Hiking — Overview

Welcome! #

Here you’ll find a compilation of hikes from in and around Switzerland. We’ve done our best to include details such as:

• Distance and approximate walking times
• Difficulty rating
• Photos
• Maps

A Word of Caution #

Keep in mind that in case you choose to undertake any of the hikes listed on this website, you do so at your own risk.¹ While hiking is generally regarded as a laid back and relaxing sport, severe injury or even death are never out of the question when navigating in the mountains.

In short: know your limits, do your research, and use your brain.

Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) Difficulty Ratings #

There’s a whole zoo of different difficulty rating systems depending on the sport (hiking, climbing, mountaineering, etc) and the country you’re in. One of the main ones that’s used in Switzerland for designating the difficulties for hiking trails are the so-called “SAC Berg- und Alpinwanderskala” which roughly translates to “SAC Mountain and Alpine Hiking Scale”; this is a scale from T1 (easiest) to T6 (most difficult). Routes listed with a “+” indicate tours which are above an average level of difficulty for that class (so a T4+ is more difficult than a T4, but not quite in T5 territory yet).

Below is a rough English translation of what each of these difficulty levels entails.² For full details, check out the original SAC difficulty designations here.

Difficulty	Characteristics	Requirements
T1 Hike	Well constructed path/road If present, exposed sections are very well secured Danger of falling is under normal circumstances very minimal	Basic mobility Running shoes are suitable Navigation is unproblematic
T2 Mountain Hike	Trail with continuous path Terrain is partly steep Danger of falls not out of the question	Somewhat surefooted Trekking shoes recommended Elementary navigation skills
T3 Difficult Mountain Hike	Path not necessarily continuously visible Exposed areas can be secured with ropes or chains May need hands for balance Some exposed areas with danger of falls Scree plains	Surefooted Good trekking shoes Average orientation skills Elementary alpine experience
T4 Alpine Hike	Potentially pathless May need hands to traverse certain passages Terrain is quite exposed and can contain steep grass slopes, crags, simple firn fields, and snowy glacier passages.	Familiar with exposed terrain Sturdy trekking shoes Strong terrain assessment and orientation skills Alpine experience If weather changes, it can be difficult to retreat
T5 Difficult Alpine Hike	Often pathless Contain some easy climbing passages Exposed and demanding terrain Firn fields and glacier passages with increased exposure	Experience in high alpine terrain Mountaineering boots Very good terrain assessment and orientation skills Basic knowledge of handling of ice axes and rope
T6 Very Difficult Alpine Hike (Generally not marked)	Normally pathless Moderately difficult climbing sections Often extremely exposed Precarious ridge passages Glacier passages with increased exposure	Extensive high alpine experience Excellent navigation skills Experienced with various mountaineering tools

These difficulty ratings assume that the tour is performed under optimal conditions. This means things like:

• Good weather
• Dry terrain
• Good snow conditions
• Etc.

A common misconception is that T5 or T6 hikes are less difficult than “easy” high alpine tours (these use a different difficulty scale). Many T5 or T6 tours have little to no opportunities to secure oneself the way one may be able to on easier high alpine routes which makes it imperative that one has absolute mastery over alpine environments. Typical examples of such terrains include extremely steep grass slopes, unmarked routes along unstable scree slopes, or very exposed ridge traverses. Due to the different attributes which are used to characterize high alpine routes and hiking trails, there is certainly overlap in terms of “absolute difficulty” between both hiking and high alpine tours.

Some Useful (Mostly German) Geographic Words to Know #

There are a lot of words that you’ll likely come across when people list the names of different places in the mountains. Here are a few common terms/prefixes that might be useful to know:

• Canton: The Swiss version of a “state” or a “province”.
• ＿horn: A type of pyramid shaped mountain; usually with 3 or 4 distinct faces. Formed through glacial erosion on each face, so they’re usually at fairly high elevations.
• Piz ＿: Similar meaning to “horn”; typically used in the Canton of Graubünden (eastern Switzerland)
• ＿stock: Another name for a certain peak; are usually (but not always) at lower elevations than horns.
• ＿spitz: Literally means “point”; does not really give an indication to how high the mountain is.
• ＿joch: A saddle or gully between two peaks.
• ＿pass: Usually a road that connects two valleys. These often serve as connection points to go from one Canton to another.
• ＿grat: Means “ridge”.
• ＿tal: Means “valley”.
• ＿gletscher: Means “glacier”.
• ＿firn: Snow that stays all-year round without melting but has not yet turned to ice to form a glacier.
• ＿see: Means “lake”.
• ＿hütte SAC: “Hütte” means “hut” and “SAC” stands for “Swiss Alpine Club”; you can stay overnight at these. The food they provide is usually awesome as well. 10/10 would recommend.