Stoos - Fronalpstock
I hiked this hike on August 21, 2022. Stoos ridge hike is a very popular trail, but as I wanted to do a slightly longer hike, I decided to take the cable car up to Stoos and hike from there.
You can hike the ridge from both directions but the most popular direction is from Chlingenstock to Fronalpstock. At Fronalpstock, you can end the hike with a drink or food at the restaurant, while enjoying the panoramic views over Vierwaldstättersee and surrounding mountains.
Full route: Swisstopo
I left Zurich and after a bus ride from Schwyz and a cable car ride with the Schwyz-Stoosbahn to Stoos, I started the hike. The start in Stoos was relatively flat for the first part, wlaking on gravel road. As I slowly made my way upwards, I could see the Mythen peaks above Schwyz in the background. The first part up to Chlingenstock was very quiet and I only met a few people.
It was a cloudy day with some wind, so the sky and visibility constantly changed, but as I reached the top and beginning of the ridge trail, I got the first glimpses of the surrounding mountains.
In between clouds I had direct views to the peak of Rophaien, which is south of Fronalpstock. While the path is very well maintained and many places with steps and chains, it is not for people with vertigo as you do have steep sides in many places.
At a couple of high points you can see the trail running all along the ridge, which looks very nice (even with semi-bad visibility). Because of the weather, the trail wasn’t too crowded, but as the trail is narrow it can be difficult to hike in your own pace on crowded days.
As I got closer to Fronalpstock, the weather cleared up and I got the first views of Vierwaldstättersee below. This last part up to Fronalpstock is more demanding than the first part, and there also started to be more people, making parts of the trail crowded.
On hikes, I sometimes forget to look back and see the landscapes from a different direction. I remembered to do that on this hike and it was very cool to see how the trail zigzagged its way over the ridge and in between clouds.
After the last climb up, I reached Fronalpstock and the area around the restaurant, which has amazing views over Vierwaldstättersee, Seelisberg and towards Bürgenstock and Luzern. After enjoying a long break on the top, I took the cable car down to Stoos and from there another cable car down to the bus, which took me to Schwyz.
