From Gitschenen across Schwalmis to Musenalp | Mountain hiking

Unterstütze den SAC Jetzt spenden

Home
Huts and Tours
- SAC Route Portal
- Subscribe to the SAC Route Portal
SAC Route Portal
Schwalmis
- Mountain hiking
- Ski tour
Mountain hiking
- From Gitschenen across Schwalmis to Musenalp
From Gitschenen across Schwalmis to Musenalp

From Gitschenen across Schwalmis to Musenalp Schwalmis 2246 m

Difficulty

T4
Ascent

2:15 h, 910 m
Descent

2 h, 700 m

A mountain with two appearances

The communes Isenthal (UR), Emmetten and Beckenried (NW) share one of the more rewarding hiking summits around Lake of Lucerne: Schwalmis. To Nidwalden the mountain drops sharply, with rocky slabs and rubble; on the Uri side, however, steep grassy slopes characterise its appearance. The summit is well-known and made accessible by a mountain trail, but again, we try to find alternatives. A hike on steep slopes in early summer with myriads of blooming flowers is highly recommended.

View from Vorder Jochli across the steep pasture of the ascent (left), which leads up to the small spires below P. 2171. (06/2010) © Marco Volken

On the descent from Schwalmis; the view goes back across the green ridge of Aren and the mighty rock slabs of the north face. (06/2010) © Marco Volken

Route description

Gitschenen – Vorder Jochli

From Gitschenen a marked mountain trail leads northward via Chneuwis, Unter Bolgen and Ober Bolgen to Bei den Seelenen, a charming resting place. At the bifurcation P. 1962 branch off to the right and follow the marked path to Vorder Jochli (2001 m).

Vorder Jochli – Schwalmis

From Vorder Jochli ascend north-westward and pathless in a steep pasture, always slightly left of the ridge line. At about 2150 m a rocky escarpment (not charted on the map) runs through the entire face. It is interrupted by grassy and schrofen gullies, which can be scrambled up in various places. You reach the summit ridge slightly east of P. 2171. Follow it on a faint path to reach a steep grassy face, which leads directly up to the main summit of Schwalmis (2246 m).

Schwalmis – P. 1789

From the summit hike westward following the path on the ridge until P. 2198. Now go briefly along a fence to find a hardly visible path to the right, which descends north-westward in moderately steep pastures. Follow the Aren ridge until about 1860 m (do not leave the path; the area is used for haymaking), where you turn left on a good path to reach a knoll near P. 1789, the endpoint of various steel cables which are used in the process of haymaking.

P. 1789 – Ober Musenalp

Bypass the knoll at P. 1789 to the south and hike to Obere Büelhütte and slightly descending to Bärenfallen. A mountain trail with equipped passages overcomes the rocky nose to reach the plateau of Unter Musenalp, from where you hike easily to Ober Musenalp.

Additional information

Departure point

Gitschenen, Bergstation (1546 m)

Informationen zur Seilbahn St. Jakob – Gitschenen: +41 878 11 33 oder skiliftgitschenen.ch

Get there Google Maps

Gitschenen

End point

Ober Musenalp (1755 m)

Bergstation der Kleinseilbahn Niederrickenbach–Musenalp. Weitere Infos unter www.musenalp-nw.ch, www.maria-rickenbach.ch/luftseilbahnen/musenalpbahn/ , Telefon 041 628 12 45 oder 041 610 92 49

Get there Google Maps

Niederrickenbach Dorf

Time: Gitschenen – Schwalmis 2 h 15 min.

Schwalmis – Ober Musenalp 2 h.

Difficulty / Material: On the ascent from Gitschenen to Schwalmis there are steep pastures, some schrofen and a slightly exposed ridge (T4). On the other hand, the orientation is easy. The descent via Aren also offers steep pastures, which are not recommended in wet weather (also T4). The segment Bärenfallen–Unter Musenalp is well equipped and hardly more difficult than T2+ despite rocky passages. The tour can be undertaken in one afternoon, provided that you do not miss the departure of the last gondola from Musenalp.

Waypoints

Vorder Jochli (2001 m)

Marked passage from Gitschenen to Choltal