Day 1 Realp - Rottällihorn - Rotondohütte 1400m ascent, 350m descent, 4h45, PD The weather is perfect and skiers have come to Realp by the dozens to take advantage of the conditions. Around Höhenbiel, the "summer route" is passable on skis as well, with the exception of the debris of one avalanche, which needs to be...

I only have Saturday morning available for a hike, but plenty motivation for a decent tour. The result: a 3.20am alarm and a 5.10am start at the end of the Chlital (Isenthal). A large traffic sign lists the times when the Postauto uses the narrow road from Bauen to Isenthal. It might be advisable to wait a couple of minutes,...

With the weather forecast predicting good weather on Saturday, but thunderstorms all day on Sunday, we went looking for a hut that could be reached within a couple of hours from Zürich already on Friday afternoon. Our choice fell on the Sidelenhütte. My idea for Saturday would have been the Galenstock SE spur, but my rope...

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...

The Zingelstöckli via ferrata in Urnerboden was opened earlier this year. It was already described on Hikr by Hikiashi. The short route is perfect for a half-day trip. As the forecast only predicted half a day of goodweather today, it was the perfect time for my own exploration. ---- We start on the white-red-white marked...

For the second day in a row, I'm venturing into the Uri Alps. And for the second day running, though by total coincidence, I'm going in parinacota's footsteps... This time, our common goal is the Bälmeten. Yesterday we were surprised by the incredible amounts of snow on the Chaiserstock. Today, it's equally astonishing how little...

The Fruttstägä via ferrata is two years old but is yet to see it's first Hikr ascent. It's a short route that can be done in half a day, or it can be the start of a longer tour in the Chaiserstock massif. We go for the second option. From Biel/Kinzig, signposts show the way to the start of the Fruttstägä via ferrata (K4-)....

With a sprained ankle, the wise decision would be to let it rest and recover all weekend. But with an opportunity to climb the spectacular Schächentaler Windgällen in perfect autumn conditions, I was never going to stay down in the fog in Zürich. So I told my ankle: "you better get well by Saturday, because I'm going up whether...

On pages 92-93 in the SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele Gotthard guide book, there is a collage titled"I (heart) Gotthard" with 16 pretty photos of different sights around the Gotthard pass in different seasons. When I first browsed trough the book, one of the small photos in particular immediately drew my attention. At there very...

Thank god for September, trying to do its best to make up for a lost summer. Another fine weekend brought the opportunity to complete a two day tour in the Göschenertal that has been on my tick list for a long time.   ---   When David and I get off the train atGöschenen, our goal for the day is already on the...

Monday to Friday last week, I attended an mountaineering course at the Spannorthütte. The course was organized for SAC section Uto by mountain guide Tom Rohrer. I learned a lot during the five days (and also leaned that there is still so much more to learn). The highlight of the course, which is organised several times each...

The Via Ferrata del Diavolo in Andermatt is a rather short route without much interesting possibilities to extend it with a longer hike. Hence it is a perfect Feierabendtour, even coming from as far as Zürich. Pascal had responded to a message I posted on kletterportal.ch, and we met up at 6.30 pm at the Teufelsbrücke on the...

The Axenstrasse is the section of the road between Zürich and the Gotthard the goes along the Vierwaldstättersee, from Brunnen to Flüelen. It provides some stunning views across the lake whenever the road pops out of one of its many tunnels. On every trip south, this scenery is a strong temptation not to drive any further, but...

"A Dutchman, a Chilean, two Irishmen and a Belgian went to climb a mountain." It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this was actually the composition of our team for a two-day hike with the objective of Clariden (3267m) in the Glarner Alpen.   On Saturday we took the Klausenpass Postbus up to the Klus/Chlus bus...

Having just moved to Zürich, I met up with two CouchSurfers for my first ever hike in the Swiss Alps. A perfect day for it as well, with impeccable weather. We took the train to Brunnen, a quick yet stunning ferry across the Vierwaldstättersee, and the Treib-Seelisbergbahn to gain 300 meters of altitude before the start. The...