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Troy Haines

The overall experience was great from start to finish – right from the first time Troy responded to my inquiry on “would you help organize a self guided tour,” to suggesting the right kid-friendly places for us to stay at, to planning all logistics (reservations, train passes, brochures, suggestions, etc), to checking on us at Murren – all of this showed that Alpinehikers didn’t want just our “business” but deeply cared about our customer experience too!

Troy Haines

Owner + Founder

As the founder and owner of Alpinehikers, Troy Haines is intimately involved in every detail of our tours. Troy first visited the Alps while studying in West Berlin in 1989. On a break from his studies, he made the first of many trips to these wonderful mountains. The rugged, imposing power of the surrounding peaks combined with the peace of the villages below formed a powerful attraction. It was love at first sight. After many return trips to walk the trails, meet interesting people, and envy the lifestyle of those lucky enough to live in such a beautiful setting, Troy made his move to the Alps. He lived and worked in the hotels in Mürren, and spent many happy summers wandering the trails to discover new places.

Troy has a degree in linguistics from Stanford University, previously taught 1st Aid and CPR classes for the American Red Cross, and led rock-climbing, hiking, and cross-country skiing trips. He also owned a bakery for two years (which helps explain his love of Swiss pastries) before moving to Switzerland in 1997.

“When not with the tours, I love being a dad and hanging out with my two kids. I’m also an enthusiastic trail runner, and have competed in a few of the excellent trail races in Switzerland, including the Jungfrau marathon twice. I love meeting and walking with new people in beautiful places, and always look forward to meeting others on these tours who share the same love of life and discovery that I do.”

Troy and Jennifer currently live in Crested Butte, CO, and still travel to Switzerland (almost) every summer to organize tours and keep up-to-date on the latest.  Also to hike. Their daughter Sidney and son Owen have both spent many happy summers in Mürren.

Zermatt is not too busy (it’s actually quite nice!)

Hohbalmen is, without a doubt, one of the best hikes in Zermatt.  Yet for some reason - I don't know why - I've never written a route description of it for our self-guided tours.  I guess it's because we often send people to Zermatt for 4 days, and if you hike Hohbalmen you're going to cover 2 areas that are...

A busy day in Zürich

Zürich.  I don't really spend much time here, to be honest.  Switzerland's largest city has the exciting reputation as the "banking capital" of Switzerland. Well, what's not to like?  My advice on Zürich has always been to not mark it as a place to spend a lot of time in, but at the same time, if you end up there...

A short history of Alpinehikers

I just read an article this morning claiming that research shows that planning vacations is actually more fun than taking them, which I think must explain why our work at Alpinehikers is so much fun.  I don't know if I agree completely, but I get the point... planning is about dreaming, which is always perfect, and the actual doing of...

Finding the Perfect Spot

I've been guiding in the Alps for 15 years.  I've been to a lot of places, some that I've loved and some that don't leave as much of an impression.  But one of the greatest joys of returning to the Alps is that there are always new places to explore.  There are over 60,000 km of marked hiking trails in...

A Wonderful First Trip to the Alps

Deborah Charlap has been with us for a little over a year now.  This past June, she took her first trip to the Alps, visiting both Switzerland and France. Troy designed a trip that would give Deb a broad overview of the country and our tours, with a short dip into France, as well. A cheese buffet of choices, if...

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