Hikr-Treff 2016; the first Hikr meetup where I participate. Uncertain about how long the weather would remain stable, I decided to start hiking straight away upon arrival in Melchsee-Frutt on Saturday morning, and only meet up with the other Hikrs later on. Or maybe I would run into some of them on the mountain? ---- From...

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...

"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...

Trying to get away from the bad weather, we headed as far south as possible. The chosen goal ended up being Valsolda, just across the Swiss-Italian border from Lugano. Though not high in altitude, the landscape here is astonishingly wild. It's almost as if a piece of Thailand's tropical Khao Sok national park has been moved to the...

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,...

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...

Though Vorarlberg is closer to Zürich than many Swiss cantons, I hadn't explored this part of Austria at all until now. A via ferrata is always a good place to start for getting to know a new mountain range. ---- After taking the popular Lünersee cable car, we walk to the eastern end of the dam. From here, a...

The Pizzo Centrale is stilla popular summit, even though resurveying stripped the summit of its 3000m status some years ago. Besides the normal route from the Lago della Sella, there are three ridges leading to the summit. All of the ridges have interesting alpine hiking routes, which have been described on Hikr many times...

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...

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...

How to get as far away from the Street Parade as possible, both geographically and in terms of atmosphere? A two day solo hike with bivouac in the Val Bregaglia seemed about right. The main inspiration for this route came from the Rother Selection "Schweiz 3000" guidebook, as well as from marmotta's 2012 Hikr report. Day 1...

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,...

If you're only about via ferrata, then the ca. 1500m of ascent involved in doing the Baltschieder Klettersteig is probably too much for you. However, integrate the via ferrata into a two-day adventure with an overnight stay at the Wiwannihütte and you're in for a treat. Day 1 Ausserberg - Suone Niwärch - Baltschieder...

The weather seems rather wet, but after looking at the rain radar, a dry spell of at least three hours seems to be available to us. Should be enough for the La Resgia via ferrata in Pontresina. The rock is still wet from earlier rainfall. This requires some extra care, especially on parts of the via ferrata that are less steep,...

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...

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...

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...