Map

Thumbnail for the map of the modified Schweizmobil 'Hochtal Val Frisal' (678) hiking trail, opens link to interactive web map.
Source1

Elevation Profile

Elevation Profile of the modified Schweizmobil 'Hochtal Val Frisal' (678) hiking trail.
Source1: Bundesamt für Landestopografie; Drawn with schweizmobilplus.ch

Useful Links

Original Route
Bus Stop
Parking
Weather
Cable Car

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.

View during the ascent.

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.

Image of 'Hochtal Val Frisal' valley in autumn on an afternoon, the sun has already set behind the Silveretta Mountain range surrounding the valley.

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.

  • Image of a Saab 9-5 2001 standing on a gravel parking lot in front of the Graubünden Alps.
  • Image of Breil/Brigels village, starting point of the 'Hochtal Val Frisal' hike.
  • Image of 'Hochtal Val Frisal' valley in autumn on an afternoon, the sun has already set behind the Silveretta Mountain range surrounding the valley.
  • Image of Breil / Brigels around nightfall.

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

Km14
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

Km12
Net Hours (Est.)4.15
Ascent (m)600
Descent (m)1000
Max. Alt. (m)1915
Loop?Yes
Cable Car?Yes
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