Learn how my approach to training for the Alps has changed over the last 5 years and how Stacey from Pique to Peak has designed a session to help hikers create their own plan.
Real-time accommodation availability in our app
Updated 6th March 2025 for new properties.
As part of our acquisition of TMB Planner, we’ve integrated technology into our app to check bed availability for mountain huts. At time of launch, we focused on incorporating the existing TMB Planner accommodation scope for the Tour du Mont Blanc trail, however, we’ve now extended the same technology to other popular trails where accommodation is challenging for DIY planners to find, such as Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites and the newest trail we are working on, the West Highland Way in Scotland.
What type of accommodation can we provide availability data for?
The scope of mountain huts is limited to those which list their availability online. We can not provide availability data for mountain huts that do not list their availability online, for example, those properties requiring bookings to be made via phone, email, or submitting an online form.
In our accommodation database, we also have many more accommodation types along the trail, such as hotels, campgrounds and bivouac locations. Where an accommodation location lists their availability online, such as hotels, we plan to integrate this information into our app over the next year.
what type of accommodation can’t we provide availability data for?
If the accommodation location is one of the following, there is no availability data that we can provide you;
Bivouac or wild camping locations
Campgrounds that don’t accept/need bookings
Accommodation that don’t list their availability online
A general accommodation location rather than being for a specific property
The following Tour du Mont Blanc properties are now live. From March 7th 2025, you will also be able to see real-time availability and set alerts for the following properties on our other trails. More are planned to be added by the end of March!
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Chalet Les Meandres (ex Tupilak)
Gite Michel Fagot
Refuge du Fioux
Auberge du Truc
Chalet CAF des Contamines
La Ferme a Piron
Gite Les Melezes
Gite le Pontet
Refuge Nant Borrant
Refuge des Pres
Refuge de la Balme
Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme
Refuge de la Nova
Les Chambres du Soleil
Refuge des Mottets
Robert Blanc
Cabane Combal
Rifugio Monte Bianco
Rifugio Maison Vieille
Gite le Randonneur du Mont Blanc
Rifugio Bertone
Hotel Funivia
Hotel Lavachey
Hotel Chalet Val Ferret
Gite Alpage de La Peule
Hotel du Col de Fenetre
Gite de La Lechere
Chalet Le Dolent
Auberge de Maya-Joie
Auberge des Glaciers
Gite de la Fouly
Hotel Edelweiss La Fouly
Pension en Plein Air
Gite Bon Abri
Chalet La Grange
Relais d'Arpette
Hotel Col de la Forclaz
Auberge la Grande Ourse
Auberge du Mont-Blanc
Refuge Le Peuty
Refuge du Col de Balme
Gite Mermoud
Gite d'Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon
Albert Premier Hut
Chalet CAF du Tour
Gite Le Moulin
Auberge la Boerne
Refuge Lac Blanc
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Refuge Lac Blanc
Auberge la Boerne
Gite Le Moulin
Chalet CAF du Tour
Gite d'Alpage Les Ecuries de Charamillon
Gite Mermoud
Albert Premier Hut
Refuge du Col de Balme
Refuge Le Peuty
Auberge du Mont-Blanc
Auberge la Grande Ourse
Hotel Col de la Forclaz
Relais d'Arpette
Gite Bon Abri
Chalet La Grange
Pension en Plein Air
Cabane de Mille
Cabane Brunet
Cabane FXB Panossiere
Cabane de Louvie
Cabane de Prafleuri
Cabane de la Barmaz
Cabane des Dix
Cabane de Moiry
Turtmannhutte
Topalihutte
Taschhutte
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Rifugio Biella
Rifugio Scotoni
Rifugio Lagazuoi
Rifugio Col Gallina
Rifugio Scoiattoli
Rifugio Averau
Rifugio Nuvolau
Rifugio Croda da Lago
Rifugio Passo Staulanza
Rifugio Adolfo Sonino Al Coldai
Rifugio Attilio Tissi
Rifugio Mario Vazzoler
Rifugio Bruto Carestiato
Rifugio Passo Duran
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Brochhuette SAC
Berghaus Alpiglen
Rotstockhuette
Gspaltenhornhuette SAC
Bluemlisalphuette SAC
Winteregghuette SAC
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Cabane de Mille
Cabane Brunet
Cabane de Louvie
Cabane FXB Panossiere
Cabane de Chanrion
Rifugio Champillon
Rifugio Frassati
Mont-Joux Auberge
Great St. Bernard hospice
Hotel du Col de Fenetre
Gite de La Lechere
Chalet Le Dolent
Auberge de Maya-Joie
Gite de la Fouly
Auberge des Glaciers
Hotel Edelweiss La Fouly
La Tsissette Hut
Pension en Plein Air
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Britannia Hut
Albergo Ristoro Sitten
Topalihutte
Taschhutte
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Rifugio Puez (CAI)
Do I need a guide for the Tour of Monte Rosa?
Transport to/from the Tour of Monte Rosa trail
Where to start/end your Tour of Monte Rosa hike?
When is the best time to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa?
Europaweg section closed for 2024 hiking season
Europaweg Trail: Complete guide
The Europaweg Trail between Grächen and Zermatt is one of the most famous two-day hikes in the Alps, as well as forming part of the Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa. In the past few years, there has been some confusion about where exactly the Europaweg trail goes, due to the original route still appearing on some outdated maps, apps and guidebooks. In this updated post, I share details about the Europaweg trail, clarify where the route goes and share a brief history of trail changes in recent years.
Hiking Poles: Essential Gear for Long-Distance Hiking in the Alps
Hiking poles are essential gear for long-distance hiking in the Alps. They provide a number of physical benefits that can help you hike more comfortably and efficiently. Read our blog post to learn more about why to use hiking poles, how to use them, where to buy them and how to travel with them on the aeroplane.
Tour of Monte Rosa: The Alternate Routes
The standard Tour of Monte Rosa trail is 167 km / 104 mi. But did you realise that there are lots of exciting alternate routes you can incorporate into your hike to make it even more epic? Or alternate routes that allow you to skip some of the more difficult and challenging sections. Take a read through our list of top alternate routes for the Tour of Monte Rosa to make sure you are choosing the best routes to suit your ideal hike!
Tour of Monte Rosa: The Main Trail
The “main” Tour of Monte Rosa trail is 167 km / 104 mi. It passes through major villages such as Saas Fee and Zermatt. It crosses the Theodul glacier. It follows 2 of the most spectacular balcony trails in the Alps: Europaweg and Hohenweg. It truly is one of the legendary multi-day hikes in the Alps. Read our detailed blog post which takes a “walk” through all the different sections of the main Tour of Monte Rosa trail, including images, descriptions and trail stats.
What are the different trail types in the Alps?
Should I get an Alpine Club membership for the Tour of Monte Rosa?
The Tour of Monte Rosa travels through Switzerland and Italy.
If you are a member of one of the respective alpine clubs, you get discount on accommodation at their mountain huts. Unless you plan to stay exclusively in alpine club mountain huts, it is not usually worthwhile getting membership only for the hike. Here are the details on each alpine club membership:
Britanniahutte
SWISS ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The Swiss Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 80 CHF and is open to non-Swiss citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour of Monte Rosa that are owned by the Swiss Alpine Club include: Britanniahutte.
ITALIAN ALPINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP
The Italian Alpine Club has a membership program that provides discounts to their mountain huts. Membership is from 45€ and is open to non-Italian citizens. For full details click here. The huts along the Tour of Monte Rosa that are owned by the Italian Alpine Club include: Rifugio Teodulo, Rifugio Crespi-Calderini, Rifugio Pastore, Rifugio Oberto.
Rifugio Teodulo
Rifugio Pastore
plan and navigate your ultimate Tour of Monte Rosa adventure
2023 Trail Updates
We complete a “Break The Trail” journey to provide the first trail report for the key legendary trails in the Alps - Tour du Mont Blanc, Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa. We share these updates with thousands of hikers that travel to the Alps each year for their epic bucket list hikes. This information is particularly valuable for early-season hikers to understand the latest snow conditions, route detours, and gear recommendations. This year, our program is bigger and better, giving you updates across multiple channels throughout June. Check it out!
Our 2023 TRAIL UPDATE PROGRAM
This year our program will consist of 3 key elements:
2023 Break the trail
Early season conditions can vary dramatically from year to year. June 2019 was a particularly çhallenging season with significant snow on high mountain passes throughout June
~ Col de la Seigne, Italy (Tour du Mont Blanc)
We will kick off our 2023 trail updates from Chamonix, starting at the end of May. Each day we will share updates including snow conditions, route detours, transport updates and gear recommendations. Our focus is on the conditions on the mountain passes, peaks and difficult trail sections, as this is where the most uncertainty exists.
Usually, we would do a continuous journey covering big daily distances and elevations. But this year, we’ve come up with a different format that still takes us to all the necessary places whilst keeping life fun and manageable with our 1 and 3 year old daughters! Therefore, we’ll be taking 3 weeks to complete all 3 trails. Tag teaming, taking transport, and trail running where needed to check out all the passes and key routes. No doubt it will be a comedy :)
Follow us on social to get real-time trail updates
live webcast: chamonix & zermatt
From the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc, to the end of the Walker’s Haute Route and the mid-point of the Tour of Monte Rosa. Join us for live trail updates!
This year, in addition to our daily trail updates on social media, we will be hosting free webcasts live from the Alps throughout June. Join us to learn about the latest trail updates, snow conditions, route detours (if any) and gear recommendations. We will share latest photos and descriptions of key mountain passes and difficult trail sections, for our 3 legendary trails - Tour du Mont Blanc, Walker’s Haute Route and Tour of Monte Rosa.
WATCH Session 1: Sunday June 4th from Chamonix, France
WATCH Session 2: Friday June 23rd from Zermatt, Switzerland
trail ambassadors
Hiking in June or July? Keen to share updates from your epic journey with your fellow hikers? Come on board!
📷: Shout out to Sanna, one of our 2021 trail ambassadors.
UPDATE: APPLICATIONS CLOSED FOR 2023
35 ambassadors took part in our 2023 program.
What will you do?
As a trail ambassador, you will provide “live from the trail” content about trail conditions, route updates, and memorable experiences. This content will be shared with The Hiking Club community to keep fellow hikers up-to-date, including:
In return, you’ll receive exclusive swag to rock on all your hiking (and non-hiking!) adventures!
Who are we looking for?
Hikers who are completing one of the below trails during June and July 2023;
Tour du Mont Blanc
Walker’s Haute Route
Tour of Monte Rosa
Alta Via 1 (Dolomites)
What is the time commitment?
Kick off session: To ensure we set you up for success, there will be a 30 min briefing session in May/June (depending on your start date)
During your hike: Share your trail updates and photos via Whatsapp or email (max 15 mins per day)
Does this sound like you? Get it touch to find out more. We’re excited to bring you on board!
Did you know that we’ve been doing Break The Trail since 2019? Read about how our project has evolved over this time.
2019 Early Season Conditions
In 2019, we completed 486 km / 302 mi, with over 30,000m of elevation gain and loss, over 18 hiking days.
There was significant snow on high mountain passes that resulted in detours, additional gear and the help of transport to complete the journey!
Read the full 2019 trip report
2020 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
June was a quiet month due to COVID-19 uncertainty and travel restrictions preventing many early season hikers from reaching the trail. This led to less information being shared online about the trail making it hard to get a sense for how rapidly the snow was melting and conditions improving.
We were able to enter France on 1st July (the day the borders opened!) and quickly got on the trails to check them out.
In general, the conditions were excellent but there was still a few sections with challenging snow cover and accommodation options that were closed for the season.
Read the full 2020 TMB trip report.
2021 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
Unfortunately COVID travel restrictions prevented us from travelling to the Alps this year 😭 With the help of our trail ambassadors (Sanna, Alia, Bruno, Alistair and Tui) we were still able to share trail updates to the community.
A cold and snowy May made for some difficult early-season hiking conditions. While a spell of warm weather in early June is causing the snow to rapidly melt, it will still take a few weeks before the trail is completely snow-free. The late snow and warm weather are also causing wet slide avalanches to come down throughout the Alps.
2022 EARLY SEASON CONDITIONS
In general, the conditions for this time of year were exceptional. The amount and depth of snow were much less than in typical years. Most people were saying 4-6 weeks ahead of a typical season. Microspikes and poles are recommended for anyone hiking in June to support snow crossings. There were a number of disruptions to transport this season that may affect hikers, including: Le Tour gondola closed, Le Chable closed in June, and Grimentz cable car closed.
Read the full 2022 trip report.
Tour of Monte Rosa Accommodation: Booking Tips and Tricks
Booking your accommodation for the Tour of Monte Rosa is no easy feat. Finding 9+ different properties along the trail in a sequence of dates that has availability becomes harder and harder as we approach the hiking season. In this blog post, I share accommodation booking tips for the Tour of Monte Rosa and my top 5 booking tricks for finding accommodation that will keep your trip alive.
How long does the Tour of Monte Rosa hike take?
Most people take between 7 and 13 days to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa. Anything quicker requires Olympic speed walking or part trail running; anything longer would allow for frequent breaks and a relaxed trekking pace.
Since 2018, we’ve produced 100’s of personalised hiking itineraries that have helped 1000’s of hikers confidently plan their adventures through the Alps. It all starts with guiding hikers through the following 4 steps to determine how long it will take them to hike the Tour of Monte Rosa.
Best Mountain Huts in the Alps
We’ve created a collection of the top mountain huts across Switzerland, France and Italy for hikers. None of these huts require technical gear to reach them - no glacier crossings, no via ferrata, no climbing equipment etc. Most are located in alpine areas and therefore all you need to reach them is good fitness.
Product update: daring to dream
Trail update for September 2022
September is a month of mixed emotions in the Alps. On one hand, hikers setting out can enjoy the fall colours and quieter trails. On the other, it means the hiking season is coming to an end 😢
Rather than share a typical trail update that would benefit very few people at this stage of the year, I’ve pulled together a collection of interesting data points on who is hiking the legendary trails in the Alps and how they customise their trips.
