Hiking in Leysin

25th October 2020

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. I thought: This is what is is to be happy. Sylvia Plath

I have been unable to continue on my Jakobsweg trail beacuse work has taken up a bit more of my time over the last couple weeks. However, if you are ever in Switzerland and you want to visit an amazing hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and mountain biking area, Leysin is for you. It is in the Vaud Alps and can be reached by mountain railway from Aigle. Great view from the train, painfully close to the edge in places – as you go up you pass by a vineyard and get a better view of the valley. This region of Switzerland produces some excellent wines, which goes nicely with the cheeses that are also produced in this area.

I have had the pleasure of working in this village a few times, and always stay an extra night to ensure that I can get a walk or a hike in. Settled by people as early as the 400s, when they were fleeing the Germanic tribes fighting the Romans in nearby cities, it remained a quiet village for hundreds of years. Starting in the 1800s, and continuing well into the 20th century, this was a destination for people with lung illnesses and it is referred to as the ‘Oxygene des Alpes’. Antibiotics put an end to the clinics, but the air is still fresh and is the perfect example of crisp mountain air.¹

As you may have already guessed, I am a night owl, not an early bird, so my hikes usually start about 10am when I am here. Previously, I used the mountain cable car to get the the top, but this time I was determined to hike as far up as I could and to enjoy the sights and sounds the area. Sunday was a glorious day, it had rained Friday and Saturday, so everything was clean and it was a bit cool in the morning. The views were spectacular and the trail was quiet when I set out. I decided to head towards the Refuge du Mayen because is sounded interesting and there was a lake nearby.

The first part of the trail is one that I have done several times, but I always stopped short of it being a real hike, because of the pain in my feet. This time, I was determined to go as far as possible. Let me tell you, after I left the trail that I was familiar with, the climb got serious. The trail is shared by mountain bikers (who are certifiable) and hikers. There were parts that were so steep that I was moving faster than the bikers, but they eventually caught up and passed me. Their destination was the top so that they could take the CRAZY ride down.

The trails start off fairly easy as they go across the mountain and head upwards in slow increments, until they don’t. Most of the mountain bikers I saw pushed their bikes up the steepest bits, even the ones with e-bikes. It was a bit like the tortoise and the hare, although in this case the tortoise did eventually lose, but I was ok with that because seeing how far I could get before they caught up, kept me moving. The first photo below shows where the mountain cable cars stop. I did not make it that high, but I got quite close.

After this long, really difficult stretch the hike gets a bit easier, something for which I was truly grateful because I hadn’t actually gone that far and I was flagging. There was a moment where I actually thought that no one would know that I turned around so soon, but then I realized that I would and I am a terrible liar, so on I went ‘racing’ the mountain bikers. I was much closer to the the Refuge than I realized and was delighted to see it not too long after this stretch.

The Refuge du Mayen is definitely a rest stop, but it is very well equipped with running water, toilets, e-bike charging stations, tables and food from local farms – mainly fondue. Sadly, they only took cash and I was only packing cards so I used the facilities, took some photos and then went on my merry way. The lake was small, but colourful. The fairies were a delightful surprise.

I went up the hill a little more, but decided that I was still interested in the Tour de Mayen, even though it was quite far away. So, I turned around and got back on that trail.

However, when I got to the signs, I decided that Crete du Fer would be more interesting because it was closer and had a restaurant. Ya, so neither happened. When making decisions about which trails to follow, it is helpful to know what the colours mean. Red trails are mountain trails and you need to be surefooted to follow them. I have some balance issues, but for the most part am fairly surefooted. Let me just say how very happy I am that I did not try the blue trail which is an alpine route and requires much more knowledge and ability than I have.

Having said that, … the trail I chose went reasonable well, until it didn’t. Somehow I got off the trail, pretty sure that is my fault for daydreaming a bit and following a cow trail rather than the marked path, but I picked it up again after some rather rough bits. Happily on my way again, even though there were parts that did not impress me, I kept my nerve up, slowed down and was making progress. Until I came to the ‘staircase’. The warning sign caught my attention and then I noticed that the path seemed to disappear. This is never a good thing. Nonetheless, I was determined to give it a try so I crept forward. There was a rope attached to the side of the trail and I had seen some people come up it, so it seemed safe enough. I am sure it was. I made part of the way, but when I got to the top of the ridiculously steep staircase, my brain said ‘Nope.’ I was unable to figure out what to do, so I sat down to think about it. Of course, it was a busy trail so I had about two minutes to myself before someone appeared at the top.

The last time I was in a situation where I had to sit down at the edge of a cliff and think about my choices, I was with my Cousin Tan at Tintagel and she eventually found me. Of course, she laughed and took photos before she walked me to safety. Unfortunately, she was at home and I was at the top of the stairway of misery, trying to get me boot unstuck so I could turn around. I managed to not actually have a panic attack, but my heart was racing and I knew it was time to go back. I was a bit disappointed in myself, but have since decided that I will take a bus to the end point next time and climb the staircase, rather than trying to descend that way.

I merrily went back the way I came, stopped at the Refuge du Mayen again, after which I started back down the mountain to Leysin. On the way down I simply enjoyed the view and kept reminding myself to check where I was putting my feet so I didn’t roll down the mountain. The sun was going down so I was happy to be heading back into town. Gulliver decided that he wanted a short break to enjoy the view before we got back into town.

It was a glorious late October hike. The weather, the colours, the trails and the people all made it a memorable day. I am looking forward to actually completing the trail the next time I am in Leysin.

¹ Snowshoe Magazine:- “Taking the ‘Light and Air Cure’ in the Alpes Vaudoises”