Hikers and climbers flock to Swiss Alpine Club

Hiking in Switzerland is becoming more popular, if the rising membership figures from the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) are anything to go by.

The club serves mixture of purposes: guided walking and climbing, training, accommodating at high altitude and socializing.

Daniela Pfister, who works for the club’s secretariat, told Swisster that membership had rocketed to 130,844 by the end of June, 2010 (website yet to be updated) and has risen every year for the seven she has been employed by the organization.

"We accept new members and we’re trying to expand it," said Pfister.

The growing membership brings high demand for places in its high-altitude huts that provide 9,500 beds to mountain lovers.

Welcoming all nationalities, the club attracted expat Paul Everett, who moved to Switzerland in 1996. Amongst his reasons for joining the SAC was the potential for discounts in mountain huts.

"I was sleeping wild at the time" during high-altitude hikes, he told Swisster. Many of the huts are attended by staff who may offer basic meals and drinks.

"In a unique mountain setting, the huts offer basic, comfortable accommodation for mountaineers, climbers, walkers, families and nature enthusiasts," says the SAC website,

But walkers should not expect the type of facilities founding in resort hotels. "Due to their remote locations, mountain huts cannot offer the level of comfort which is normal in the lowlands," says the site.

Everett also started to ski when he came to Switzerland and was impressed by the club’s randonée guides who escort [during the winter) parties of people preferring to walk up the mountain instead of taking a cable car.

"I started to get more involved with the club when I started doing ski touring with them. I was useless and they were incredibly patient," he said.

"I love going into the mountains on my own but I also like going into mountains with people who know the area and the locals well. It opens up a whole new understanding of the Alps," said Everett, who became a 'chef de course', leading groups across trails and up rock faces.

The club runs organized activities each weekends which vary from five-hour walks to full weekends away from urban life.

Hikers this summer should be prepared for snow patches above 2,000 metres following a colder-than-average June.

"One of the advantages of the Swiss Alpine Club is the diversity of activities," said Everett, now president of the Geneva section of the SAC, with its 2,000 members who participate in organized walks in the Swiss and French Alps and attend films about the mountain environment.

"The official outings do not push the limits. For it is best that somebody joins the club as a hiker and then progresses into alpinism or climbing," said Everett. Some members only go out with the club whereas others use it as a forum to find like-minded walkers and mountaineers.

The SAC club was founded in 1863 in Olten, by famous Swiss mountaineers such as Gottlieb Samuel Studler.

Studler and friends set up the club as a counterpart of the British Alpine Club, created in 1857, according to the climber’s Wikipedia entry.

The SAC soon had huts on the Matterhorn, Weisshorn and the Aletsch glacier. Now headquartered in Bern, the club comprises 112 sections across the country, meaning everybody has a local branch to turn to. The biggest grouping is in Zurich, while Lausanne boasts around 4,000 members.

Membership fees vary between 80 and 140 francs depending on the action. "If you’re staying in a cabane 10-15 times a year you’ve covered the membership fee," said Everett.

Accommodation prices vary by hut, but members can be assured that their highest fee will be 28 francs; non-members may pay up to 40 francs and more for half board where offered.

Nature lovers can also buy vouchers that can be exchanged for stays in huts or technical courses.

The SAC also has a mountain safety role, employing accident specialists such as Ueli Mosimann who work in conjunction with the Swiss Air Ambulance Service (Rega).

The Rega suffered the first loss of a rescue team member during the 2009-10 ski season, when a doctor died trying to free people from an avalanche.

As well as visiting the club’s website, Alpine enthusiasts can find out more at the Swiss Alpine Museum in Bern.