Flumserberg 7-peaks: St. Gallen, Eastern Switzerland
Seven peaks, fourteen lakes, thousands of wildflowers, a whole lotta cows and cowbells, and best of all - hardly any people for the bulk of it! Maybe the word hasn’t gotten out about this hike. Flumserberg is well-known as the closest ski resort to Zurich, so perhaps most people associate it with the winter season. In fact, the train station (Tannenboden) and gondola/chairlift station are one and the same, so most people wear their ski gear on the train and then just hop right onto the slopes. In any case, we went in the height of summer and had large stretches of the trail all to ourselves. It was spectacular, particularly with the views of the mountains over Walensee, the steep cliffs of the Churfisten range plunging straight down to the turquoise water. Each of the seven peaks required it own thigh-burner ascent and knee-busting descent, meaning it was beautiful but equally demanding.
Beer at the end of this sweaty hike was a given, but on the gondola ride back down, Walensee’s water shimmering like it was full of Swarovski crystals, we made a split-second decision. The train station, we realized, is directly across the street from lake. We ripped off our clothes in the gondola (a decidedly un-Swiss thing to do), changed into bathing suits (which we had because remember what I said about being prepared for anything?), and ran past families on the beach to jump into that sweet, cool water. Highly, highly recommended.
Start: Train to Unterterzen, cross street to Tannenbodenalp (Bergstation), cable car to Maschgenkamm
End: Trail ends atTannenbodenalp, take cable car back down to Unterterzen.
Route: Maschgenkamm – Ziger – Leist – Rainissalts – Gulmen – Cuncels – Chli Güseln – Gross Güslen – Seebenalp – Winkelzahn – Tannenboden
Length and Rating: Moderate. 15km, 5-6 hours.
