When driving below on the A3, the Mürtschenstock doesn't look like a mountain that can be scrambled up. Yet while the full ridge traverse is indeed a highly regarded undertaking for climbers, the normal route onto the highest summit (Ruchen) is actually within reach of alpine hikers. The starting point of Talalp can be reached by...

"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...

Nach der doch herausfordernden Tour vom Vortag - bei besten Wetterbedingungen - sowie einem gelungen Auftakt zum Hikr-Treffen im Posthuis, erwartet uns heute morgen auf Melchsee-Frutt, nicht unerwartet, eher trübes Wetter; wir beschliessen, noch vor dem „Briefing“ mit den im Clubhaus Bergfrieden versammelten Hikrn, einen...

Der Fondueflüsterer Damit keine Missverständnisse entstehen: ich bin nicht der Typ, der sich mit falschen Titeln schmückt. Das überlasse ich prominenten Politikern. Es war Prof. Dr. Hikronimus Wopo persönlich, der die Universität Flachlandhausen beauftragt hat, mir diesen Titel zu verleihen. Voraussichtlich werde ich...

Das Wetter ist derart schön, dass wir bereits früh nach Melchsee-Frutt anreisen, und uns noch vor dem Hikr-Treffen auf eine (für mich neue) klassische Grat-Alpinwanderroute begeben. Am malerischen, verträumt in der Hochebene liegenden, Blausee vorbei steuern wir dem Hochstollen zu, und machen uns auf, das doch...

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,...

36km, 3500m ascent, 2900m descent, some 20 summits, 16h45, following the spine of the Brienzer Rothorn massif, including some of the best grass ridges in the Alps. Preface There's a fun exchange of comments in another Hikr report:   Übernachtet habe ich im Hotel Rothorn-Kulm, wie das wohl alle tun (Nik...

The Nadelhorn: not a bad goal for my first 4000m peak :). Day 1 Gasenried - Bordierhütte 4h15, 1250m ascent, 50m descent, T4 The ascent from Gasenried to the Bordierhütte("Bordier" pronounced in a French way)is relatively long but pleasantly varied. The path first goes up through the forrest, then through a fascinating...

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-)....

Finally I have managed to do another after-work sunset hike. They never disappoint! The mix of clouds and the setting sun created some amazing light. On Hikr, the Lauiberg is often visited as part of a longer and more challenging Sihltal round, but the mountain is also a very worthwhile objective on its own. ---- I park...

The Raaberg, the easternmost summit of the Mattstock massiv, is only rarely climbed. When it is visited, then usually by either 360 or carpintero, it seems. The Raaberg has an east summit (P. 1723) and a west summit (P. 1779). Only the east summit is named on the map and described in the SAC Clubführer. Strange, because the west...

With the weather forecast predicting dry weather only in north-eastern Switzerland, the Gonzen seemed like a good option. Initially, I had the Leiterliweg ("ladder path") in mind, but checking the SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele guidebook the night before, I discovered the Follaplatten route as a more challenging alternative. We...

A two day hike in a remote location was required in order to escape the Swiss national holiday festivities. The inspiration came from the Nollenhorn and Joderhorn descriptions in the SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele Oberwallis guidebook, though in the end we didn't visit either summit. With bad weather on Saturday, we decided to limit...

I've been meaning to discover more of the Freiburg Alps for quite a while. The exhaustive SAC Alpinwandern/Gipfelziele Freiburg guide book offers many great and often challenging ideas. Ironically, the choice fell on a route that's pretty much entire just across the border in canton Vaud. As seems to be the case with many...

While winter has at least made a brief visit to the north of Switzerland, the south still looks like summer. It's mid December, but alpine hiking is still possible in Tessin to altitudes well above 2000m. Our goal had a slightly more modest altitude, but an all-the-more rewarding route to the top: the via della variante onto the...

There is a well-marked hiking route around the Lac the Mourycalled the "2500m tour", because most of the walk stays around that altitude. Following that example, I'll have to call my route the "Lac de Moury 3000m tour". ---- Day 1 Sorebois - Pointe de Tsirouc - Corne de Sorebois - Arête de Sorebois - Garde de Bordon -...

I first heard about the Fallätsche (alternatively spelled Falletsche) from a colleague at work, who recommended it to me as "a patch of Alpine hiking within the city of Zürich". The route of the "Fallätsche traverse" has been described on Hikr many times, including a six years old report in English by 360. Update...

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...

Crossing the entire Pilatus range from east to west, from Stansstad to Gfellen, has been a project lingering in my mind for quite a while. I'd call it "Pilatus extreme and ultra long", except for the fact that Tobi already coined this term for a hike that's even twice as long as mine! Respect! Still, my 2600m of ascent and ca....