The Eastern Alps in Switzerland provide a playground of easy mountain tours and are ideal for day trips. For a quick mountain trail running experience, the route from Krummenau to Kaltbrunn provides 1300 m elevation change over 25 km distance, and offers a multitude of variations. The route follows the Swiss hiking trail to Mt. Speer, and can be shortened by taking the Wolzen Alp cable car.
Distance: 25 km / Elevation Gain: 1300 m
Strava Link: Krummenau to Kaltbrunn over Mt. Speer
Due to it’s wonderful location, Speer is great destination from either the Zurich or the St. Gallen side, and therefore is very popular during the summer. The summit will likely be crowded, so expect to share the view with folks drinking a beer after finishing the Speer Kletterweg. Hikers of all ages are to be expected on the summit, and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation.
You can easily descent from the Mt. Speer summit down to Amden by following the crowd, but I recommend taking the longer route down to Kaltbrunn. This route follows the ridge line of the mountain and is less-traveled by hikers. The vast majority of which hike up to Speer from the Amden cable car side of the mountain. Here you can enjoy thrill of looking over one side of the ridge and seeing it fall away into the landscape below. It is of course a normal hiking trail, so there’s no risk of falling off unless you walk right to the edge and slip, and I recommend not doing that.
