Mount Pilatus (Lucerne, CH)

Length: 11.3km
Duration: 6:33h
Elevation gain: 1'733m
Elevation loss: 851m

Just two weeks ago, we hiked Mount Rigi on the other side of the Vierwaldstättersee. From there you have a nice view over Mount Pilatus and we knew we had to hike this one next. From Zurich we took an early train to Hergiswill, SZ and started our trail at 8:15 am on May 26th, 2018.

The first part of the trail goes through a nice forest and some open grassy sections. It was really hot that day and we were happy to walk in the shade for a while. The trail went up from the start and it was strenuous to go walk up. At some point, we took a break and had a nice view onto Mt Rigi in front of us and Mt Pilatus in our back.

On the first part of the trail, we did not see any people, the trail was quite empty. Then, the trail started to get more exposed and steeper. From there, we passed two groups of people. Then our first snowy patch passed by, it was just a short section and nothing to worry about. After about 30min however, there was a much bigger snowfield in front of us and we had to ascent through and cross it. As we haven’t done any snowfield crossings in the last year, we were a bit skeptical, but a man passing by us made it look very easy to go up, so we decided to give it a try. And as it turned out, the snowfield wasn’t as steep as it looked and because it was still early, the snow had grip and it was easy to make steps for your foot. The part towards the little church at 1845 m was where we had the snowfield and were the trail was the steepest. I was actually happy that we didn’t need to descent through this part.

Once we reached the church and after a quick lunch break we were on our way to ascent the last part of the trail to the top of Pilatus. This section is steep, but well maintained with many switchbacks. After about 40 min, we made it to the top and were surprised by how many people were up there. Actually, it’s no wonder, as there’s a train and a cable car going all the way up the mountain :) The weather wasn’t as clear, but the view was still breathtaking. After about 30min on top, we decided to head down as we wanted to catch a train in Luzern to go to a dinner in Basel.

The first part of the decent all the way to the little church was the same. Then, we did not descent the same way we came through the snowfield but on the other side. People coming up there told us there were no snowfields present. The descent was steep, sometimes secured with chains but overall well made, actually better than the on the other side. By the time we reached the top of the cable car station, it was still a 2:30 hr descent to Kriens and we realized we wouldn’t make it in time to catch our train, so we decided to take the lazy rout to Kriens with the cable car. The ride is only 10 CHF per person and takes about 20 min, pretty long for a cable car. Back at Kriens, we took the bus to Lucerne and a train to Basel from there.

Overall, a nice T2 / T3 route to Pilatus.