Achill Head, at approximately 90m above sea level, might seem like a laughable goal for a hike to the naive Swiss 4000m-bagger. But the appeal of this route lies exactly in the lack of altitude. Being directly surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on both sides, the ridge leading up to Achill Head is one of the most continuously...

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-)....

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...

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...

Day 1 Ossasco - Capanna Cristallina T2-T3, 1200m ascent, 3h The weather forecast for this Saturday afternoon had been quite wet, but we get lucky and don't get more than a light drizzle during the three hour ascent from Ossasco to the Capanna Cristallina. The visibility is rarely more than 50m, though. The modern incarnation...

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...

Start of the hike around 9 o'clock in Sertig. I followed the white-red-white marked trail in direction Fanezfurgga. The Ducan valley is really scenic, and the weather was picture perfect with blue skies and not a single cloud! I spotted a few marmots on the way. From Fanezfurgga, I hiked up along the Chrachenhorn NE ridge,...

(English Version here) Der erste Teil unserer Kolumbienreise Ende 2012 führte uns in den Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) El Cocuyim Bundesstaat Boyacá, ca. 600 km nordöstlich von Bogota. Wir hatten uns für die "vuelta" entschieden, die Umrundung von einigen der höchsten Berge des Landes, einschliesslich der Besteitung des...

The Piz Julier is one of the highest summits in Switzerland with an official (white-blue-white) hiking path to the top. The mountain is often included in via ferrata guidebooks, but it's certainly not a real via ferrata. There are some fixed chains (starting at ca. 3000m and increasing in frequency higher up), but it's perfectly...

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...

"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...

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...

Start of the hike at 08:15 in Dürrboden. The temperature was only about 3°C, so it was a rather chilly morning. I had planned to do this hike already two weeks earlier while we were in Davos on vacation, but the weather was not that great then. From Dürrboden I followed thewhite-red-white marked trail to the Grialetsch hut...

Due to a thunderstorm warning for the afternoon, there was only limited time for a hike. The relatively short, but interesting loop via Mt. Flume and Mt. Liberty seemed like a good option. Apart from the easy access via the Appalachian Trail, Mt. Flume can be reached via the Flume Slide trail, which starts out as an easy hike...

Mweelrea is the highest mountain in the Irish province of Connach. The most interesting popular ascent starts at the northern end of Doo Lough, goes up into the cirque of Glencullin (which even has some proper moraines) and follows a bigramp up the edge of the cirque to a saddle south of the secondary summit of Ben Bury. Though...

You had to participate in the weather lottery, if you wanted to do any hiking this weekend. We gambled on the Büelenhorn and we hit the jackpot. A window of good weather allowed us to reach the summit with fabulous views. And yes, our luck turned in the end: a thunderstorm made us bail from the Stulsergrat and got us pretty wet...

On the final day of my brother's visit to Switzerland, we make use of the "Burgerpass" in Saas-Fee, which gives us free use of the cable cars after staying overnight in the village. We take the "Alpin Express" to the first station at Morenia, where the cable car attendant double-checks that we really intend to get off here,...

For English readers click[here] Tour: Camperio-Dötra-Croce Portera-Croce del Bosc-Pian Com-Camperio Visto da Giulio (gbal): La luce che filtra dalle tapparelle pian piano mi fa emergere da un sonno profondo; mentre assaporo quella strana sensazione dei miei muscoli ancora affaticati eppure chetati...

One of the highlights of our Borneo & Malaysia trip, Mt. Kinabalu is the highest mountain in South East Asia. The way up is a simple, yet long hike and every single day has ca. 100-200 people summiting the mountain. On the way down we chose Low Peak Circuit, the recently built Via Ferrata. A fantastic 2 days, although one has...

[Deutsch siehe unten] Mt. Chocorua, located in the southeastern part of the White Mountains, is a rugged and isolated mountain with a great view, which is easy to spot from many places around it. The rugged top allows for (requires) some rock scrambling. Sources claim that it is one of the most painted (or photographed)...