Brawand, who came from a modest background, lost his father, a mountain guide, at the age of four when he was killed by lightning at the top of the Wetterhorn. After Brawand had graduated from the Lehrerseminar (school for teachers) in Hofwil, he worked as a primary school teacher, a small farmer, rancher and cattle breeder, and very intensively as a guide, especially for climbers from Japan. As a mountaineer, he made a name for himself with the first ascent of the Mittellegigrat (the northeast ridge of the Eiger) on 10 September 1921, serving as guide for Maki Yūkō along with fellow guides Fritz Amatter and Fritz Steuri.