Grittlesee
Description
From the starting point of Blitzingen, you initially roll out of the valley on the cycle route until shortly before Mühlbach. After a sharp left-hand bend, you climb up a small road (a mix of asphalt and gravel) to Chäserstatt. Then the fun is over! A super steep and rough road leads up to the ridge. Even powerful e-mountain bikes reach their limits here. There are not quite 500 vertical meters to contend with on this trail until the route flattens out in the ridge region. Finally, the route turns into a trail that often rides across open fields and is difficult to recognize in places. You reach the crossing above the Grittlesee lake and enjoy the fantastic view across to the Aletsch region and the Rappegletscher on the other side.
Now the descent is on the agenda. As over the ridge, this leads through open terrain, but is easy to ride for good mountain bikers except for a rocky right-hand bend. The trail markings are easy to recognize, the path is often only partially visible. In this mode, you head down to the edge of the forest, where the real downhill fun begins! The path through the forest is a gem: winding, fast, tricky, wooded-soft, rooty, steep, flat - it's all there. The huge larch trees are particularly beautiful! The trail rides in this style down to the valley floor and back to the starting point.
Note: In summer, sheep and their guard dogs graze on the Ernergalen ridge. The entire area is then extensively fenced off and the dogs let mountain bikers pushing their bikes through. That's why the route is more rewarding in the fall.
Map & GPX-Track
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Details of the tour
25 km
1425 m
1425 m
1221 above sea level
2595 above sea level
1 day
Blitzingen
Blitzingen
3073
well suited
More information
No bike schools are registered for this region. Registration as a partner takes place here.
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User comments (1)
About the author: Thomas Giger
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.
This tour was a real highlight for us!
Because of the livestock guarding dogs (https://www.protectiondestroupeaux.ch/herdenschutzhunde/tourismus-und-h…), we (now in August 2025) had first planned the tour down to Z'Mübach.
In Mühlebach and Chäserstatt there was a more detailed map on which you could see that there was a corridor between the fenced herds on the Ärnergale. When we asked at the Schäre hut, this was confirmed, so we ventured on the tour to Grittlesee.
Fortunately, the herd was also much further down towards Rappetal, so we had no contact with the dogs, although the path had led past the herd anyway.
The ascent to Chäserstatt was easy, after that it was really the end of the fun! :D
The rough gravel road is always very steep, but at least you can push the bike. From Schäre to the cattle it was a bit more rideable again. From the cattle we had to push everything again (you can hardly see a path and it's very bumpy) and from Ärnergale we also carried a lot. However, this was not a problem due to the fantastic panorama.
Because of the herds, we had to leave the actual path a little and so we walked through the terrain for a relatively long time without a clear path.
The Grittlesee was completely dry, but Grundle and Mittle still had water.
The upper part of the descent was challenging in places, but never dangerous. The further down you got, the more flowy the trail became.
There were no herding dogs at the herds on the Bodmerchumma, but you did have to cross the electric fence in places, without the appropriate passages. It was a thrilling experience :). At the Bodmeralp with the black-nosed sheep there were handles to open/close the fence. From here, the path became very steep in places and good bike control with sensitive brake fingers is a must. For experienced and practiced mountain bikers, however, this is a rewarding descent if you are not afraid of the arduous ascent.
All in all, it was a great tour for us that had everything to offer. An arduous ascent, a great panorama, solitude and a challenging descent.
However, if you don't like pushing/carrying and prefer smooth paths, you'd be better off staying away.