A new via ferrata in the Glarus valley? It was a well-kept secret to me until tricky and Alpin Risepublished their reports. Time for an exploration... ---- The "Indianerkopf" rock, on which the via ferrata is built, is clearly visible from Netstal railway station. From the station, we cross the river and head towards the...

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...

The Arosa-Lenzerheide area is not supposed to be a quiet place in winter. However, the Tschiertschen ski area was still closed due to lack of snow and Arosa-Lenzerheide was also struggling to get the winter season going. We took advantage of the unusual quiet by doing a snow shoe hike onto the Parpaner Schwarzhorn, and indeed we...

Yet another weekend with great mountain conditions, this is starting to get exhausting! This time, I drove together with David to the Valle di Blenio, where we planned a weekend of mountain fun with an overnight stay in the winter quarters of the Capanna Motterascio. Day 1 Passo Muazz - Sosto - Passo Muazz 2h30, 550m ascent,...

The Fürstensteig and the Drei Schwestern is probably the most famous hike in all of Fürstentum Liechtenstein. The numerous reports that exist on Hikr (e.g. recent ones by Linard03 and SCM) are also used in the field: in the bus to Gaflei I spotted two women with a Hikr printout. Don't forget to reserve this bus, by the way (+423...

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...

Even just looking at a map, the Schrattenfluh is one of the most eye-catching features in the Emmentaler Alps. With its vertical walls to the north-west and its limestone slopes to the south-east, the Schrattenfluh looks pretty wild from any direction. Up close, the mountain is surprisingly accessible to hikers with several marked...

The first climbing path for tourists from Fidaz via the Pinut onto the Flimserstein was already constructed in the early 20th century. In 2007, the route was completely renovated. The ladder route is now one of the easiest via ferratas in Switzerland; ideal for beginners who want to discover the concept of via ferrata without...

The Sichelchamm is one of the most eye-catching peaks along the Walensee, thanks to the eponymous sickle-shaped west face. It's also one of the only mountains in the Churfirsten-Alvier range that can be ascended directly from the south, though by no means along an easy route! After last weekend's taste of winter, this weekend...

In summer, the Flüela Schwarzhorn has a reputation for being one of the most overcrowded 3000m summits, thanks to the easy ascent from the Flüelapass. However, after the first snow has fallen (and with Swiss people being called to vote in the elections) that picture changes dramatically. I had the whole mountain to myself.The...

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...

When the Föhn is doing its thing, it's always a good idea to head to the Ostschweiz. On this occasion, I made my first exploration of the Alvierkette. ---- After parking the car at the Berghaus Malbun (6 CHF, and four of those you can get back when you consume something at the restaurant), the ascend starts along a small...

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 -...

After a careful study of the MeteoSchweiz wind forecast, looking for somewhere to escape the hurricane force Föhn winds, I ended up at the Grönhütte in the Justistal. The road here between Beatenberg and Sigriswil is a toll road (5 CHF; ticket machine) and there is parking some 100m past the Grönhütte in the direction of...

A via ferrata day with two colleagues from work had been planned for a while. The weather made us take the train all the way to sunny Ticino, where we took in two vie ferrate in one day. ---- Via Ferrata San Salvatore (from Lugano Paradiso, including summit visit) K5, 650m ascent (130m on via ferrata), 2h45 We hike up on...

Another hot August weekend made a perfect occasion for a two day hike with bivouac in the CH-A-FL border area. Since this area is already well documented on Hikr, I'll limit myself to a few bullet points: ---- * The Älplibahn only has a capacity of 32 people per hour. Getting a reservation for the cable car can be difficult...

Back in June, I hosted fellow Belgian Sarah in Zürich through CouchSurfing. She was on her way into the Oberwallis two work the whole summer as "Zusennerin" at the Alp Furgge in Gregniols. In return, I got an open invitation to come spend a night on the alp. An ideal opportunity to combine this with some peak-bagging in the...

After being surprised by an unexpected early rain shower on Saturday, I was more than determined to make the most of the last of the good weather on Sunday. After more than two years of hiking in Switzerland, I still hadn't climbed any of the Churfirsten. This was a good opportunity to rectify that situation, as the Selunbahn...

A Hikr first ascent? Not very likely. Surely many people doing the Joriseen Rundweg would have visited the summit of P. 2820, an easy 5 minute detour from the Winterlücke. The west ridge of P. 2820, however, is a bit more interesting and probably almost never visited. So let's make a Hikr report out of it anyway... My original...

The Leukerbad via ferrata onto the Daubenhorn is the longest and one of the hardest in Switzerland. The via ferrata goes on almost without interruption for a vertical kilometre. In order to make an early start possible and still get a good night's rest, I already travelled to Leukerbad on Thursday evening. ---- It's a...