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Elevation Profile
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Short Description
The ‘Hochtal Val Frisal’ trail in Graubünden, Switzerland, leads to the beautiful high valley of the same name, through the highest primeval spruce forest of Europe.
In my version of the hike, we leave out the optional cable car ride.
Impressions
As late autumn still felt more like early autumn, and snowfall in the lower alps was still not on anyone’s radar, we decided to cross off one more item from my want-to-go list: the Val Frisal high valley tour.
Looking forward to enjoying the view of beautiful autumn auburn colored bog grass stretched out in front of us while having our tofu sandwiches, we set off from the charming village of Brigels in high spirits.
The ascent, or rather especially the first portion of the ascent, was easy and gentle enough to call into question the wisdom of using the cable car to cut this part of the hike. Following Flem creek through the forested areas was also quite pleasant.
Less wise than ditching the cable car, on the other hand, was setting off as late as we had, as we could soon see the sun setting over the valley before we had reached it. By the time we were there, around 3 PM, Val Frisal was already completely in the shade.
Oh well, the views were still very nice. We just wished we had brought gloves, as the temps had dropped to freezing and the wind didn’t exactly help. So lunch was had quickly, and we made our way back.
A few hundred meters lower and a few degrees warmer, we were able to enjoy ourselves again, and decided to buy some nice tactile gloves for hiking soon so we wouldn’t have the same problem again.
It’s a lovely region and I’d like to repeat the hike sometime to see Val Frisal in sunlight as well.
Would you like to share your own experiences with this hike? Do you have any questions? Something to add? Feel free to leave a comment below 🙂
Route Report / Gallery
Full size images without watermarks are available for licensing to interested parties. Check romans.pictures for a selection of my favorites, or contact me for details.
A beautiful car in a beautiful place. Also the starting point of the hike. 
Breil/Brigels village. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. View during the ascent. 
View during the ascent. The namesake high valley. Yes, in autumn it would be better to arrive around noon, before the sun abandons this place. Oh well, it’s beautiful anyway. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
View during the descent. 
Back just before dark, as usual.
NEWSLETTER
Don’t miss a hike 🙂
Basic Data
| Date of Hike: | 2020-11-13 |
| Participants: | Roman, Jenny |
| Technical Difficulty: | T1: Easy |
Stats
Roman’s Version
| Km | 14 |
| Net Hours (Est.) | 4.75 |
| Net Hours (Act.) | 4.75 |
| Ascent (m) | 859 |
| Descent (m) | 859 |
| Max. Alt. (m) | 1915 |
| Loop? | Yes |
| Cable Car? | No |
“Official” Version
| Km | 12 |
| Net Hours (Est.) | 4.15 |
| Ascent (m) | 600 |
| Descent (m) | 1000 |
| Max. Alt. (m) | 1915 |
| Loop? | Yes |
| Cable Car? | Yes |