Hi,
I'd like to find a lift that still uses an open chairlift in this region. We're planning a day trip to Kandersteg- Oeschinensee, but it appears that their chairlift has been replaced by a gondola. I think it would be fun for the kids to have the open air experience. Thanks for any help.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16333 posts
I will miss that old chairlift going up to Oeschinensee; it was nice (but a bit of a pain if we were staying up at the lake for 3 days and taking luggage.) There is a chairlift (Sesselbahn) at Riederalp, going up to Riederfurka. The name of it is the Hohfluh Sesselbahn, and it runs in summer: http://www.riederalpbahnen.ch/summer/summer-operating-hours- We rode it down after hiking up to the top station a few years ago. Definitely a spectacular trip. To get there, you would take the train to Brig and transfer to the regional train heading east, ride to the second stop, which is Morel. From there you ride a large cablecar up thousands of feet to Riederalp, a car-free village perched up on th ebench above the Rhone Valley. There are several lifts there and one is this chairlift. From th etop of the ridge you will have inicredible views of the Aletschgletscher. P.S. Don't tell anyone here, but we like this area even better than the Berner Oberland for hiking. There apparently are also some chairlifts in the Lotschental ski area. You'll see photos of them here (scroll down): http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=34188 The Lotschental is fairly close to Kandersteg, to the south. I don't know if their chairlifts run in the summer. We rode some kind of lift there in 2001, but I don't remember what type it was.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
Just FYI, some gondolas have windows that open and you'll get plenty of the 'open air' experience. I was just in Kandersteg a few months ago and I can't remember if there are windows that open on the gondola or not. When you're heading up the hillside, you'll still be able to see out the windows, though.