2026 has been a tough year on the Alps. Record high temperatures further thawed the glue that holds the mountains together. As the permafrost melt crept higher, the mountains, and even the hillsides beneath them, started coming down. But it wasn’t isolated to the temperature extremes. Violent storms battered the range with massive precipitation in short periods of time causing flooding and debris flows. Sadly, this isn’t isolated to 2026. In the ten years since we produced our Run the Alps Switzerland trail running guidebook, there have been a lot of on and off trail closures due to rockfall, hillsides sliding, washed out trails, and glaciers melting. In the same ten years, tourism has exploded in areas like the Berner Oberland and the trails have been impacted through overuse.
Run the Alps Switzerland Trail Run Updates
If you are familiar with the book, you surely know some of these trails. We want to provide a summary of which routes we know have been impacted by terrain changes. However, these are only the runs we know about. Some, like the Rosegtal run, runners notified us of the changes they experienced.
If you know of additional route changes, warnings, or any sort of important info for other runners, please share them in the comments. We try to keep the runs updated on our site.
Bettmeralp Aletschgletscher
I don’t think the book was even out yet when a sizable section of this route, and a hillside it passes over, started to slide into the Aletschgletscher. The crevasses in the dirt and the hillside detachment was visible to us when we ran this trail. At a certain point, authorities closed the hillside below Hohbalm.
Our route is open again, probably because it is on a ridge, but the trail immediately below it is still closed.
Hardergrat
In 2016, at the time of the book production, the Hardergrat wasn’t quite on the influencers’ radar. But that wave broke in a big way shortly after, and became one of the Alps’ early Instagram hotspots. The Instagrammers weren’t coming to do the Hardergrat, they were coming to “make content” on one particular section near the Augstmatthorn. Once their work was done, they’d easily drop off the north side and catch a bus back to Interlaken.
Today, the section of trail along the ridgeline, between the Harderkulm and Augstmatthorn is an absolute mess. Erosion through overuse has left it a giant tangle of roots and in many places, several meters wide.
Lac de Moiry – Pigne de la Lé
The writing is on the wall for this route due to a relatively low elevation glacier crossing. As the glaciers drop each year, getting on and off them becomes increasingly complicated. It was reported that some of the Alps’ larger glaciers saw a 6-meter drop by mid-summer.
We decided to include the glacier crossing for this route as it is a fun option to reach Cabane de Moiry and is commonly crossed without the need for glacier travel gear and skills. I imagine this run will get a full route update in the coming years.
Lauterbrunnen Obersteinberg
One of our absolute favorite runs in all the Alps — we do the Obersteinberg loop several times a year. It has numerous variations and extensions, all great. In some ways, I consider it the Alps’ run that I compare all Alps’ trail runs to.
This summer, one of the best sections, and where I shoot photos, took a big hit. The trail immediately past the Obersteinberg Mountain Hotel all the way to the small bridge crossing the Tschingel Litschina, has been closed due to the hillside finally collapsing and washing out. It is possible to bypass this section by dropping into the river valley and then climbing back out beneath the Hotel.
Rosegtal
This route originally left the Val Roseg and climbed to the Lej da Vadret before continuing along as a traverse towards the Chamanna Coaz. Today, that trail is completely closed due to rockfall.
The run now uses a higher trail also traversing the same hillside.
Saas-Almagell Jazzilucke
The long climb up the Furggtal to the Antronapass has seen some changes in the last ten years. Three trails parallel the river and today two are closed and not passable. The middle trail, on the north side of the river, is still being used and remains open. It’s also our original route.
Schynige Platte to Grindelwald
This route kicks off with a 1500-meter climb from Wilderswill to the Daube, above the Schynige Platte Station. A few years back, just below the farm houses at Bigelti, a large piece of the trail collapsed and was further eroded by weather. It has since been completely rerouted and now stays on the north side of the cliff bands.
I did this route in 2026 and it is obvious that the trail from Schynige to the Faulhorn has also seen a huge amount of traffic. As a very popular day hike, the route gets pounded by a lot of feet. It is taking a toll. The trail is wide and getting rockier from what it was ten years ago.
Zinal Petit Mountet
One of the first runs we did for the book has remained a favorite that we have repeated many times. It’s so good, we included it on our Via Valais as the way to drop into Zinal. But on the long traverse above the Val d’Anniviers, and beneath Point 3273, a 100 meter wide washout took out the trail, destabilizing the hillside enough that for a time the route was closed. It is again open but remains a bit of a loose traverse.
Via Valais Route Changes
Stage 7: In August 2026, the Bisgletscher beneath the Weisshorn is threatening to release seracs with potentially catastrophic impact to the Mattertal and village of Randa. It isn’t the first time it has happened and careful monitoring is in effect. For this reason, descending to Randa from the Schöllijoch, what we consider the very best section of the Via Valais, is closed.
There is a detour before the trail closure so the descent can be started as would normally be done. But instead of descending to Randa, a trail descends to Herbriggen, lower in the valley. This is what Via Valais runners must do as of 2026.
Meanwhile, the original descent from the Schöllijoch went almost all the way to the Topali Hut. But just before the hut, a trail split to the south and the descent to Randa started. Due to rockfall, this section of trail has been permanently closed. In 2025, a new trail was built just below the Schöllijoch that connects lower with the Randa, now Herbriggen, descent. Sadly, bypassing the Topali Hut (or just making it a slightly longer detour).
Stage 8: Another Via Valais re-routing has been in effect on the Europaweg, a trail that sees all too many problems with rockfall. Via Valais runners cannot climb from Randa to the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge to begin the Europaweg traverse to Täschalp. Instead, runners need to stay on the valley floor to the town of Täsch and from there climb directly to Täschalp.
How to Check for Alps Trail Closures
If you plan to spend time sampling trail running in the Swiss Alps, checking your itinerary beforehand should become part of your routine. Thankfully, this is a simple step.
The Swiss Topo site is a key resource for Swiss trails. Be sure to open the menu tab and click on the option for Hiking Trail Closures. In Swiss fashion, the site gets updated as things change. Closed trails will show as red and white dashed lines, blocking out the actual trail.
For France and Italy, I haven’t seen anything close to what the Swiss do. If anyone knows of a resource with reliable information, please share the site. Otherwise, community-reported closures on sites like AllTrails and Outdoor Active might be your resource.
Personal Responsibility
While running in the Alps this summer, I noticed that I’ve started to think like a backcountry skier assessing avalanche risk. I pay more attention to what hangs above me and whether or not I’m seeing activity like rockfall, or signs of fresh rockfall on trails. The extreme thunderstorm events we’ve been seeing also come with the risk of destabilized hillsides and waterways flooding with water and/or debris.
There is never a guarantee of safety in the mountains, they are indifferent to your passage. All you can do is make good decisions based on the information you are presented with, before and during your time in the mountain environment.
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