Get out!

As with our day trips, we can adapt the exertion level of longer trips to suit your needs. We’ll be carrying a bit more weight than with day trips, but not much more really if we go hut to hut or village to village. Hiking in Switzerland requires at least moderate fitness, and the more fit you are, the easier it will be.

Mulit-day trips open up all of Switzerland. We can go valley to valley in Valais, over stunning passes and through slate-roofed villages. Or we can stay high and circumnavigate a glacier-laden massif in the Bernese, Valais or Grisons Alps, staying in refuges with other kindred spirits. We could check out the wide open spaces surrounded by glaciated ridges in the Engagine, or get that Italian flavor and sunny slopes of Ticino. What’s your flavor?

We will stick to marked hiking trails for these trips. Some trails in the Alps can be quite exposed, with or without ladders, fixed ropes or cables to assist us. But there are also plenty of beautiful trails where the tracks are wide and well-marked and you don’t need to worry about any ropes or ladders.

The exact amount of elevation we will climb depends on the trails we choose. In Switzerland, expect to climb between 600-1200 meters over the course of the day. We will discuss the route and elevation gain when we select the best routes to hike together.

We can stay in alpine huts (cabanes or refuges in French, hütten in German, rifugio in Italian) high in the mountains, quaint hotels in charming villages or in our tents, tucked away where we have the wow all to ourselves. Refuges are a European delight, mixing the remoteness of the mountains with the warm welcome and good food of the villages. When we plan, we can mix hotels and refuges to make the days as long or short as we want and the nights as wild or comfy as we like.

We’ll eat well on these trips, no doubt. We can make multi-day trips gourmet light and fast, or a combination of the two, depending on the style of trip you want. We’ll definitely want to take advantage of the many great local markets, restaurants and buvets all over the Swiss mountains. Most refuges and mountain hotels will pack a hiking lunch for us if we want, or we can bring our own favorite trail foods from home or the local markets. Let me know any dietary restrictions, preferences or desires (local cheese!) you have, and I can build that into the plan.

For multi-day Get out! trips, we’ll want to discuss specifics in advance based on the trip we design. In any case, I suggest keeping it light. If we’re staying in refuges, you’ll need a sleep sack (liner, not a full sleeping bag) and some comfy clothes to change into after the hike. For all trips, bring sturdy hiking shoes, non-cotton layers and a waterproof raincoat, at least one liter of water and snacks. I’ll send a more detailed packing list before the trip. I’ll cater it to the exact trip we’ll do and weather and trail conditions we can expect on the hike. And if we’re traveling home by train, I like to pack a fresh pair of “train socks” :)

There are many different ways to train for going hiking in Switzerland. My advice is to choose the ones you will actually do. No matter the hike we plan, walking everyday and taking the stairs instead of elevators whenever possible will certainly help. I also try to walk up hills wearing a pack whenever I get the chance. For more detailed advice, ask your doctor or trainer, or check out the millions of videos online about training for hikes in the Alps and choose some that work for you.