Wart, Hiendertellti, Bachsee (Bachalpsee)

Wart (2704m, 8871ft) - the name probably means nothing to you. Well, it is a modest pass closing a hollow hidden behind a rock barrier above Grindelwald. It is also the highest point of this beautiful hike between First and the Grosse Scheidegg.

This page used to present the First-Bachsee (or Bachalpsee) itinerary. That walk that is only 40-minutes long and very popular with the Japanese was, however, out of place here. For a long time, I had been itching to lengthen it to the Faulhorn or the Schwarzhorn to present a hike worthy of the name. In the end, I chose the "Route Of Lakes And Glaciers" because no one seemed to go that way.

At the Grindelwald-First station, buy a one-way ticket (costly enough) or point out that you also want come back down by bus from Grosse Scheidegg. Once at the upper station, take the wide route to Bachsee/Bachalpsee. The nomenclature varies according to your source. Do not panic if you have passed up the sign: simply follow the Japanese.

After 40 very easy minutes, you reach Bachsee. And you will have to admit that the Japanese have good taste: the Finsteraarhorn, the Fiescherhörner, and the Schreckhorn - all part of the "imperial crown" (4000-metre-peaks) - are reflected in the lake and make up a painting of sorts of a classic alpine landscape.

For today's excursion, we will have to backtrack a little and take the path that leads to Axalp. It might be said that a mysterious law of nature decides how wide a path is going to be acccording to the number of people who are going to use it. Of all those who take the First-Bachsee "motorway", very few take this side up. I hear no complaints, do I?

It takes 30 minutes to go round the western extremity of a rock barrier. From here, you can see chamois, which is proof that the place is much more peaceful than Bachsee. On the shelf, you can mostly make out the stretch that awaits you, that follows the north of this rock barrier to the Col de Wart, located behind the Schwarzhorn.

Walking down an undemanding slope leads you to your first lake: Hagelseewli. Curled up at the bottom of the cliff, it most likely does not get much sunshine. Next, we cross a slope that could be delicate if it had snow on it, which appears to have been the case only recently. On your left, you get a glance of blue-emerald green Lake Brienz.

After about a 3-hour walk, you reach Häxenseeli. It looks a lot like the first lake, except that more snow surrounds it. And we are at an altitude of only 2450 metres and in the middle of the month of August! That just goes to show you that Hiendertellti is an uncommon hollow, one that gets sunshine only sparingly.

Higher and higher you make your way along a landscape of nothing but scree and intruiging rock formations. The route's white-and-red marking is not always obvious to follow but the general direction is. A little higher up, you can admire the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau, which are not hidden any more behind the rock barrier.

3 - At the Bachsee	4 - Schwarzhorn
5 - Looking back	6 - Wetterhorn

At long last, we reach Wart, the highest point of this hike, right between the 2 peaks of Schwarzhorn and Wildgärst. For an even better view, some hikers add the latter mountain to their itineraries (1 hour more; easy).

The way back down begins via a small glacier named Blau Gletscherli. This field of snow is an ideal slope - you slide but do not pick up too much speed. Below, a path in poor shape follows a slope of scree over which the water of the melting of the firn flows. You then see grass but that is no improvement. The path is very narrow, poorly marked, and wet owing to the proximity of a stream named Giessbach. You end up reaching a farm at Oberläger. In short: a descent that is not really pleasant but that gives you astounding views of the Wetterhorn. [Updated 20-Aug-2010: 9 years after the hike that gave birth to this text, I returned to Wart and found out that the trail going down to Oberläger is now quite decent. Take care with Blau Gletscherli, whose remains are a thin ice slope. It can easily be avoided by going left.].

The path joins up with a route that is not tarred and that unfortunately rises a little before it goes down again to the Grosse Scheidegg (restaurant and hotel, 30 minutes from Oberläger). Postal buses regularly set out for Grindelwald - one an hour, I believe. Be sure to have planned your hike so that you do not miss the last bus; otherwise, you will have to walk down. To give you an idea, the hike from First to Scheidegg took me 6 hours and 30 minutes, including several breaks for rests and snacks. According to the timetable in the tourist brochure dated 2001, the last postal bus leaves Grosse Scheidegg at 5:40pm.