Murrenbach Falls

Murrenbach Falls (also Mürrenbachfall or Mürrelbachfälle in German; pronounced "MEUR-un-bahkh-fell-uh") took us by surprise as it fell prominently deep within Lauterbrunnen Valley. It surprised us because prior to our visit, we thought the main waterfalls in the valley were

In any case, we were able to view this waterfall from a variety of positions. However, you can't get close enough to touch it let alone behind it (like you could for Staubbach Falls). So you don't quite get that intimate feeling like you get when you've hiked to a particular waterfall or somehow spent a lot of time close to it. It's really more like a backdrop, and all you can really do is to snap photos of it however you wish.

I believe this waterfall flows year round, but I'd imagine since it's fed mostly by snowmelt, its flow may be on the disappointing side towards late Summer or through Autumn (until the next storms revive it). Of course, I could be wrong since I'm uncertain how reliable this waterfall is late in the year.

On a technical note, the signs here indicate that Murrenbach Falls is possibly the tallest singular vertical waterfall in Lauterbrunnen Valley (and possibly the country) at 417m (though other signs here conflict with this number saying 428m and 430m among others). That would put it higher than Staubbach Falls' 297m drop and Seerenbach Falls' 305m drop on its middle (2nd) tier.

However, I wonder if this waterfall has a steep enough slope to be considered vertical, and admittedly, I don't think there's a consensus out there as to how much slope is necessary to count as "vertical." The signs here seem to give this waterfall the benefit of the doubt, but from visually looking at it, it seems rather borderline to me. In fact, this waterfall doesn't quite exhibit the scattering behavior under windy conditions that its neighbors (e.g. Staubbach Falls and Ägertenbach Falls) exhibit reinforcing the notion that this isn't truly a vertical waterfall.

You can test this notion by visually inspecting the waterfall from the cable car between Gimmelwald and the station near Stechelberg (though it's still a judgment call to determine if the waterfall passes the steepness test based on your observations). But to be more exact, you can use a rangefinder and clinometer combo and aim the tools at both the very top and very bottom of the falls. And instead of performing calculations using your data to determine its height, you tweak the calculations to determine the length (by using the cosine of the hypotenuse you've measured instead of the sine; see How Do I Measure A Waterfall's Height?).

From Lauterbrunnen town (see Staubbach Falls page for directions on how we got to town), you have a choice of taking the bus towards Stechelberg or walking/biking there (I think you're looking at 2-3 hours one-way if you're walking all the way to Stechelberg at the end of the road).

You can already start to see the waterfall from certain spots on the outskirts of Lauterbrunnen town, but the most direct views of Murrenbach Falls are from the Schilthornbahn cable car station (roughly 5km from Lauterbrunnen town and 2km from Trümmelbach Falls). You can continue to see Murrenbach Falls from as far back as Stechelberg itself. And, of course, you can also see it from the cable car between the valley and Gimmelwald (as mentioned earlier).

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Full view of Murrenbach Falls from the cable car

Direct view of the falls from the cable car station

View of the falls from Trummelbach Falls

Walking deep within Lauterbrunnen Valley with the falls to the right

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Bottom up sweep from the path that goes right in front of its base

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TRIP REPORTS

• June 9, 2010

GUIDEBOOKS / OTHER RESOURCES

NEARBY WATERFALLS

• Staubbach Falls
• Ägertenbach Falls
• Trümmelbach Falls

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