A Ninja Warrior visits the Jungfrau Region

From climbing the vertical rock face to the delicate handicraft in the bobbin room. From making cheese on the alp to a fast ride with a toboggan. Ninja Warrior Joel Mattli experienced all this and more in the Jungfrau Region.

‘So many beautiful things to do in the Jungfrau Region’. That's what Joel Mattli wrote on Instagram at the end of his four-day stay in the Jungfrau Region. You can find out what “beautiful things” the Ninja Warrior experienced with us in this article, as we accompanied the 30-year-old at every turn during his visit.

And then, while others might struggle with a fear of heights, he does a headstand on the summit of the Rotstock. Yes, on the very first day, we are going high up, and the Ninja Warrior is in his element. But one thing at a time. We meet Joel Mattli at the train station in Interlaken. And with him are the two mountain guides from Outdoor Switzerland who will be accompanying us on the Rotstock. After a ‘good briefing’, we head to the Grindelwald Terminal – and then take the Eiger Express up to the Eiger Glacier. The approach to the via ferrata takes about 45 minutes on the Eiger Trail. ‘How is that possible?’ Joel Mattli looks up 360 metres to the summit of the Rotstock, at the foot of the infamous Eiger North Face. It's pretty easy from there, at least for a Ninja Warrior. ‘The start on the vertical ladders is impressive, but I didn't get shaky knees,’ Joel Mattli says afterwards. He raves about the ‘fantastic view’ and is already making further plans with the mountain guide. They talk about the Mittellegi Ridge, a very demanding climbing tour. Then he does a headstand next to the summit cross, at 2662 metres above sea level, and, secured by a rope, goes to the edge of the abyss – or when the ninja warrior in him comes to the fore. He then returns to the starting point on the western flank. And so the first day in the Jungfrau Region draws to a close.

The early bird catches the worm. Today, we have to be up at 6:30. Half an hour later, we are sitting on a modern e-bike – heading up to Alp Holzmatten. No breakfast for us, but there is a good reason for that. The ride out of the alpine village, through the forest and up to the alp should take about an hour. But we keep stopping. The sunrise is too beautiful. Lori and Martin Haldimann, who have been spending every summer on the alp for over 40 years, are waiting for us at the top. Breakfast is already on the table: sausage, cheese and other dairy products from the animals on the alp, freshly baked bread. A quintessential Alpine breakfast. Once we've had our fill, it's time to get to work – at least for our Ninja Warrior. He gets to try his hand at making cheese – and really does reach his limits a few times. For example, when he tries to separate the curds from the whey using a cloth. ‘It was anything but easy, not least because the whey was incredibly hot.’ But the work is also entertaining, because alpine dairyman Martin Haldimann is never at a loss for a joke. ‘He's a character, and he made us laugh a lot,’ says Joel Mattli. When it comes to shaping and pressing the cheese, the Ninja Warrior is back in his element, as this work requires muscle power. And after salting, when it comes to transporting the 10-kilogram wheels to the cheese storage, he is also in his element. But he humbly notes: ‘You don't think about the hard work that goes into it when you buy cheese in the store.’

Around noon, it's time to take the mountain bike back down to the valley. Suddenly, Joel Mattli's T-shirt is no longer quite clean. ‘Shit,’ he says. And he means it literally. ‘I got a cow pat on it,’ he says, laughing, adding, ‘The highlight of the day.’

It's only 1 p.m. when we get back to Grindelwald. ‘We've already experienced so much. It feels like we've already had a long, intense day.’ And so the rest of the day is spent relaxing. At the Hotel Sunstar in Grindelwald, where he is staying for the four days in the Jungfrau Region. On the sun terrace. But Joel Mattli also raves about his room ‘with an almost 360-degree view of the surrounding mountain panorama’. And about the fine food in the Adlerstübli. In the evening, he is also reminded of how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. ‘Just a few seconds ago there was still a blue sky – and seconds later a thunderstorm was rolling over Grindelwald. That was crazy.’ But it is also the only time in the four days that the sun is covered by clouds. Only for a few minutes. After that, the weather is back to its best. And then Joel Mattli receives a visitor for the duration of the trip. From Raphael Schmid, a colleague he met about ten years ago in military training school.

And so, on the morning of the third day, there is hardly a cloud in the sky. After breakfast with a view, the group takes the train from Grindelwald via Zweilütschinen to Lauterbrunnen. ‘Already a first highlight,’ Joel Mattli experiences while capturing the scenery on his phone. The journey continues by PostBus to Isenfluh. ‘A secret spot,’ he lets his followers on Instagram know, posing in front of beautiful chalets. ‘No people, a different world.’ And all just a twelve-minute drive from Lauterbrunnen. A small, almost nostalgic aerial cableway, which, according to the operator's website, can carry eight people or a cow, takes us up to Sulwald. From there, we continue on foot to the lookout point. What a panorama! We enjoy a fine lunch in the Sulwaldstübli before heading back to Lauterbrunnen. It won't be too strenuous in the afternoon either, at least not physically, but Joel Mattli's brain muscles will be put to the test. In the bobbin lace workshop in Lauterbrunnen, we are already expected by ‘nice ladies’, to quote the words of the Ninja Warrior. The lace-makers meet here every Friday afternoon to keep the old handicraft technique alive. Joel Mattli is concentrating on his work, crossing and twisting the bobbins as he is shown. It is to become a bracelet. But it will be just a small part of it, as the two of them still want to do a bit of sightseeing in Lauterbrunnen. ‘Not so secret a spot,’ Joel Mattli writes in his Instagram post of the Staubbachfall Waterfall. A day of contrasts.

We said goodbye to Joel Mattli and Raphael Schmid the day before, after their visit to the lace-making workshop. But before checking out of the hotel, they are making the most of their last hours in the Jungfrau Region. They visit the ‘refreshing Grindelwald Glacier Gorge’, which is pleasantly cool even on hot summer days, before taking the aerial cableway up to Pfingstegg. Awaiting them here is a 725-metre-long toboggan run and a zip line, where they can sit on a belt system suspended from pulleys and glide through the treetops.

Then Joel Mattli says goodbye to the Jungfrau Region. And he means it literally. It is only a matter of time before he visits us again. His social media followers are also impressed by his experiences. ‘I've even been called the male Heidi.’ It's hard for him to pick out one highlight of his four-day visit. ‘The via ferrata,’ is his first answer, which he immediately revises. “Making cheese on the alp was new to me, a unique experience.” But he also mentions the deserted village of Isenfluh. Yes, ’so many beautiful things to do in the Jungfrau Region.’