My favorite website
piqued my curiosity about the highest points in each
canton (Federal state) in Switzerland.
The 26 highpoints vary greatly,
all in an area one tenth the size of my home state of California.
This includes some serious mountains requiring specific conditions and climbing skills,
but also many easily runnable or bikeable points in the lower regions.
1. and 2. Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden - Säntis
September 19, 2015
Nick, Pratyush, Robb, and I hiked to the summit from Schwägalp. This is the only highpoint which counts for two cantons.
The Summit of Säntis (2502 m)
3. Valais - Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa Massif)
July 10, 2016
Joel, Josh, and I climbed to the highest point in Switzerland.
After crossing the glacier to get to the Monte Rosa hut.
Heading up in the morning.
On the ridge, with the Matterhorn in the background.
Snow on the ridge.
Looking back down the ridge from near the summit.
The three of us on the summit (4634 m).
A thick fixed rope to descend back to the glacier, instead of reversing the ridge. This cost us a lot of time attempting to back up the descent with prussiks. Next time we'd take longer ropes to be able to rappel this.
Josh was confident enough to just downclimb the (overhanging in places) fixed line without other protection, and had to wait a long time for us in the sun.
Cat back at the Monte Rosa hut
4. Schwyz - Bös Fulen
July 8, 2017
Clara, Jeff, Joel, and I climbed this peak, probably because of the fun name! We had hoped to climb Vrenelisgärtli (part of the Glärnisch massif) the next day, but were chased away by lightning!
Limestone on the approach.
Crossing the glacier to the base of the route.
Joel at the top of the glacier, transitioning to the loose ramp.
Clara and Jeff on the ridge, with Glärnisch in the background.
Scrambling the ridge.
The summit (2801 m).
Clara, me, and Jeff on the summit (Joel taking the photo, I think!)
This was a quick 15km springtime run/hike over the nice fire roads and forested hiking trails in the Züri Oberland, between the Steg im Tösstal and Bauma train stations.
As is common for the lower-lying cantons, the highpoint is on the border.
The Zürich highpoint is also nearby.
As is also common for highpoints on borders, it's not obvious where the point is.
Two contenders on the border with St. Gallen are commonly listed; I visited both, hiking
over the Hörnli on the way in for some nice views.
View from the Hörnli (1133 m).
The first is the Dreiländerstein, at the southernmost point of Thurgau where it meets Zürich and St. Gallen at a triple point.
I didn't find a special stone here, just a trail sign with the elevation (992 m),
some stone border markers, and a small restaurant with people eating.
At the Dreiländerstein junction (992 m)
The second is a mountain/hill named both "Groot" and "Grat" on
various trail signs along the way ("Grat" means "ridge" in high German
and presumably "Groot", the official name on the Swiss map since 2002, is a version of the same word in a local dialect).
The summit is 996 m, but is just inside Sankt Gallen, not on the border. There is a stone
(maybe) marking the highpoint of Thurgau. According to this person on Hikr, this is a mere 991.3 m and
the Dreiländerstein point is 992 m.
Those are close enough to likely be within the error bounds of such measurements,
but fortunately it's very easy to visit both points.
The summit of Groot (996 m)
Thurgau border and highpoint(?) marker near the summit of Groot (991 m)
I made a quick pre-rain jaunt from Arth-Goldau to tag the true summit.
Cows above the clouds.
It's very easy to see you're on the right mountain, as there is a restaurant reading "WILDSPITZ" just below the summit.
The summit (1580m).
Jordan and I almost climbed the peak as part of the Schwyzer Höhenweg in
fall 2022 (Strava activity) but didn't tag the actual summit, as the trail passes a little way below it.
A muddy farmhouse near the end of a wet day on the Schwyzer Hoehenweg.
8. Luzern - Brienzer Rothorn
November 2nd, 2024
Jordan and I hiked up to the summit from Brienz, then took the classic Brienzergrat over the Tannenhorn before running back down to Oberried and catching the bus back. It hadn't rained or snow for a couple of weeks and the south-facing part of the ridge (where the vast majority of the trail goes) was perfectly dry.
On the Brienzer Rothorn (2348 m), preparing for a summit pose which didn't work out. Pilatus and the Obwaldner Höhenweg Loop are in the background.
The view back to the Brienzer Rothorn from the Brienzergrat.
The view to the Tannenhorn from the Brienzergrat.
The cables section on the Brienzergrat. This is the most scary-looking part but it's secure. I'd say the most dangerous was actually the descent on the other side of the Tannenhorn, which was steep and had some loose rocks.
Clara and I were very close during our Hardergrat/Brienzergrat hike in July 2017,
but didn't actually tag the summit!
Sunrise on the Hardergrat / Brienzergrat, 2017. The Brienzer Rothorn is one of the bumps in the distance.
There is the summit but I don't remember us actually going up there on this trip!
9. Aargau - Geissfluegrat
November 9, 2024
At a little over 900m, this is one of the lowest high points. In fact (according to trivia from my partner's coworkers) there only two cantons in Switzerland without a ski lift - I guessed this answer by knowing that only Geneva and Basel-Stadt have lower highpoints than Aargau.
The highpoint isn't a peak with significant prominence, just the highest bump on the ridge leading to the Geissflue, which is just across the border in Solothurn.
It is just a short hike from the Saalhöhe bus stop. I ran up from Erlinsbach and ended at Saalhöhe.
German grammar lesson when I stopped to layer down. "Herz" (neuter) is the only non-masculine word with "n-declension", which is why it's "Herzen" here.
The way up from Erlinsbach was foggy, but near the summit, these was a glorious breaking out of the clouds.
Undercast from the Geissflue proper.
Stone at the Aargau highpoint (908 m)
Extremely obvious sign that I ran straight past, last time.
Aarau has a platform 0.
I tried this previously on 2024-07-07 and despite the ridiculously clear signage, missed the true highpoint!
This was a very nice ~25k loop from the Aarau main station.
The ridge from the Wasserflue to the Geissflue was the nicest section, with parts reminiscent of the
Lägern near Zurich, also geologically part of the Jura.
This features steeply angled layers of rock and plenty of roots. Most of the route was quite runnable, though.
(Strava Activity)
Misty trees. This is highly recommended as a route for marginal weather, as it wasn't actually as muddy as I'd thought it'd be, given rain all day before.
At a boundary marker, which I thought was the highpoint. Still 8 m too low..
Attempts and Flybys
Ticino - Adula / Rheinwaldhorn
In January 2015, Pratyush, Patrick, and I attempted this peak from Dangio, but (as I remember) we ran out of time due to the bus schedule to get back to Lugano, and turned around some way above the Adula Hut.
View up the peak in the morning.
On our way back down, after climbing some way up the snow.
