Canyoning: Chli Schliere

25 minutes down the valley, lies one of the best spots in Switzerland for canyoning. And boy, it was good!

Canyoning is simply to go down a canyon by sliding, repelling, jumping and walking through the water. Amazing fun, and a good work-out too. The Chli Schliere-river is the most extreme Canyoning in the area, but there are several other easier ones as well.

The nature was spectacular, with cliff walls 100 meter + at times on the sides. And the rock even formed an arch above us at one place.

Difficulty: 5/5
Cost: 180 CHF including all equipment you need
Season: June - September
Time: 4-5 hours

Interested, we organise Canyoning, so call us at +41786753366 or send an e-mail to booking@skilodgeengelberg.com

Here is a video of Chli Schliere from an outdoor company in Interlaken :

Hiking: Engelberg - Zingel - Grafenort

Another bluebird weather day today, so we thought we'd head to Bergrestaurant Zingel, a little mountain restaurant, pitched between a 500 meter dropoff and the Zingel Peak.

You walk from the Ski Lodge to Titlisbahn, and along the artificial Lake. At Oertingen, you take a left and thereafter the signs will start pointing to Zingel. The first part through the forest was a little wet, it is almost like a rainforest on the north facing sides here. We passed a couple of streams, making their way over boulders and waterfalls. Really nice.

The hike after that is spectacular, with amazing views of the valley and massive cliffs on both sides. We arrived at the Zingel, and had a cold platter and som cold drinks. And the view, the view ladies & gentlemen!

The hike down to Grafenort was a bit muddy through the forest, and after that we took the train back. Mission complete!

Time: 5 - 6 hours with train ride (train leaves XX.50 every hour during daylight)
Difficulty: 3/5
Season: July - October

Paragliding: Engelberg from above

Yesterday our friend Kim came up to Engelberg with a tandem paragliding chute . He brought me up for two amazing flights from two different starting points on Brunni. We used his 46 m2 wing to cruise up and down the thermal winds created by the sun heating the land below us. You could stay up for almost as long as you wanted with those up-going winds. Hobby meteorologist as I am (our new weather station is hopefully up soon!) I’m really impressed by the skills of these paragliders, and how they can read the movements of the small clouds above us to find the right spots for thermal action.

The valley offers great paragliding possibilities, and has several local companies, including Flugschule Zentral , Outventure and Euroflugschule taking you up for tandem flights . Plus it’s a perfect destination for paragliding clubs schools from low land Europe (UK, Netherlands etc) to have summer camps. You can start from both the Brunni, Titlis or the Führenalp side, at various levels.


I managed to take a few pics and films below. And Kim let me steer the wing for quite a bit of the ride, but stopped my when I wanted to test a landing. Probably wise of him…


The 35km/h speed wind is causing the slightly noisy sound.


View flying over the village and our Lodge. Just above the train station in the middle it is - the small bright thing in the garden i our new sauna and hot tub deck.

View looking east into the end of the valley, towards Führenalp.

View from above Brunni, view the Flühmatt houses and village lake.


Slightly small helmet...




Happy after a smooth landing.

Hiking: Spannorthütte - amazing

Yesterday we headed for Spannorthütte, a SAC (Schweizer Alpenclub) hut with a breathtaking location. Grosse Spannort and Kleine Spannort are two of the most characteristic peaks in the Engelberg valley, they look like shark teeth stretching towards the sky. The hut itself is located right under the massive cliffs.

The walk to the top is about 4 hours, and the first hour is an easy walk in the valley. We took a dip in the river before the really steep part began. The hike is a bit technical, with ropes to hold on to when it gets too steep. At the top, we had lunch and a chat with Marianne who runs the hut. Really nice.

You can do it as a day hike, or you can have dinner and sleep under the stars at the hut and walk down the day after. It costs 66 Swiss francs, roughly 42 €, for dinner, bed and breakfast. And the view of course...

Their home page is spannorthutte.ch

Difficulty: 4/5
Time: 7 hours
Season: July - October

Extreme Hiking Picture.

Easy hiking: Trübsee - Engelberg

Me and Johan did an easy morning hike today in the amazing weather. We took the cable car up to Trübsee, took a stroll around the lake and wandered down the meadows and cows to Engelberg. It is a easy 2-hour walk, perfect if you only have a couple of spare hours or arrive at lunch.

The snow is almost gone up in the ski system now, so the Jochpass hikes over to Engstlensee will be avaliable soon. Oh, and by the way, today we officially opened up for the summer season. Welcome!

(green is lift, red is walking.)

Difficulty: 1/5
Time: 2 hours
Season: June - October




Approaching 30, better save the legs.



"The hills are alive, with the sound of muuuusic"




Happy guy.



Cows are big, Johan is small




The peak of Titlis.



Me in the foreground, but even nicer is our new after-hike hangout. Soon ready!