Ich hatte vorher noch nie von den Apuanischen Alpen gehört und war eher wegen Cinque Terre in der Region. Aber sobald ich auf der Autobahn von Parma nach La Spezia in der Distanz die felsige Berge sah, wusste ich dass ich gleich auf Internet mehr Informationen suchen sollte: welche Berge sind das, und lohnt es sich dort noch eine...

Day 1 Lézzeno - Sasso Calvarone - Monte Colmenacco - Costa del San Primo Ascent 1550m, descent 150m, 5h15, T3 The most convenient and reliable way to access the western shores of the Lago di Como is the "Palm Express" Postauto service which runs once per day between Lugano and St. Moritz (obligatory reservation on...

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only longer travel distances to reach the good weather." Taking this motto to heart, madu and I drove for six hours to the Cottian Alps, with the objective of climbing the region's highest and most iconic peak: the Monviso / Monte Viso / "Re di Pietra". The mountain has received quite some...

The Bocchette trail in the Brenta Dolomites! A unique route, traversing along incredible ledges, from saddle (= bocchetta) to saddle, just below the highest peaks of the Brenta group. A via ferrata classic if there ever was one! As far as via ferrata is concerned, the routes are not particularly difficult (up to C / K3, mostly...

Being located within 20 minutes of the Col Raiser cable car, the large, well-equipped Regensburger Hütte is quite a contrast to the much more rustic Swiss SAC huts that I'm used to. Still, spending the night here is an excellent way to be on the popular Sass Rigais route long before the crowds arrive by gondola. As a bonus, the...

Finally, I've had another chance to visit the Dolomites, even if it was just for two days. The weather forecast for day one was not that great either, but we took our chance anyway, and we were rewarded for that. ---- We take the cable car up to Col Raiser and start in a slightly descending line past the Regensburger Hütte...

After doing the Traversata Alta delle Grigne in December, I knew that I would be back in the Alpi Lecchesi, but I had not expected to be back this soon. I had to endure some weird looks from people who didn't understand that I would head south, just now that the snow has finally arrived in the north. But the sunny weather forecast...

Instead of complaining about the bad snow conditions in the north, I decided to head south again, where it is possible to pretend that it's still September. There has been no precipitation since mid-October and the temperatures are still quite comfortable in t-shirt. In search for a hut that is still open, I stumbled upon the...

Throwing in the following three ingredients... 1) Anxiety to finally properly start the 2015 hiking season 2) A good weather forecast for the whole weekend in the south 3) My intention to do some treks with bivouacs this year ...an ambitious plan was created: a two day hike from near Lake Como in Italy over the...

Right next to the most touristic of all passes - the Great St. Bernard - there's a very scenic alpine route. It is described in the SAC guidebook "Die Klettersteige der Schweiz", with the disclaimer "more of a alpine hike than a proper via ferrata, but in return: panorama, panorama!" That's a pretty accurate summary. From the...

Day two of my Pentecost weekend in the Dolomites. Via ferrata is one of the main attractions in the Dolomites for me, and this was going to be my first one: the via ferrata Sandro Pertini, located near Wolkenstein. ---- The via ferrata Sandro Pertini has been the subject of some controversy. It is located in a national park...

My CouchSurfing host Kurt suggested a hike on the Peitlerkofel. At 2875 metres above sea level, there was still some snow to be expected, but he expected the south-facing ascent route to be fine. And going high was not a bad idea, with a heat wave bringing temperatures of 35°C to Südtirol. It proved to be a great plan. The...

Last month I published the report of day one of my weekend in Italy, but part two (and arguably the best part!) was still missing. So here we go... My CouchSurfing hosts works at the Ispra Joint Research Centre, a huge European Commission institution which even has its own section of the Italian Alpine Club! This section had...

I wouldn't have my birthday weekend ruined by another rainy forecast for Switzerland. So I just planned a weekend away over on the Italian side of the Alps. CouchSurfer Mayeul hosted me in the village of Cadrezzate, and both on Saturday and Sunday we drove to the other side of Lago Maggiore to go walking. On Saturday we hiked...