Foreign language, beauty, culture, cuisine, and hospitality are just a few things that come to mind when reminiscing about my adventure along the Tour du Mont Blanc Northern route this past August.  My role at Alpinehikers is ‘Switzerland’ so when it comes to France or Italy, I’ve spent much less time exploring their famous through-trails.   Continue Reading →

The Bernese Oberland is set up for family adventures, and not just for the 7 year old who kicked my butt on a Bernese Oberland Tour tour a few years ago, but as a mother of a non-stop wound-up and sassy two year old, it’s the perfect place for a family adventure of any shape   Continue Reading →

Soglio is an almost impossibly charming village in the Bregaglia valley in Southeastern Switzerland.  Not far from famous St Moritz and cozy Pontresina, this hidden valley and beautiful village are nonetheless firmly off the beaten path.  It’s long been one of our favorite destinations and occasionally shows up as an overnight or a dayhike on   Continue Reading →

Engstlenalp is one of our favorite alps.  An historic inn and scenic farm, tucked at the end of a pretty valley above Meiringen.  There are lakes, views, lifts, cheese and great walks.   A visit to Engstlenalp is a great day out anytime, but being right above Meiringen, it works particularly well as a warm-up day   Continue Reading →

The Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps.  It’s a massive river of ice 14 miles long and 3000 ft thick at Koncordiaplatz, its thickest point.  This is what people travel to Jungfraujoch to see, stretching out from the Jungfrau in the Bernese Oberland down toward Valais.  It’s spectacular.  Oh yeah, it’s pretty   Continue Reading →

Chalet Floria is a charming old stone building brimming with flowers that is nestled into the hillside near Chamonix’s famous Petit Balcon Sud.  It’s open mid-morning to late-afternoon from June to November and offers a small menu of light lunch options, deserts, coffees, juices, beer and wine.  With sweeping views of Mont Blanc, the Mer   Continue Reading →

Alpinehikers and Run the Alps first intern, Julia Maxwell, landed in the Alps in July and is excited to share her trail experiences with you.  Here is a brief interview with Julia to introduce her as well as give us an idea what grounds her stories and what the heck she does when she’s not   Continue Reading →

The Göschenertal is not all that well known, even within Switzerland.  But it’s a fabulous valley in a very central location, just outside Andermatt, nestled amid the Oberalp, Furka and Gotthard passes.  It’s very close to a lot of interesting rail journeys – the Glacier Express stops in Andermatt, and this would be a great   Continue Reading →

Here at Alpinehikers we’re often asked questions about traveling solo in the Alps.  I recently sat down with Abby Strauss-Malcolm, a veteran guide and head of sales for Alpinehikers and our partner company Run the Alps, to ask about her many solo miles traveled throughout the United States, the Alps and all over the world.    Continue Reading →