From the Grindelwald train station, walk ten minutes out the main road to the cable car station for First, signposted on the lefthand side. Purchase a one-way ticket. When you arrive at First (2,168 meters), you need to find a trail marker for Bachalpsee, a little lake about an hour away. This will point you directly into the mountains, in a northwesterly direction; there'll be a few ups and downs but nothing too strenuous before you reach the lake. Unlike the glacier hike, the terrain is more wide open, looking out over broad meadows and high valleys, giving you a good perspective on the whole of the Grindelwald area.

As far as alpine scenery is concerned, the Faulhorn hike offers some of the best, rivalling what there is to be seen around the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. Nothing's better than to be up there in the spring, with crocuses coming up through the leftover patches of snow, rivulets of water coursing everywhere and the smell of wild herbs, being thawed out by the sun. Spring and fall are the best; if you go in the summer, you of course risk having the whole world up there with you.

The good news is, if it's July, the herds of tourists usually don't venture any further away from First than the mountain mirror of Bachalpsee. From there, follow signs to the Faulhorn, on a trail that's steep but not at all precarious, a trail that's relatively tourist-free and absolutely breathtaking. You don't realize it as you're climbing because you're too busy looking back down at the bright blue lake and the Wetterhorn behind it, but the mountain to your left, called the Reeti, is blocking the rest of your view. By the time you reach the top of the Faulhorn, a whole lot more will have spread out before you. Or beneath you, as the case may be. Get something to drink at the Berghotel Faulhorn and enjoy it all for a while, feeling smug that you're a scant three hundred meters lower than the Schilthorn, and you've paid less than half the price to get there!