My wife and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary next year and plan on walking a portion of the Alpine Pass Route (Via Alpina) in Switzerland. Nearly every guidebook or online information source describes the route from east to west, but our itinerary works a lot better if we go from west to east. I am afraid, however, if most of the traffic is on-coming it will less enjoyable. Has anyone hiked it? Was there an overall trend of people going in one dominant direction?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16241 posts
I haven’t hiked the whole route, but I have done dayhikes on portions—-between Mürren and Sefeinenfurka, and between Oeschinensee and Blümlisalphütte. These were out and back hikes, so I went both directions. I did not notice any difference in the number of people going either direction, but then, there were very few other people. But that was a few years ago—5 to 10— and perhaps things have changed.
I don’t think it is anything to be concerned with, if you really want to go west to east. As far as I know, the main reason people go east to west is because of the Kev Reynolds book that describes the route in that direction.
Just make sure you have hut reservations. What portion are you planning to hike?
Posted by
OP
Eugene, Oregon
8 posts
Thanks. Our plan is to hike the section from Gsteig to Engelberg.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16241 posts
Sounds great —-I am envious. I have always wanted to spend a few nights at Chalet Schwartzwaldalp, between Grosse Scheidegg and Meiringen, but have not yet been able to make time for that on our trips.