2 km before Griesalp to Kandersteg
Day total: 17.5 km
VA1 total: 221 km
On the way up Hohtürli
Hohtürli (2778 meters) is my favorite pass of the whole hike. It’s hard so I had to push myself and I was drenched with sweat by the time I got to the top. The views were great. There weren’t many other hikers around and when I got to the top I was alone. Jim got up first but hiked up to the Blümlisalp Hut 2837m to start drying out. Most importantly there are no shortcuts to the top. No roads, no gondolas, no cable cars or trains. Everyone earned their views.
Lots of stairs at the top. If you look closely you can see Jim waiting for me at the top.
Refreshments available at the top
Blümlisalp Hut is really nice. It’s CHF 75 to stay overnight. That includes dinner and breakfast. It would have been a wonderful place to spend a night but we got there at 10am. Instead I had another cup of coffee and talked to several people, mostly Hans from Germany.
The hike down was long as always. But beautiful.
Lunch view. The clouds are building.
Oeschinensee is beautiful glacier blue green lake. By the time we got to the far end the sun was gone and thunder started. It was raining by the time we got to the village of Kandersteg. So we decided to stay inside.
We got a room at the Alpenblick Hotel. CHF 65 each including breakfast. We had a great dinner here also. Rösti for me.
nancyhikes 
I’ve been so excited to see how Hohturli went for you. It was also my favorite pass on that route but it took me 10 hours to hike up and down, which was shocking as it’s only around 8-9 miles, but with 5000+ up/down). I found down the hardest because of all the slippy rocks on hard ground. The three passes – Sefinefurke, Hohturli, and Bunderchrinde were all amazing – but, as you said: there are no shortcuts on those things. You earn your views. Congratulations… I am SO glad you had great conditions!
Thank you. It’s fun to hear from someone who knows what it is like out here.
Amazing views!
All the pictures are good, but that fourth one.. Wow!
Those are really great photos, Nancy. I like the one showing the way down best, but it was a close thing..
Hey! This is an amazing post. I’m considering doing this hike from murren to kandersteg. I’m fairly fit but slightly afraid of heights (mostly if it’s exposed with steep drop offs). How did you find the trail and did you find this pass to be scary?
Do it! I didn’t find it scary at all. Just good hard climbing with a great reward at the top.