The Hiking Club Trail Updates Program
Every year hikers from all over the world flock to the Alps to complete one of the legendary multi-day trails. A challenging journey of physical, mental and spiritual triumph. Our mission is to make the trip planning process so reliable and easy that hikers have the confidence to plan, book, prepare, and navigate it themselves.
One of the core pieces of information that gives hikers the confidence to complete their trip is having access to the latest trail updates, including snow conditions, route detours, and general trail conditions. It helps hikers prepare the right gear, select the right route, and be aware of any trail updates that might impact their itinerary.
For the past 5 years, The Hiking Club has been sharing the most up-to-date trail conditions. This year will be bigger and better!
the 3 pillars of our program
Building off the success of last year’s program, we will be supporting 2024 hikers with the following:
prepare for the alps webinar series
Join one of our webinars to get your body and gear list ready to tackle your multi-day hike this summer.
PREPARE YOUR BODY FOR THE ALPS WEBINAR
Join Stacey Hardin, Doctor of Physical Therapy, for a 90-minute webinar on how to train for your multi-day Alps hike: big elevation, mountain conditions, back-to-back days. Learn more.
PREVENT BLISTERS SPOILING YOUR NEXT HIKE
Join Rebecca Rushton, podiatrist and owner of Blister Prevention, for a free 45-minute webinar on how to prevent and treat foot blisters during your upcoming multi-day hike.
Join Dr Andrius Ramonas, PhD in Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition, Co-Founder of Roam, for a free 45-minute webinar on how to sustain energy on a multi-day hike. Learn more.
2. BREAK THE TRAIL UPDATES
Every year (with the exception of 2020..😭), The Hiking Club team has completed a “Break The Trail” journey to provide the first trail report for the legendary trails in the Alps that we support. We share these early-season trail updates for hikers to understand the latest snow conditions, route detours, and gear recommendations.
Which trails?
This year we are expanding our program to cover five of the most popular multi-day hikes in Europe:
When will we share updateS?
During June and early July, we will share trip reports via our social channels. Our focus is on the conditions on the mountain passes, peaks and difficult trail sections, as this is where the most uncertainty exists.
HOW WILL WE COVER ALL THE TRAILS?
Over the course of 5 weeks, our team will cover ~600km / 370mi. We usually cover between 30-45km / 20-30mi per day and use public transport to come back to “basecamp” most nights. (And then jump online to post our trail report and deliver customer support!)
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL TO GET REAL-TIME TRAIL UPDATES
2024 trail ambassador program
We are searching for 100 trail ambassadors to share trail updates with our 10,000+ hiking community.
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:
A snapshot of the 35 trail ambassadors from 2023 that shared over 200 trip reports via our social channels.
What will you get in return?
In addition to helping out your fellow hikers with information that will help prepare them for their hiking adventure, you’ll also receive an exclusive swag box from our brand sponsors (announcement coming soon!) to kit you out for success on your hike!
Who are we looking for?
Solo hikers. Groups of friends tackling an adventure together. Adventurous families with kids of all ages. Fastpackers. Wanderers with their dogs. You name it! We want a diverse group of hikers who represent all the different types of people completing one of the above trails between June and September 2024.
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.
During your hike: Share your trail updates and photos via Instagram or Whatsapp (max 15 mins per day)
Applications now open
This year we are excited to partner with some great brand to make our 2024 trail update program bigger and better than past years. Interested in getting involved? Contact us at info@thehiking.club
