Hut to Hut in Switzerland Standard Itinerary HHT13-8S

Accommodation

Accommodation on the Hut to Hut in Switzerland tour is in charming mountain huts. These huts are quite diverse, and some are very simple and rustic, while others are quite fancy considering their remote location. While there’s a lot of variation from hut to hut, you can read our Staying in Mountain Huts Webpage for information about the hut experience.

On some itineraries, it is possible to do the entire route in private rooms.

Meals

Breakfast and dinner will always be available at, or near, your accommodation. It is not necessary to carry your own food for these meals. Only a few huts on this route allow us to book half-pension for our customers, which includes a multi-course set menu for dinner (usually with a vegetarian and non-vegetarian option) and breakfast. Drinks are never included. At the huts where dinner is not included, the hut operates a full restaurant with an a la carte menu that you can order off of.

Read about dietary restrictions at the huts

For lunches, there are three options. We recommend planning a combination of these:

1. There are so many huts along the way, that on some days, you’ll have options to sit down for a warm lunch. While this sounds appealing, it is also very expensive and time-consuming. This is not a great option on long hiking days or for slower hikers who are already concerned about covering the planned route.
2. Most huts offer sack lunches that you can bring with you on the trail. We find these to be overpriced and repetitive to breakfast, and this option generates a lot of trash. Most huts do not include picnic lunches in their reservation process, which is why we are unable to book these in advance for you. Sack lunches should be requested immediately upon arrival at the hut for the next day. Huts are generally not very flexible in honoring dietary restrictions with their sack lunches.
3. The third option, and our favorite option, is to bring your own food. There are no grocery stores along the way, so you’ll want to carry everything with you onto the trail.

The Hut to Hut in Switzerland trek is likely to have the best conditions between mid-July and the end of the August.

Here's what conditions to expect at different times of year:

Late June: Huts are open and routes from the valleys to the huts are clear. Problematic snow is likely on the passes and at high elevations, especially on some exposed stretches of trail. There is a risk of not being able to complete the itinerary during this time. Even if the passes are clear in time for your hike, they usually clear at the very last minute, and June hikers always have a couple of stressful weeks leading up to their hike as they eagerly wait for the snow to melt in time for their hike. In almost every year, it is not possible to predict what trails are going to be like in June until one or two weeks before. This is true even after a winter with low snowfall.

July and August: Problematic snow can remain on the passes through the second week of July, but it is less likely than in June. Summer settles in and days are usually mostly sunny with an afternoon thunderstorm or two. These thunderstorms rarely interfere with hiking itineraries and are not usually problematic. Of course, thunderstorm safety should be practiced. The wildflowers at the higher elevations should be all out by mid-July. Hiking conditions during this time are often favorable, and it’s a great time to be on the trail.

Early September: The first snow of the winter usually falls in the first week of September. The snow rarely sticks around for more than a day, but the visibility can be very low, making navigation problematic, and maybe even impossible, on this one day. Most days in early September are beautiful and perfect, and the thunderstorms are less, but there is a higher risk of snowstorms and conditions that may prevent you from completing your hike during this time. Many hikers have incredible weather in September, but some do not. It’s simply a matter of luck. The later you push into September, the higher the risk that unfavorable conditions (usually snow, but sometimes extremely cold temperatures) can interfere with your hiking itinerary. We notice that customers who are on the trail beyond September 15^th are much more likely to quit their hike early due to conditions. In early September, the wildflower season is mostly over, with the exception of brilliant bursts of fireweed that mark the end of summer.

In all months, it’s reasonable to expect 1 to 2 rainy days on the trail.

To research more detailed information about average temperatures, precipitation, etc., we recommend checking Meteoblue (go to “History & Climate” and then “Climate (modelled)”) for Ebenalp and Rotsteinpass.

Read more about Understanding the hut-to-hut hiking season in the Alps.