Alpine Pass Route - 14 Stages
The complete Alpine Pass Route extends east-west from the Liechtenstein border to Lake Geneva. We have selected to do west-east crossing, simply because of flight times in and out of Geneva and Zurich, and after a short train trip from Geneva, start from Gstaad then finish in Sargans, near Lichtenstein. In all, there are 14 days, with 12 mountain passes to cross, as the mountain ridges in Switzerland run North-South. Our accommodation is mostly in the valleys where the major towns and villages are located, and in January this year, we booked on booking.com, all 14 nights as the last 2 weeks in August is still a busy tourist time in Switzerland.
Alpine Pass Route Elevation Profile
According to the blurb from Sherpa Expeditions, The series of superbly scenic passes, almost all well above 2000 m and most only open to walkers, including such famous names as Grosse and Kleine Scheidegg, Sefinenfurke, Hohturli, Bunderchrinde, Hahnenmoospass and Trutlisberg, are flanked to the south by an almost unbroken succession of magnificent rock and ice peaks: the Titlis, the Wetterhorn, the classic triptych of Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, the Blumlisalp, the Wildstrubel and the Wildhorn. With such a backdrop continuously unfolding it is easy to run out of superlatives!
In addition, the stretch of walk between Kanderstag and Altdorf was voted by American Backpacker Magazine as the World's best hike, in front of 5 classic routes including the Annapurna Circuit Nepal, Torres del Paine Chile and the John Muir Trail Sierra Nevada. The criteria which tipped the scale: Gastronomy!! Now, I am not a fan of Swiss food except for their cheese, but you can only eat so much fondue (basically stale bread dipped in hot cheese). But we usually buy our food from a local supermarket, either Migros, or Coop, and make our own picnic lunches and pick a main meal at night that's is NOT fondu.