9.00 am, St. Jakob im Isenthal cable car station
Coaching Course on Fear of Heights | Greater Safety on Exposed Terrain
You’d actually like to enjoy the mountains, but as soon as you find yourself on exposed terrain, does your fear of heights hold you back? In this coaching course, you’ll learn to understand your fear better, build confidence and remain capable of taking action even on exposed sections.
Technics
Endurance
Many people are familiar with this feeling: the anticipation of a mountain hike is immense. But as soon as the path narrows, the ridge becomes exposed or you look down into the depths, your body suddenly takes over. Your heart beats faster, your legs feel heavy and every step takes a great deal of effort. Although you know that, objectively speaking, the situation is safe, it feels anything but safe. Perhaps your fear of heights keeps holding you back from taking the next step, and as a result you’ve already missed out on summits, cut short hikes, or given up entirely on your dream of climbing, high-altitude hikes or ridge walks. This is exactly where our coaching course comes in. Together with Helen Meyer, a federally certified organisational mentor, you’ll learn to better understand your fear of heights and develop new ways of dealing with it. You’ll discover what happens in your body, why fear arises in exposed situations, and how you can react at an early stage. What makes this course special is that we don’t practise in a seminar room, but right where the fear of heights arises: out on the mountain.
The varied hike from Brisen over the Haldigrat offers the ideal setting for this. In situations that are objectively safe, you’ll feel your way step by step through exposed sections. You’ll learn simple, effective methods to help you stay calm, build confidence and remain capable of taking action despite feeling a bit queasy. It’s not about making the fear go away. The aim is to ensure that it no longer prevents you from experiencing the mountains the way you want to. At the end of the day, you’ll take home new experiences and a personal toolkit that can accompany you on future hikes, via ferratas or high-altitude tours. Perhaps this course is exactly the first step towards the tour you’ve only ever dreamed of.
Target price: We’ll show you how to tackle your fear of heights with greater understanding, confidence and new tools, and how to develop new coping skills.
Procedure and meeting place
We’ll meet at the valley station of the St. Jakob im Isenthal cable car. We recommend travelling by public transport, as the start and end points are different and we’ll be doing a short hike. The bus from Altdorf arrives at 08:57.
During an introductory session, we’ll get to know each other and discuss your personal goals and expectations, as well as the schedule for the day. We’ll take the cable car to Gitschenen, where our tour together begins.
As we work our way up to the ‘Brisen’ level, we’ll start by laying the foundations. In calm surroundings, you’ll get to know your own personal reaction patterns and learn simple, practical methods for maintaining calm and confidence in challenging situations. At the first exposed sections, we’ll put these tools into immediate practice. Together, we’ll observe what changes and how you can build confidence step by step.
After a break at the summit, the varied traverse takes us across the Haldigrat. Here, you’ll have further opportunities to put what you’ve learnt into practice and gain experience in a variety of situations. By the end of the day, you’ll look back on the many challenges you’ve overcome and take your own personal toolkit home with you.
We’ll finish the tour together in Niederrickenbach at the valley station, from where it’s a 10-minute walk to the railway station. On the train journey home, there’ll still be time for everyone to reflect on the day’s experiences.
Course details
Who is this course for?
This course is for you if:
- you’d like to go on mountain hikes, via ferrata routes or high-altitude treks, but exposed sections keep making you feel uneasy or holding you back.
- You know that a situation is objectively safe, but your body still reacts with fear.
- your legs freeze up, your heart starts beating faster, or you lose the nerve to carry on as soon as the path drops steeply to the left or right.
- you want to understand your fear better, rather than letting it control you.
- you want to regain your self-confidence and expand your capabilities on the mountain.
This course is not about getting rid of your fear. It is about remaining capable of taking action despite your fear.
Course content
- Understanding the fear of heights better
- Recognising your own triggers and reaction patterns
- Discover simple and effective coaching tools
- Applying strategies directly in the field
- Building confidence in objectively safe situations
- Gaining confidence, step by step, in exposed sections
- Develop a personal kit for future mountain tours
The chosen route was carefully selected in consultation with a mountain guide. As a T3-rated mountain hike, it offers objectively safe, easily navigable sections with varying degrees of exposure. The tour provides the ideal conditions for building confidence and gaining new experiences in a safe environment.
Requirements
- Fitness level required for a mountain hike of around 4–5 hours and 900 metres of elevation gain at a leisurely pace (~300 metres of elevation gain per hour)
- Sure-footedness on mountain paths
- Willingness to come to terms with one’s own fear of heights
- Openness to reflection and coaching in a small group
Price and services
- CHF 225 per person
- Small group of 4–6 guests
- Including planning and delivery with the coach, and her travel expenses.
- Excluding personal travel expenses, train tickets and personal expenses.
Material and equipment
For this coaching day, you will need the following equipment:
- clothing suitable for the weather and for the mountains
- Mountaineering boots, walking boots or good approach shoes
- Possibly telescopic walking sticks
- 20-litre day rucksack containing sunglasses, sun cream, a water bottle and lunch
- Pen and notebook for personal notes
Bergschaft tours and courses are conducted in German as standard. However, our mountain guides speak good English, as do many of the participants. If you speak English, you are of course very welcome. Depending on the tour, it may be worth asking us in advance whether the guide and the group are comfortable speaking English.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us, preferably via the Contact form.
Here’s how you can join us on the ‘Fear of Heights’ coaching course:
- Sunday, 6 September 2026Nur noch 5 freie Plätze, mit 3 weiteren Buchungen ist die Durchführung gesichert.
Federally Certified CoachCHF 225 - Saturday, 19 September 2026Nur noch 5 freie Plätze, mit 3 weiteren Buchungen ist die Durchführung gesichert.Federally Certified CoachCHF 225
As Private Tour on your desired date with your group:
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