Planning car-free adventures
The Swiss alps offer an incredible diversity of activities for the car-free mountain enthusiast. Here is everything I know about planning mountain adventures in Switzerland. From multi-day hikes and trail runs to epic ski and bike tours.
Public Transport
The public transport system in Switzerland is incredible. It is efficient, punctual, and almost every mountain village is accessible by either train, bus or gondola. This is the backbone of any adventure, as you’ll always be starting and finishing at a town or village serviced by public transport. Below is a map of the Swiss public transport network. Red lines are trains, yellow lines are the iconic PostBus routes, and black lines are cable cars.
It’s a good idea to have a rough idea of the different train, PostBus and cable car routes in the region you plan to travel. Staying close to the main hubs is also wise, as they offer better and more frequent connectivity. When it comes to buying tickets and seeing the train or bus timetable, the easiest way is to use SBB phone app. There are many different travel passes you can buy. Most tourists travelling frequently over several consecutive days buy the Swiss Travel Pass, which lets you use the entire public transport network for free so you don’t have to buy individual train or bus tickets. Otherwise, you can get the half-fare travelcard and buy point-to-point tickets for each journey. I often use the built-in EasyRide feature so I don’t have to think about buying specific tickets.
Lockers
Every major train station in Switzerland has lockers. I have found them very helpful when I want to stay light on the mountain, but still have a change of clothes and my laptop for the train journey back home.
Cable cars
Generally, only cable cars that take you to a permanently inhabited village count as public transport. There are nonetheless many other cable cars in the mountains that run during summer and winter. The Magic pass is a useful regional pass for Valais and the surrounding region as it includes many of these mountain cable cars at a very reasonable price.
Bikes
Taking bicycles on public transport is fairly straightforward. All Swiss trains have designated compartments where you can store your bike. If your bike is not foldable, however, you do have to purchase a bike ticket. I personally have an annual bike pass. Alternatively, you can use a bike bag such as the SBB TranZbag, and take it for free as luggage1. On most PostBus routes in mountainous regions, you are additionally required to reserve your bicycle through the SBB app.
The Planning
Planning an adventure is a critical step before heading out into the mountains. Switzerland has two excellent mobile applications for maps and route planning:
Swisstopo: A free mobile application that has various types of maps of Switzerland. The maps are very detailed, especially for information on hiking trails, and the route builder is excellent. However, it is mainly for building hiking routes as it picks the shortest route between selected points, so I generally do not use it for planning cycling or ski touring adventures in detail. For cycling, I usually just stare at the map and pick an alpine road, or otherwise use the official Swiss website if I want something more precise.
SAC-CAS: The SAC route portal is both a mobile application and website, and is the official source for information on mountain tours and safety developed by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC). There are hundreds of hiking, ski touring and alpinism routes with detailed descriptions and difficulty grades. Many of the more challenging mountain routes don’t have official hiking trails and so can’t be found on Swisstopo maps. These are the some of the hidden gems for mountain adventures.
The Traverse Advantage
One of the biggest advantages of being car-free is that you do not have to finish where you start. You can cross entire mountain ranges and take the bus home on the other side. One of my favourite adventures to do in autumn is St-Niklaus → St-Luc, crossing over the pristine Turtmanntal valley.
The Swiss Alpine Club
If you live in Switzerland, you should considering joining your local Swiss Alpine Club. They offer courses and regular excursions into the mountains, so it’s a great way to both learn new skills and meet people.
One of the other benefits is that you can get a discount for staying the night in a SAC mountain hut2. It’s always fun to sleep amidst the rocks and beneath a clear view of the milky way. Plus, you only have to bring a sleeping bag liner with you as the huts provide pillows and duvets. If you sleep above 2500m, keep in mind that the first nights will generally be uncomfortable and riddled with headache.
The huts are generally guarded during the peak summer and ski touring season in spring. The guardians often provide warm meals (the demi-pension), so there is no need to take several days worth of food. In between seasons, the huts are unguarded but usually have a small winter room open.
The weather
The weather forecast is something that I always consult before heading into the mountains. It is rumoured that mountain weather is unpredictable and that forecasts are often wrong. However, my personal experience has been very much the opposite: the short-term mountain forecasts by MeteoSwiss are excellent. If there is any uncertainty or instability in the weather forecast, I am always prepared for the worst conditions.
The safety aspect
Safety should always be paramount when heading into the mountains. When ski touring, I always check the avalanche conditions beforehand on White Risk and consult Skitourenguru for the specific route I plan to take. An avalanche kit and the training to know how to use it are non-negotiable when venturing off-piste. Similarly, when touring on a glacier, crevasse rescue skills and equipment are absolutely necessary. I would also recommend becoming a patron with Rega, as it costs only 40 CHF and they can waive the costs of a helicopter rescue in the event of an emergency.
I admit I do often go on solo tours in the backcountry, but it is very risky and I would highly advise against it. Valais has many ski resorts with designated Rando parcs that are secured and safe for ski touring, such as in Crans-Montana, Morgins, and St-Luc. Some ski resorts also offer night ski touring. Otherwise, it is fairly common to walk up the side of a piste during operating hours.