Hexensteig + Seewli

The Hexensteig is a fun and somewhat mysterious via ferrata above Chilcherberge, which is reachable by an exiting ride in a small cable car from Silenen (limited free parking at the cable car, more parking near the church).

From the top station, we hike uphill in the direction of the Seewli, past an interesting shelter full of signed stones, some sort of stone age "Routebuch". Some 100m above the shelter (at ca. 1660m), a cairn and signpost mark the start of the Hexensteig, which mostly runs through a chasm inside the mountain. There is enough light, so a headtorch is not necessary. Passing through the entrance gate, the via ferrata starts with a short zip wire. Attaching yourself to the pulley is a stretch; it might help to bring a carabiner make the attachment slightly longer. Afterwards, the route is a creative mix of wooden logs and iron rungs. There is also an optional detour to a spectacular, exposed bench on the outside of the rock face. The SAC guidebook "Die Klettersteige der Schweiz" grades the via ferrata as K5, which seems a bit exaggerated to me; K4 should cover the difficulties as well.

There is enough time to hike further to the Seewli, a picturesque tarn directly underneath the 1000m tall Gross Windgällen NW face. The weather is perfect for photography, with just a few snow flurries, but otherwise mostly Föhn-induced sunny spells.

On the way back, we make a small detour to the Schipfental suspension bridge. Back at the cable car, we discover that the winds have gotten too strong and service is suspended, so we have to walk back to Silenen on foot. The hiking path between Chilcherberge and Ufem Grätli (P. 915) is officially closed ("Steinschlaggefahr"), but the cable car attendant advises us to use this path anyway.