Hi all,
Will be staying in Murren May 21-24, and plan on doing a lot of hiking. I was there 30 years ago and the hiking was great that time of year. Looking at the forecasts now, it appears there may well still be snow on the ground.
So would it be worth it to bring microspikes (already planning on bringing trekking pole), or would that be overkill? Are most of the hikes paved (which means snow might melt on those faster), or dirt/rocks/gravel?
Insights appreciated.
There is no snow on the ground today in Gimmelwald, but there has been some this week. It will not likely snow while you're there. The microspikes will probably be overkill unless you plan to do upper elevation trails which will still have snow in late May. If you leave the spikes at home but decide you need them, there are probably places that sell them in Lauterbrunnen or Murren. Some B&B/hotel owners might even have some you can borrow.
A few easy (to the Swiss!) trails are paved but most are bare ground.
Thx Eddie,
There's a trail in Rick's Switzerland book that goes to a waterfall (somewhere above Gimmelwald)-- would that be considered an upper elevation trail?
I've been in June twice and wished I had them with me. We're going July 2018 and I would consider taking them with me. In June I've had snow fields on the trail between Mannlichen and Klein Scheidegg, and on the hike between First and Schnygge Platte there were ice fields (the trail was still technically closed on June 17th). So - it depends on which hikes you intend to do:)
If you are talking about Sprutz waterfall above Gimmlewald I think you would probably be ok without them. It's not too high up.
