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Level of exertion on My Way Alpine Tour

Hello! My wife and I just signed up to do the My Way Alpine Tour next May. This will be our second trip to Europe after going on a Viking Rhine river cruise last year and we are really excited!

But, as this is a step up in tour independence and physical exertion, we have a few questions that I am hoping others who have done the Alpine tour can answer. We are both around 60 and I would say we are both in pretty good health. We walk a lot and I run a few times a week. My wife walks on her treadmill every morning.

However, my wife does have Type 1 diabetes, which she has had for decades. She uses a insulin pump/CGM to manage it and is really good about maintaining her glucose levels. But, it is something she has to stay on top of constantly when she is exerting herself, especially when hiking uphill.

We realize that there will/could be a lot of hiking on this tour and a lot of it could be uphill. My question is: are the parts that might be really physically demanding and/or uphill optional? For example, if my wife is not feeling comfortable on a particular day to try to do uphill hiking, is this something we could pass on that day and just do something else on our own? Or would we need to be prepared to have to do the uphill hike?

Any other feedback you have on the level of physical exertion on the Alpine tour would be greatly appreciated! My wife, in particular, has dreamed about doing this tour of the Alps ever since we got back from our previous trip. So, I'm REALLY hoping that the physical demands won't preclude us from going.

Thanks!

Posted by
90 posts

Hi:

We took this tour in 2022. This is a My Way tour, so there are no hikes that you are required to do. You need to plan each day what you would like to do. You would need to research the potential hikes that you might want to do to see if it's too strenuous for your wife. The tour manager can also advise you regarding a particular hike. In our group, there were all levels of fitness. Some did all-day hikes, others short easy walks.

Enjoy!

Posted by
1298 posts

Hi. As Tina mentioned, walking/hiking or any other activity is what you would like to do. Nothing is required. I prefer to stroll or walk, not hike. I recall this trip as a real vacation visiting exciting, interesting locations. I am looking forward to repeating it. It is a good choice, IMO.

Posted by
17599 posts

I looked at the itinerary, and see no strenuous uphill hikes at all. In each case, the itinerary says you ride a lift up and hike from there, either along a fairly gentle path, or downhill.

for example, in the Dolomites, you ride the cablecar up to Slpe di Siusi, and have various options for walking the meadow paths across gently rolling terrain. There is also an option to hike up a ridge for a hike along the top, but you can choose the meadow options and will have beautiful views. See photos of the terrain here:

https://www.seiseralm.it/en/holiday-dolomites/seiser-alm.html

Scroll down to the hiking section for more photos.

In Switzerland, you stay in Lauterbrunnen in the valley, and ride the train or lift up to higher areas for hiking. One day you take the train to Wengen and cablecar up to Männlichen to walk the Panorama Trail, which goes slightly downhill to Kleine Scheidegg. See photos and a trail profile here:

https://www.maennlichen.ch/en/summer/experiences/panorama-trail.html

The next day you ride the cablecar up to the top of the Schilthorn, and have the option of riding down or hiking down. If you wish to hike down, I suggest you ride the cablecar down as far as Birg and hike down to Muerren from there.

At Chamonix, they offer similar options—-ride up and hike a nearly level trail, or ride back down without a hike.

I believe your wife will be fine with these choices, and will enjoy the experience a lot.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you all very much for your advice and feedback. :)

I think what got us concerned was the boilerplate waiver we first had to sign when we signed up for the tour. But now, I'm realizing that it was probably not geared specifically to the My Way Alpine tour, since it discussed agreeing to stand for up to four hours during museum tours, and I don't think that is part of the Alpine tour itinerary. :)

Thanks again, everyone! We are very excited.