Richard Hartfield joins the newly established Via Glaralpina trail around Switzerland’s Glarus Alps, and meets the volunteers who built it
TUCKED AWAY on the northern flank of the Alps, Glarus is much quieter than neighbouring cantons in Switzerland. The steep topography and absence of any 4000-metre peaks seems to have deterred ski resort and road developers, as well as many tourists. But the dramatic terrain in the Glarus Alps (known locally as Glarnerland) is also an asset.
A growing population of wolves is a recent indicator that this region still offers a rare sanctuary from civilisation. Can a balance be struck between preserving Glarnerland’s quiet character, whilst encouraging more visitors? This may be what inspired a team of local volunteers to develop the Via Glaralpina: a long-distance hiking trail that traverses the Glarus Alps in a 230km loop. Completed in 2020, the trail is easily accessed from Zurich and is divided into 19 stages, each stage ending at an alpine hut or village.
“The Via Glaralpina is spectacular... I think it’s the alpine stages that make it so unique in Switzerland,” one of the trail’s creators, Gabi Aschwanden, told me after I’d finished my journey. It was the challenge of moving through high mountains that inspired me to walk the Via Glaralpina. Roughly one third of the route leads through alpine terrain, where the route is waymarked but often without a defined footpath. Having already completed many walks in the Alps, I sensed the Via Glaralpina offered wilder terrain than most established long-distance trails.
Eager to drink in the solitude and freedom of the mountains, I planned to wild camp every night of my hike rather than using accommodation. By carrying a lightweight bivvy setup, I also hoped to travel fast enough complete the 230km route in nine days.
The Via Glaralpina makes a total ascent of 18,500 metres, so I needed to climb about 2000 metres every day during my journey. I also planned to divert from the trail to tackle the adjacent peaks of Gletscherhorn and Hausstock. It all started to feel slightly overambitious when I learned that the weather in September had been unusually stormy.
Luckily, the skies were settled when I arrived in the village of Matt, situated high in the Sernf Valley. The Via Glaralpina forms a loop around Glarus, which can be hiked in either direction and begun from several places. I’d chosen to travel clockwise, and starting in the south allowed me to cover the highest terrain early on, whilst I felt more certain about the weather forecast.
MIND-BENDING GEOLOGY
During the first two days, the trail led me high above the Sernf Valley and into the Sardona UNESCO World Heritage Site, also known as the Tectonic Arena. It was a landscape of immense cliffs topped by serrated peaks. The Glarus Alps were originally formed during an e
