Pilatus, towering 5500 feet above the city of Lucerne, is accessible via a combination of gondola and cableway. The gondola ascends 3000 feet over 5km while the cableway steeply ascends the remaining elevation. The whole trip takes about half an hour and is free with the Swiss Travel Pass! As I went up during the morning, the sun was on the other side of Pilatus and the majority of the journey was in the shadow of the mountain.

In the summer, there is also a popular route via boat and cog railway but it shuts down during the winter.