Hike in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland - the land of cheeses and chocolates, of Swatches and St. Bernards - with a friendly gay and lesbian group.

A picturesque alpine village offers the perfect base for our hiking week.

September 13-20, 2008

The Swiss Alps were made for hiking, and no region of Switzerland offers a more picturesque setting than the Bernese Oberland. Our hiking trip is set deep in this mountain valley, in the centuries-old village of Grindelwald. To the south, abruptly rise some of the best-known alpine peaks: The Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau, and three glaciers. Unfolding more gently to the north are the meadows of wildflowers, forests, and mountain lakes that have made Switzerland such a favorite with calendar illustrators.

We'll hike into both of these alpine worlds. One day, walk along the base of the intimidating Eiger North Wall. The next, wander thru acres of green pastures, full of spotted brown cows, their horned heads bobbing and steel bells jingling as they gorge on a never-ending brunch..

Highlights:

• Hike a high and wild path along the base of the giant Nordwand (North Wall) of the Eiger, nemesis of innumerable mountaineers.
  
• Walk out onto Europe's biggest glacier.
  
• Glide over the valley and hiking trails in a tandem paraglider -- no experience needed!
  
• Stand at the edge of the 6500-foot high Bachalpsee, with the Jungfrau reflected in the silvery surface.
  
• Take a mountain biking day, ascending a mountain by lift or by pedal-power, then coast back down, past waterfalls and fields of wildflowers.
  
• Sip a cup of hot chocolate at a remote mountain hut, on a slope so perilous that a steel cable holds it in place.
  

Dates and Price:
Sept. 13-20, 2008: $1,995.00:A trip for gay men & lesbians.

E-mail: Travlgrrl@aol.com 

Prices are per-person, based on double occupancy. Tours often fill up months before departure. We regularly update our travel schedule to show the status of this and other trips.

Travelling Alone?
So are most of the people who travel with us. You do not need to pay extra to travel by yourself. Prices are per-person, and the single supplement applies only if you'd like a room by yourself.

Location: Based in Grindelwald, Switzerland.

Price includes: 7 nights lodging in a comfortable multi-bedroom apartment with kitchen (paying the single supplement entitles you to your own bedroom in a shared apartment); 5-day pass for MOST Jungfrau-area trains, busses and lifts, and train ride up the Jungfrau, to the hightest train station in Europe; Paragliding ride, in tandem with an experienced pilot; Opening-night reception, orientation, and dinner; Two mid-week dinners; Welcome packet with map; A beer-tasting, featuring regional specialties; Closing-night dinner at a superb local restaurant.

Not included: Transportation to and from Grindelwald (easily accessible by train); Meals not listed here; Gratuities for guides.

The Swiss Alps are among the world's top hiking destinations. Small mountain villages, well-marked trails, and varied landscapes make this a hikers' paradise. Combine that with our small, friendly group of gay men and lesbians, and you've got a dream vacation!

Three impressive Alpine peaks -- the Eiger, Jungfrau, and Monch -- rise abruptly from the river valley in the central Alps. These Oberland Giants, as they are known, form a constant backdrop to the shining green meadows, ensuring a panorama of every-changing scenery for our week of hiking here in the Swiss Alps.

1: Arrival day

The mountain scenery begins long before you reach Grindelwald. Switzerland's rail system is among the best in the world: Fast, comfortable, and efficient. As you pass the picturesque lakeside town of Thun, you may resolve to return to this pretty medieval town after your week of hiking.

Changing trains at Interlaken, you'll see other hikers and climbers, the former easily recognized by the hiking poles that nearly all Europeans seem to favor; the latter by the ice-axes strapped to their bulging backpacks. Grindelwald is the end of the line, and as you step out onto the town's lively main street after several hours on the train, one breath of mountain air will quickly revive you.

Our hiking trip begins with a 6:00 pm reception and orientation, followed by dinner, and time to meet a fun group of gay and lesbian hikers.

2: Above the glacier

This hiking week is designed to be enjoyable for both more- and less-experienced hikers. Today, you'll get several examples of the options that allow you to tailor the activities to the level you want.

Those rarin' to go can hike for the first hour. Others, who are feeling the altitude can ride the Pfingstegg lift to cover the first 1300 feet of altitude gain. (At 3500 feet, Grindelwald is well below the altitude of Denver, but steady uphill hiking will nonetheless be more tiring than at sea level.)

Those who are hiking up will cross Grindelwald's glacier river, then we begin our ascent. An abandoned marble quarry, once a source of jobs and income for Grindelwald, provides an unexpected diversion. Two glaciers end just outside Grindelwald. Today's hiking will take us along an unspoilt alpine trail above the icy crevasses of the "Lower Glacier." Soon we're hiking well above the glacier, with changing views of the icy mass below.

Lunch today is at Stieregg, a mountain restaurant that serves a surprisingly varied menu, given its remote location. Now, as will often happen during the week, you have a choice between an easier day (heading back now) or continuing on, following a path that sometimes gets much closer to the glacier itself, toward Schreckhorn, a 4078-meter peak. You won't get all the way to the summit, but hardier hikers might get to the Schreckhorn hut before turning back.

Our final stop is at Gletscherschlucht, the narrow gorge whose vertical walls were carved into the rock by the churning waters of the glacier. A narrow boardwalk, jutting out from the cliff face, gives us a close-up look at the sculpted canyon, as the water rushes below.

3: Reflections in a mountain lake

One of Grindelwald's appeals for hikers is that by making use of lifts, buses, and cog railroads, you can enjoy the valley's full range of scenery while making each day more challenging, or less so.

This morning most of us will probably choose to ride the lift up the north slopes, to a spot named "First". But a few energetic souls may elect to hike up, and meet us there.

From First we hike along an easy trail to the blue mountain lake known as the Bachalpsee. A magnificent green pasture filled with cows, bells tinkling, extends down toward the valley floor. On a calm day, the distant snow-capped peaks reflect in the lake's waters.

Then the trail thins out, twisting beside a spiny ridge, past moonlike rock formations. Descending past a cascading waterfall, we pass a lush patch of wildflowers, and easily count a dozen varieties within an arm's reach: Red, yellow, blue, purple, white, pink, lavender.

A late lunch is waiting at the mountain inn of Bussalp. Here, hikers again have a choice: To descend by foot, or on one of the ubiquitous yellow "Post Bus" that serves so many small Swiss hamlets such as this one.

4: Paragliding, and more

Paragliding over the trails that we hiked yesterday, you'll get a new perspective on the Grindelwald valley today. No paragliding experience is necessary: You'll fly tanden, with an experienced, licensed pilot.

For the remainder of the day, you've got several enticing options.

Take the train to nearby Thun, the delightful medieval city on a blue lake, dominated by an imposing castle. Toot across the lake on an old, renovated steamer, then hike along the shoreline.

Another easy day trip is to Brienz, a charming Swiss town whose artisans are known for their violins and wood-carvings, then ride Switzerland's only surviving steam-powered cog railroad to the mile-and-a-half high Rothorn.

Or visit Trummelbach Falls in nearby Lauterbrunnen Valley. Here, every second, glacier-fed streams pour up to 5,000 gallons of water cascade down a series of ten waterfalls. Once hidden within a mountain, these cascades are now visible through a series of tunnels and stairways.

5: The Top of Europe

Ride the Jungfrau cog rail train over deep ravines and through mountain tunnels carved inside the Eiger and Monch, to Europe's highest railroad station (3454 meters) on the massive Jungfrau mountain. From here you'll enjoy views of the Aletsch glacier, the longest in Europe. Roam the Ice Palace, carved into the blue glacier and decorated year-round with intricate ice sculptures; enjoy a run of summer skiing, or slide down the slopes on a snow disc.

If your legs need a rest today, ride the train back down to Grindelwald. Otherwise, you can hike part of the way back on the newly-opened Eiger trail, an alpine path that follows the base of this immense mountain. We're right under the Nordwand (North Wall) of the Eiger, a vertiginous cliff that has defeated many a mountaineer. We won't try any mountaineering ascents today, just a scenic hike, crossing the narrow, twisted gorges of glacier-fed streams, then winding through forest, until we emerge over (but on the other side of) the "Lower Glacier" that we saw on our first day of hiking.

In the evening, head into Interlaken for an open-air performance of Schiller's William Tell.

6: A waterfall inside a mountain

After several days of hiking here in the Alps, you're feeling confident about the trails, about finding the way, and about estimating your abilities. Today's suggested itinerary gives you several opportunities to tailor activities to your liking.

We begin with a train ride to Lauterbrunnen, a picturesque village set in a cleft between two towering cliffs. Waterfalls spout out along either side, as we walk 45 minutes to Trummelbach Falls, a cascading series of 10 waterfalls, that tunnel right through a mountain, and which we can view from tunnels carved into the rock.

After lunch back in the village, we head up -- 930 vertical meters up, to be precise. You have a choice of riding an aerial tram up to Wengen, perched on a sunny plateau above us, or hiking up to it along a switchbacking path. From Wengen, you again have a choice of hiking or riding up to the next stop: Mannlichen. Some of us will want to hike one of these segments; few hikers will be up for ascending the entire 930 meters.

From Mannlichen, you can ride a mountain cablecar right back to Grindelwald, but we hope you won't: The high alpine trail over to Kleine Scheidegg is among everyone's favorite. Gently descending as it passes around cliffs and peaks, this trail offers an ever-changing panorama of the mountains: The Eiger, the Monch, the Jungfrau.

7: Marmot world, or a high plateau

The Swiss alpine peaks provide magnificent scenery this week, but we won't often stand on their summits. The Eiger and Monch are well beyond the reach of day hikers.

The jagged peak of Schwarzhorn, however, on a high crest to the north of Grindelwald, is accessible by several trails, some easier, some rougher. Hiking all the way there from Grindelwald makes for a full day; the lift to First gives a head start to those who want it.

As we descend, the trail takes us along an area popular with marmots, and again we enjoy a break while watching these gregarious, bushy-tailed creatures.

Schynige Plateau offers another option today, for those who want some serious hiking, but not quite as much of a challenge as Schwarzhorn offers.

Beech trees give way to firs, then forest yields to meadow, as the narrow-gauge Schynige Platte Cog Railroad engine chugs up to the Schynige Plateau, a high ledge with a panoramic view of the imposing 15-kilometer-long Bernese Oberland wall.

This is an invigorating full-day of hiking. Portions of the trail follow a narrow ridge, dropping to views of the Eiger on the right, and to the placid blue waters of Lake Brienz on the other left. A cup of hot tea at the improbable Weber Hut, held to the mountain by a steel cable, will refresh you, while accordion music and an inquisitive marmot provide entertainment.

The alpine wildflowers never cease to impress us, as well. Here, with a different exposure, we spot some new blossoms, each having found its niche in this high environment.

8: Departure day

Our hiking week officially ends this morning; if you have early connections, you can rise and depart as early as you'd like. Or you may want pack up, then squeeze in one last hike.

If you've got extra vacation time to spend in Europe, we suggest you save it for after the trip, rather than before: Chances are, others in the group will welcome company as they explore the culture and gay life in Geneva, Zurich, Berne, and other Swiss cities.