Ninety seconds on Schäfler
If you have half a day, a walk from the Ebenalp cable car ends at an old mountain inn on the Schäfler summit itself. Book a bed and you never have to race the last cable car down.
The inn fills the top of the Schäfler, a narrow limestone summit on the northern chain of the Alpstein. The Säntis, the range's highest and best-known peak, belongs to the same chain. From the terrace the panorama runs from the Pilatus to the Zugspitze and out over Lake Constance.
Look along the ridge as well. A thin crest links the Schäfler to the Altenalp towers, and it shows best from the summit. The rock is limestone, which is why the Alpstein looks so unlike the granite mountains of central Switzerland.
The house is the other reason to come. It was built in 1913 and 1914, its builder carrying most of the beams and boards up himself, and for years its food, drink, firewood and post came up by mule. Inside, a small parlour and the traditional hall still take in walkers on cooler days.
Taking the cable car from Wasserauen up to the Ebenalp is the usual start. From the top station you follow the signed path to the Schäfler, about an hour away, which ends in a long zigzag up to the summit and the inn.
Order on the big terrace, where the kitchen serves regional, home-made food. A bench a few metres below the inn has the clearest view east.
Going back, you can retrace your steps to the cable car or come down a different path past the Aescher, the cliff-face inn below the Ebenalp. If you sleep at the inn, there are old-style double rooms and bunk rooms.
The stones on the path are uneven and slippery in places, worst on the way down, so take the descent slowly. Wear boots with a good grip and carry warm layers, water and food.
The ridge is exposed in places, so go only if you are sure-footed and fine with heights. Trees shade only the very start of the path. On the approach from the Seealpsee, the hut at Altenalp has a trough for filling bottles.
If you drive, the Wasserauen car parks fill by mid-morning on summer weekends, and they take coins or a local parking app only.
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