Trailrunning Diethelm / Fluebrig (2'098m)

Length: 17.3km
Duration: 4:47hrs
Elevation gain: 1'274m
Elevation loss: 1'311m

On a warm August Sunday morning, we decided to head for a short trail run up to Diethelm / Fluebrig (2'098m). The trail was 17.3km and we took the train from Zurich HB at 6:00am. We started the route at the Golf Club in Ybrig and as it was still early in the morning, the first section of the trail was still in the shadow. We only brought our running vests with us and didn't bring any warm layers, so it was a bit cold until we were heigh enough for the sun to warm us up ;)

The first 6km were steadily going up towards the summit. The trail was nicely made. It was a bit too steep for us to run, but in principle, if your condition is good enough, the trail would be ideal for running uphill. At about 2'040m, the alpine trail to the summit breaks off from the hiking trail. The last few meters of to the summit are on a white/blue/white trail with a ladder in one section. There was a bit of climbing involved going up, but there are cables to hold yourself. The area is not so exposed, so it's fairly easy to climb up this section. Once you reach the plateau, the summit is just a few meters out and you are rewarded with a great 360° view. We reached the summit by 9:50am. To the North, you can see Zurich and the lake, towards the South you have great views over the Glarner Alps. 

After a good breakfast break on the summit, we started our descend on the other side of the mountain. The sun was burning more and more and we were happy that we left so early, it was going to be a hot day. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, we realized that we just missed a bus going back towards Zurich, so we decided to take the opportunity to get another good run for the day and go all the way back to Euthal to catch another bus from there. It was an additional 3.5km on a flat section, so it was all good. Once we were in the bus, we looked forward to a refreshing ice cream from the train station in Einsiedeln. We were back in Zurich by around 2:00pm.

6am train to Einsiedeln, all ready for some running.

First part was in the shadow, as it was early it was cold.

As soon as the sun came it, it was warm and beautiful

View towards the East side of the mountain.

Glarner mountains in the distance.

Last section of the ascent to Diethelm. This part is a white/blue/white track.

Some cables to be secured.

A little bit of scrambling to go up, but nothing bad.

The summit of Diethelm is just behind this boulder.

In one section there was a ladder to go up.

View from the top of Diethelm.

Summit photo, happy and excited.

Summit view towards Zurich, you can see the Zurich lake in the background.

Summit view towards the South.

Summit cross, enjoying the view.

On the way back down.

Here you can see the ladder to go down.

View towards Diethelm as seen from the Siehl river in the valley.