Tag Archives: trekking
What is a via ferrata aka Klettersteig?
If like me you are just a “normal” hiker, hearing the words via ferrata or Klettersteig for the first time probably gives you a little tingle of excitement coupled with a big question mark. “What are these things?” you ask yourself.
Three treks in the Valais that were not meant to be
Last year the planning of the by now traditional annual hiking trip ended up being a bit complicated. First, I wanted to tackle the Gran Paradiso, but no one wanted to join me. Then I had to get through three routes for a trek in the Valais, before finally settling on a fourth one. Although […]
6 essential pieces of kit for a hut to hut trek in the Alps
So you are packing for a trek in the Alps? You have most probably thought of the big things to take with you (if not checkout this list). You’ve got your boots, your backpack and your waterproofs, but what about all the other bits and bobs that could come in handy? Here are the six […]
Walking in the Valais: 6 days of meandering around the walker’s Haute Route
The Swiss canton of Valais is home to potentially the best known hut-to-hut trek in the Alps, the walker’s Haute Route. In August I spent six days in the Valais on a trek that meandered around the Haute Route. Sometimes we walked along the well known route, sometimes we skimmed just past it, and at […]
First impressions from an impromptu trek in the Swiss Valais
It was last Sunday morning 9:30 am, we were at the bus station in Sion, the bus to the Lac des Dix was leaving in 15 minutes and we finally had our route for a six day trek through the Swiss Valais. The trek was a little bit impromptu, but it was a good one.
The Alta Via 1 revisited: more trip reports
I walked the Alta Via 1 in August 2011. The posts I wrote as I was planning the trip and when I came back still remain one of the most popular posts on this blog. Three years later, I thought it would be worth having a quick look for some more recent accounts of Alta Via […]
The complete beginner’s guide to staying in an alpine hut
Hütte, cabane, rifugio, chamanna are all names for mountain huts in the Alps. But what are they about? If you are planning a trek in the Alps, you will most likely be staying in mountain huts and if you’ve never been in one, you might be asking yourself what it involves. Or, you might well think that it’s […]
Alta Via 2 revisited: rifugio Marmolada to rifugio Mulaz [guest post]
After writing about his five day trek along the Alta Via 2 in 2012, Martin is back with another guest post. Enjoy the read and many thanks to Martin! ^marketa Hello again to all you avid readers of the Marmot Post. You may remember me from my last post a year ago, my name is […]
The reverse Kesch Trek: 4 days, 3 huts and 1 dog blanket
At the beginning of August I walked the reverse Kesch Trek – a four day alpine tour through the Swiss Alps. Locked between the exclusive resorts of Davos and St. Moritz, the actual Kesch Trek starts at the Flüelapass, snakes around the Piz Kesch and ends in Zuoz. The route stays quite high up, only […]
Notes on walking in the Drakensberg
Two weeks ago I wrote about a series of three day-trips I did in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg National Park in South Africa. I thought there were a few general points worth mentioning in addition to the trip reports. In hindsight we could have gotten even more out of the five days we spent in the area, […]
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