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| SCHWEIZ / SUISSE / SVIZZERA / SVIZRA | SWITZERLAND |
| Bern / Berne / Berna / Berna |
The Kleine Scheidegg is a mountain pass at an elevation of 2,061 m, situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the
Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the two arms of the Lütschine river, both converging
at Zweilütschinen, while the nearby Grosse Scheidegg divides the Lütschine from the Rychenbach stream.
The pass is traversed by a walking trail and the Wengernalp Railway, which both connect the villages of Grindelwald with Lauterbrunnen, passing through Wengen between the pass summit and Lauterbrunnen. In winter, Kleine Scheidegg is the centre of the ski area around Grindelwald and Wengen. In summer, it is a popular hiking destination, and is one of the passes crossed by the Alpine Pass Route between Sargans and Montreux. The Jungfrau Marathon, a mountain race that takes place every year in early September, ends at Kleine Scheidegg.
The
Jungfrau (4,158 m) [background] is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located
between the southern canton of Bern and the northern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch,
the Jungfrau forms a massive wall of mountains overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau, one of the most distinctive sights of the
Swiss Alps.
Besides being an intermediate stop on the Wengernalp Railway, the station is also the lower terminus of the Jungfrau Railway, which climbs steeply through
tunnels inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains up to its terminal at the Jungfraujoch, the highest point reachable by rail in Europe. Both railways
operate year-round, and any passengers travelling to the Jungfraujoch must change trains at Kleine Scheidegg. The pass is linked to the summit of the
Lauberhorn and to Arvengarten, on the approach to the pass from Grindelwald, by chairlifts.
Glass no. 4124 [near left] shows a view of both the Kleine Scheidegg pass and the Wengernalp just below it.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleine_Scheidegg]