The Great Mythen is one of the most famous mountains in Switzerland. Why? Well, there are a couple reasons. First of all: the shape.
When you look at it, it looks almighty and unscalable. Which leads us straight to the second reason: the path up to the summit. The path was built in 1864 and since then made better and safer. It leads in 47 turns from the bottom of the mountain to the top and considering when it was made, this path is quite an achievement. Once you made it all the way up, there is the last and probably the most important reason: a 360° view of central Switzerland. Because of all these reasons, there are yearly more than 40'000 people that hike up the Great Mythen. So it's best to avoid hot summer weekends or else you will be stuck in a jam on the way up and down. :) And even though the path is well maintained, accidents still happen occasionally. But this is mainly because a lot of people go up there unprepared. Proper shoes are essential and you don't want to tackle the mountain during or after rain as it will be dangerous when the path is slippery. But enough of the introduction now. :)
A long weekend ahead, a friend of mine asked me if I can take him up a mountain and out of my suggestions, he decided that we should go to the Great Mythen. Joined by a working mate of his, we started early on Saturday morning in Brunni Alpthal. For the first part there would be a cable car, but to warm up our legs, we skipped the cable car and walked. After gaining 300 meters in altitude we arrived at Holzegg and that's where the actual hike up to Great Mythen started. Hiking steadily upwards we enjoyed the nice panoramic view along the way.
Soon we reached the middle of the 2.4 kilometer long path, where we took a break to regain our strength. After the short rest, it was another half an hour going up before we reached the top. Unfortunately the view from there was already disturbed by clouds so it was not as spectacular as it could have been. Nevertheless we enjoyed the view, a nice lunch and (of course) a summit beer. :) For our entertainment there were a lot of birds that were just waiting to be fed. We watched an elderly lady feeding the birds with raisins and as we had some by ourselves, my friends happily joined in. The birds were used to people and were even flying onto the hand picking the raisins right out of it.
Well, we had fun and the birds a full stomach. :) After about an hour on the summit we made our way down again. Lightning was predicted for the late afternoon and we didn't want to get caught in it. With fresh legs after the long break the descent happened rather fast. Unfortunately not fast enough to catch the cable car. Haha. Instead of waiting half an hour for the next one we decided to walk all the way down, arriving with tired legs but with a good mood at our car about 30 minutes later. A mighty mountain, a couple hours of sun, loads of fresh air and some good company, it was a good way to start the weekend!
Highlight of the day: the birds on the summit
This hike is for you if:
- you're looking for a hike that is not too long
- you want a 360° panoramic view of central Switzerland
- you don't mind walking upwards for 2.4 kilometers
- you always wanted to feed "wild" animals
This hike is not for you if:
- you're afraid of heights
- you want the summit for yourself
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