What to wear in Jungfraujoch late May

Well, I went to the top of Schilthorn in August and I was quite happy for my down puffy vest. I am a person who dresses in layers on a daily basis for most of the year. I always have a warmth layer with me on any trip to put under my rain jacket "just in case." I find a puffy down vest squeezes down to almost no space and takes up very little weight. I may only use it once or twice a trip, but if it is the moment I need it, I'm glad I have it.

I am assuming you are bringing a raincoat with a hood? (don't leave home without one). That hood can take care of any "hat" you may need. That leaves your hands. Up to you if you put light gloves in or not. Don't worry about boots. Use your regular walking shoes.

You’re inside a chamber that’s about 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit, so a ski cap, a thermal long sleeve shirt and windbreaker/ jacket are in order if you plan to stay more than a few minutes.

Thank you🇨🇭

We were there in September, 2021, and saw gals going up in sundresses and sandals. The gals in sundresses were buying parkas from the gift shop. Not sure how the sandals fared in the snow. We wore gloves, hat, and our packable down coat. It was cold!
The summit is beautiful and you will be thrilled to experience the beauty . Safe travels!

At the Jungfraujoch you don't have to be outside if you don't want, and there's no real need to go venturing off onto the snow if you don't care to. Although of course on a clear day it is nice to go outside for a while.

Most interior spaces are heated. You will be in a cool cave getting off the train, and the ice cave walk is obvious cool temps.

I wouldn't lug extra heavy clothing around for a whole trip just for the short time you'll be in the cooler parts of Jungfraujoch. The punishment is not worth the 45 minutes you'll want a parka and a heavy hat. Layer up with what you were bringing anyway.

My family has a tendency to pack very light, and we tend to bring some of the utilitarian layers that are the norm in our home Seattle. So flannels and ripped jeans and no haircuts for us!

No, I kid. But we all do pack a synthetic puffy in the Patagonia Nano Puff/North Face Thermoball category. Many brands make a jacket in this category - synthetic fill, pleasingly quilted, little bit of a waist, weighs about 12oz in a size medium. They are very warm for their weight, are quite versatile fashion-wise, and are a mid-layer or outer layer. They all stuff into a pocket and zip into a light, compact package. Fine for a comfortable trip to Jungfraujoch, or if the restaurant patio gets breezy, or if you get stuck in an airport and need a cozy nap.

my wife and I wanted to be outside for the walk to the outside viewing area, and the walk out the other door into the less busy snow, and I wanted to watch the folks sliding down the hill on tubes and then my wife wanted a go (pretty feisty for older 60s with vision problems, eh?). We didn't care for the ice cave much and moved through quickly.

Sunglasses imperative. Don't weigh much and you might use them down the mountain too.

Woolly hat imperative. They don't weigh much either.

Gloves imperative. For us. Also lightweight overall.

We found it very windy as well as cold and were glad that we had windproof jackets, and we had scarfs.

If others are going to stay inside and dress light, that's up to them. We didn't want to pay all that money and not have some fun and get our money's worth...

Great point about sunglasses! Definitely a must in the alpine.

And the comment above about the wind is also astute; it's basically always windy up near 10,000 ft in mountains at a fairly Northern latitude (and, to boot, at the bottom of a saddle between large peaks). Expected it to be blowing, and if it's not feel lucky.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm saying stay inside. My family does all kinds of mountain stuff, and we were outside for more than an hour with lightweight puffy jackets underneath windproof Gore-Tex coats, lightweight beanies, long pants. It's just that you can do all the clothing pretty light and still be warm enough without making your baggage heavy and tightly stuffed.

For people who get cold or have worries about warmth, fitted long underwear tops and bottoms even in the thinner lighter versions give a great deal of warmth. I think it's Carol said previously, and this doesn't surprise me given that we are both Pacific Northwesterners, layers are the key to being warm and comfortable when traveling. It's good to think about all of your clothing as a system rather than I need piece X for specific purpose Y.

Great advise & Danke🇨🇭

I was there in July ‘22… about a week ago.

I wore:

• Tank top
• Short sleeve shirt
• Tight jeans (women call them jeggings)
• A thin fleece jacket (my husband’s)
• A very thin rain jacket.
• A cute beanie hat.
• Glasses 👓

Hot tip: I RENTED my waterproof hiking boots from the store located inside the Eiger Express cable car station in Grindelwald. They were so nice and super comfortable. The store held on to my shoes so when I was done with them, I just swapped the shoes. No hassle at all.

I never felt cold and was able to go on the snow and take lovely photos, make a mini snowman, etc… In the indoor spaces where it’s heated or down below in Grindewald where it’s hot, I took off my two jackets (wrapped around waist or packed in backpack) and it was back to jeans, short sleeve shirt, and rented boots.