Inspired by Bombo's report, we picked the Haldensteiner Calanda as an unusual hiking summit for mid-December. We were able to drive all the way up to Vazer Alp, on the steep and mostly unpaved toll road from Untervaz. The toll can be paid by text message, as explained by a sign at the Untervaz village end. The process is easy...

I joined Sputnik for a hike onto the Tschuggen, of which he already published his own report. Different from Sputnik, I also explored the Tschuggen south ridge and added and ascent of the Lauberhorn to my day. The ascent of the Tschuggen via P. 2333 (nice photo spot) and the east ridge is relatively straight-forward. There...

After spending the morning on the Abendrot via ferrata, there was still time for a decent hike in the afternoon. For this purpose, I drove to the Faschinajoch and parked at the first hairpin on the southern side of the pass (nearby Hotel Domig). The hiking path crosses the Stutztobel (already some icy patches on the path here!)...

Via Kapf, Via Kessi, Abendrot Klettersteig, Wälder Klettersteig. Two different locations, with each two parallel sports via ferratas, short but intensive with grades ranging from D to E (ca. K5- to K6- on the Hüsler scale). All four could be ticked off in a single day, but I did them on two different occasions. Via Kessi and...

We had planned to drive to Cholschlag Vorsäss and start the hike there. However, unexpectedly, we find the road closed to normal traffic (at P. 917 when coming from Flums and at P. 774 when coming from Mels). I don't know if this is a permanent change, or if the road to Cholschlag is only open in summer? After some driving...

When I called to book the Riemenstalden bus (www.riemenstalden.com), there seemed to be some surprise at the other end of the line that anybody would want to use the bus at all. Indeed, the conditions on the Lidernen side look pretty unsuitable for both hiking and skiing and the cable car is not in service. But we have our eye on...

My second time doing the Marwees ridge. Last time, the clouds prevented me from getting any views from the summit. This time I was rewarded with great summit views, while everything lower down was covered by several layers of low cloud... ---- I pick at different approach route this time, starting in Wasserauen and reaching...

We start our hike at the Brunnmettlenalp, reached by car on an unpaved road from the upper end of the Obersee. There is ample parking at the end of the public road at ca. 1175m. We continue on foot to Ahornen where we join the alpine route onto the Tierberg. At P. 1524 (signpost), there is choice between two different paths. We...

From last year's hike on Glannachopf, Chli Fulfirst and Gross Fulfirst, I already knew that the Werdenberg area is beautiful in autumn colours. This time, we start at Voralp, which we find almost completely deserted at this time of year. We hike up via Ingarnascht, Schlösslichopf and (tonguetwister!) Isisizsess to the Chapf. The...

The Hexensteig is a fun and somewhat mysterious via ferrata above Chilcherberge, which is reachable by an exiting ride in a small cable car from Silenen (limited free parking at the cable car, more parking near the church). From the top station, we hike uphill in the direction of the Seewli, past an interesting shelter full of...

From Lauterbrunnen, we follow the hiking path that climbs the cliffs on the west side of the valley in the direction of Mürren. The path stays in the forrest (where we get to observe some chamois) and away from the cliffs, so the views are limited to the occasional glimpse of Eiger and Mönch through the trees. Those glimpses are...

The path from Tenna onto the Piz Fess is marked white-red-white. The markings are rather sparse, and often only there where the path is obvious anyway... Still, in good visibility, it's hard to go wrong.We had not expected many other hikers on the mountain. The ascent of 1250m is considerable and there is a crispy layer of snow...

The Chrummfadeflue ridge is already well-documented here on Hikr (see e.g. Ka's report). Nevertheless, it's a very quiet route (the last entry in the Gustispitz log book is already 11 days old), especially when you compare it with the tourist magnets of Gantisch to the west and Stockhorn to the east. Since it had rained the day...

Hikr-Treff 2016; the first Hikr meetup where I participate. Uncertain about how long the weather would remain stable, I decided to start hiking straight away upon arrival in Melchsee-Frutt on Saturday morning, and only meet up with the other Hikrs later on. Or maybe I would run into some of them on the mountain? ---- From...

"Of all the excellent viewpoints in this guidebook, the Pizzo Forno might be the number one," writes SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele Gotthard. "The ascent is best left for an autumn day with clear weather." Check and check. Or so we thought, until a cloud came out of nowhere to reach the summit Pizzo Forno summit at exactly the same...

Trying to get away from the bad weather, we headed as far south as possible. The chosen goal ended up being Valsolda, just across the Swiss-Italian border from Lugano. Though not high in altitude, the landscape here is astonishingly wild. It's almost as if a piece of Thailand's tropical Khao Sok national park has been moved to the...

I have already been a fan of the "Schweiz 3000" and "Ostalpen 3000" books published by Rother Selection. When I noticed the new "Gratwandern Schweiz" guidebook by some of the same authors (congratz Pit, t2star and Omega3), I did not hesitate. There are plenty of great hiking ideas in there. Many routes were already known to me,...

Though Vorarlberg is closer to Zürich than many Swiss cantons, I hadn't explored this part of Austria at all until now. A via ferrata is always a good place to start for getting to know a new mountain range. ---- After taking the popular Lünersee cable car, we walk to the eastern end of the dam. From here, a...

The Pizzo Centrale is stilla popular summit, even though resurveying stripped the summit of its 3000m status some years ago. Besides the normal route from the Lago della Sella, there are three ridges leading to the summit. All of the ridges have interesting alpine hiking routes, which have been described on Hikr many times...

The SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele guidebook describes a route over the Älpeltispitz that takes you "from Klosters Dorf to Klosters Platz in seven hours". Arriving by car, we make the hike slightly shorter by parking at the basin at ca. 1440m on the Alpenrösli road. From here, you can reach the Älpetlispitz on a nice circular...