I chose this route for several reasons : firstly, I live about 2 hours from beautiful Grindelwald and love every occasion to run there. Secondly, I needed some mountain training for a race later in the summer. Finally, it seemed like a reasonable FKT to tackle as a first attempt. I hope many more hikers will take on the route and surely knock down the time significantly.
I was shocked by all the snow still present atop Männlichen, despite warm temperatures and many sunny days leading up to the attempt. I was very underdressed for freezing temps and wind on top, with a light windbreaker and thin long-sleeve shirt. The only answer was to keep moving, which is why I couldn’t find many pictures from the top - I couldn’t feel my fingers!
The climb was long, but not terribly technical. The terrain was, however, slick from the sleet and snow I had towards the middle of the run. The downhill was smooth, mostly on paved roads and thankfully a gradual descent. Overall, a good day out. Thanks to Roland for setting the route, it was a solid one!