Nine times out of ten, above the soup!

Statistics

2 - 3

hrs

689

m

691

m

14

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Moderate

Description

The Uetliberg is the go-to mountain of Switzerland’s beautiful capital.

As a result of the sky colour-coordinating with the pavement during most of November, Zurich can seem in excess of grey.

However, never fear, Uetliberg is here! The 870m peak, standing out as the highest of Zurich’s mini mountains, is nine times out of ten “above the soup” and the sun often shines bright onto her summit, making it well worth the climb.

Beginning from the quaint centre of Albisrieden, pass the pastures full of grazing ornamental cows, exotic Icelandic ponies and the occasional playful pair of goats as you ascend into the forest.

Especially beautiful in the Fall, take any number of trails lined with the golden and red leaf litter as you climb.

Keep to the fire trails for a faster and more runnable time-trial or tap out some steeper single trail sections – definitely not white-sock suitable in the shoulder seasons, often boasting a generous layer of mud under-leaf.

As you climb higher towards your goal, you’ll wave Tchüss to the foggy grey of the city and revel in the warmth of the sun as it touches your skin, shining through the remaining leaves on the trees.

Harness all of that Vitamin D as you pass the train station on your right.

If you’ve timed it perfectly, you’ll reach the last 400 metres in between trains so there’s no tourists to dodge on the final push.

Time it wrong and you can take the less tourist-laden single trail on the left to hold your pace. *Snow and ice are inevitable in the Winter months so microspikes are recommended.