to you.

Traveled there with my then 86 yr old dad. Neither of us had any problems at all. Dad did get claustrophobic on the Jungfrau portion of the train and we came back to the station with the ipen air restaurant and setting.

Take it slow let the body adjust. I have been to all of the highest peaks between Switzerland and France. I only notice a weird feeling a little after arriving to the top and then it goes away.

I went to the top of Aiguille du Midi on Mont Blanc (12,605)ft) and was fine… went to the top of the Jungfraujoch (11,322 ft) and i was not fine. Not fine at all. Immediate pounding headache and disoriented. Had to leave immediately. It’s expensive and takes a long time to get to the top so i was very disappointed. So, a person can be fine with altitude one day and the next day not. Won’t know til you get there.
Google has info on both preventive treatment and treatment.

Alan,

I doubt that you'll have any problems at the Schilthorn, which is at about 10,000 feet. I've been there numerous times, staying for different lengths of time (including having a leisurely meal in the revolving restaurant), and never experienced any problems. As I recall, the effects of altitude aren't too much of a problem at 10K feet or below.

However, the Jungfraujoch was a different story and I did have some mild problems there. The highest point is the Sphinx Observatory is at 11,715 feet which seemed to be a bit above my limit. i found that physical activity was more of an effort, especially climbing stairs. I was able to tolerate it for a short time, but felt much better when I got down as far as Kleine Scheidegg.

I had significantly worse problems visiting Mont Blanc and the Aguille du Midi, which is at an altitude of 12,604 feet. When I first arrived at the top, I took the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable cars across to Italy and had lunch and spent several hours there. When I returned to the Aguille du Midi, I had intended to try the Step Across the Void platform, but almost right away I started to experience shortness of breath. I felt very weak and had noticeable problems climbing stairs (which I had to do to reach the cable car station back to Chamonix). I made it down without any problems, but it was a good indication of what my limits are.

It's not likely you'll have an opportunity to acclimatize to higher elevations, but in the same situation I'd probably give both the Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch a try. When travelling to the Jungfraujoch, be sure to check the webcams before you depart, as you won't see much if the top is shrouded in fog.

I guess from the responses you see that different people have different reactions. Personally, the only time I've ever felt ANY effect of altitude was at l'Augille du Midi near Mont Blanc / Chamonix (approx 13,000 feet), but there the feeling was rather positive, a slight euphoria. I felt no effect at all at the Schilthorn.

Although it might be semantic, I think there's some difference between altitude sickness and simply feeling the effects of altitude. It takes time for altitude sickness to develop, but you can feel the effects of altitude right away.

I've read that different people adjust differently to altitude, some well and some not so well. I'm actually in the not so well camp. Some people automatically start breathing faster and more deeply as the air thins. Not me - my respiration remains at sea level and I end up gasping for air every once in a while. It is annoying, but not dangerous, at least not in the short term at altitude.

They say be well-hydrated and take an NSAID at the first sign of headache, whatever that's worth. Don't drink alcohol. And take it easy. That's about all you can do proactively other than sleep high a couple nights, which probably is overkill.

As a precaution, you could talk with your doctor about a high-altitude Rx, taken before (I think it is prior day and day of) going to a high-altitude. A tour for Machu Picchu we will be taking several months from now recommends that. I just Googled, and Machu Picchu is slightly below 8000 ft. Many do fine, but if you want avoid any potential issues and not have to cut your time on the mountain short, the preventive Rx might help.

Have a wonderful time. We hope to make it there sometime. Was put on "our list" years ago when the Today Show featured it.

Wishing you perfect weather, too.

(Will add, both of my sisters were there at the same time/same tour. One had issues and had to descend, the other had zero issues. I do not recall hearing the husbands having any issues.)

As others have pointed out, everyone is different, but most people have no problem with a short trip to 10,000 feet. Are you staying at altitude a night or two before you go (in Murren for example)? That can help you begin to acclimate. I find that when I sleep at over 7000 feet I do best to avoid alcohol and a heavy meal the first night, and drink plenty of water, or I sometimes get a headache or mild nausea that lasts for a few hours.

We stayed in Murren (5,413 ft) for several days before going up to the Jungfraujoch, didn’t help me. Not only can it affect one person and not another, per my post above, it can affect one person one day at 11,322 ft and not affect the same person at 12,605 ft.

I've always been headache prone, not sure if that's why altitude affects me even at 7000 ft.
A short hike in Yellowstone (which is entirely above 7000), got me on the first day there.
I made sure to drink lots of water while in Bryce (8000+) and did okay, though I could feel the pressure in my head.
All to say, you won't know how if affects you until you get there.