The complete Mythen traverse

Another trilogy that's been on our list for quite a while: doing a complete traverse of the Mythen massif. 6+ years ago we hiked up to the Grosser Mythen, back down the same way, and then up to the Kleiner Mythen and down the same way. This time we did a full traverse: Haggenspitz, Kleiner Mythen, Grosser Mythen.

Kleiner Mythen and Haggenspitz from Brunni

We start under a blue sky (it's a beautiful day!) at the end of the bus line in Brunni Talstation with the masses of people who are headed to take the gondola up to Holzegg; it's going to be a busy day up on the Grosser Mythen, hopefully we get to see it. :-) Our route takes us up out of Brunni towards the Haggenegg. Up, up, up we go, along the red-white path, through the woods, and then across a field until we arrive at the street and the parked cars (oh yes, people are out today...). Here we turn left and follow the ridge, with its clear use path, towards the North face of the Haggenspitz. This is one of those great "if we didn't know that there was a route up there, we wouldn't think it's possible" faces. The use trail takes us up and along, catch up to another group of three, up, up until we reach the bottom of some climbing routes. Here another hiker encourages us to head up a chimney that's marked with a green arrow next to the climbing routes instead of continuing along the use trail. Sure, why not? So on with the helmets and we get to start with a bit of nice scrambling. Up, up we go, staying with the other hiker (really him staying with us), up, up along a reasonably easy to follow route with the occasional red marker, until we hit the Müller Kamin. This is as exposed as promised in the route descriptions, but not particularly difficult (aside from the risk of the backpack getting hung up in the tight chimney!). We've got a rope and a bit of climbing gear with us, and there are a couple bolts available, but we opt to solo it. Up, up we continue with some more light scrambling, until we hit the peak. This is unexpectedly full (5+ people there... unbelievable!), so we have a very quick food break to enjoy the views and then continue on our way. Our temporary companion stays behind (guess he wants a longer break) as we start down towards the saddle between the Haggenspitz and the Kleiner Mythen.

trying to find space in the Müller Kamin

This is a relatively easy route down, though we manage to lose it a few times and end up scrambling more than we need to. Once at the saddle we continue up to the face of the Kleiner Mythen and follow the very nice (and straightforward to follow) route up. This has a couple of good scrambly bits and is just in general loads of fun. The peak of the Kleiner Mythen is even more full than the Haggenspitz was (10+ people!), so after taking a few pictures we continue on our way. For the first time today we're repeating a route we've done before. With all the practice over the past few years, this isn't nearly as dramatic as it was back then. Still fun though! And very populated... tons of people making their way up to the Kleiner Mythen to enjoy the views. Back down at Zwischet Mythen we stop for another food break (longer this time) and enjoy the views and the sitting (haven't done much of that so far today!).

on top of the Kleinen Mythen

After the break we follow the easy hiking path around the foot of the Grosser Mythen towards Holzegg. At the big scree field we leave the path and head up the left side of the scree. After a bit of height gain, there's a clear zigzag trail through the scree (which is nice, because this isn't the nicest surface to move steeply upwards on). At the top of the scree we hit the first of the pink markings which will lead us the rest of the way to the top along the Chalberstöckli route. The route is really, really nice. Definitely a bit easier than either of the other two ascents we've done so far, but still with great views (and exposure). We absolutely enjoy ourselves until we hit the main hiking path up to the peak. After collecting the usual funny looks as we climb over the railing and take off our helmets, we continue up to the peak and the absolute madness up there. Another short break to enjoy the views and the madness and check the bus schedule, and then we start our way down. We have about 75 minutes to complete the 85 minute descent to Brunni. Should be no problem! The first bit is pretty slow due to the masses of people underway, but we finally manage to pass the big clot in front of us and then do some trail running for the rest of the descent. This starts as a bit of a joke but it works really well and is quite fun, so we continue until close to the bottom, where the footing isn't as good since the rocks are more covered with dust. We make good time walking the descent from Holzegg and are at the bus stop with 20 minutes to spare.

scrambling up towards the Grosse Mythen

What a great tour. We're definitely going to have to do this one again!

Track:
Stats: ~12km, 1380m up and down.