IAESTE Hard Hiking Weekend
September 19-20, 2009

Have you ever experienced the alpine cottage feeling without any luxury? Have you ever been out of nowhere under the stars?

This is your chance IAESTE LC Zurich invites you to experience all of this! But there's hard physical work involved. To hike up that cottage it takes 6 hours and you need to be able to hike in total an uphill altitude difference of 1000 meteres.

Are you ready for this? Do you have the right shoes? If you are not sure if you have enough endurance I recommend that you join the Easy Hiking Weekend which happens on the same weekend.

Ela cottage

Ela cottage

Cottage inside (place to eat and cook)

Place to eat and cook in the cottage

Cottage as a little dot surrounded by mountains

Can you see the brown little dot in the middle of the picture? That's the cottage! 

Program

Saturday, September 19

  • 6 hour hike from Preda to Ela cottage
  • Having dinner
  • Having fun, playing games, watching the stars in the dark sky

Sunday, September 20

  • 4-5 hour hike from the cottage to the Landwasser viaduct
  • Going home from Filisur

Hiking shoes

You need good hiking shoes. Good shoes are important for comfort and safety reasons. We will walk on mountain path (there might even be a little snow on that altitude). Therefore you need to be sure-footed. High shoes such as shown are benefical in order to stabilize your foot.

Hiking shoes

If you don't have yet such shoes we recommend buying them since you may use them for a lot of other occasions later on. Good quality shoes hold for 10 years and more and cost from 150 CHF upward. Best quality brands are e.g. LOWA or RAICHLE.

Participation fees

  • With SBB General Abonnement (GA): 0 CHF
  • With SBB half-fare (1/2) and Gleis 7: 0 CHF
  • With SBB half-fare (1/2) but no Gleis 7: 0 CHF
  • Without SBB half-fare (1/2): 0 CHF

If you do not yet have a SBB half-fare card, we recommend you buying one! Check the SBB website!

A surcharge of 30 CHF will apply for participants who are not affiliated with IAESTE or its partner organisations. The money will be collected at the start of the weekend.

Included in the participation fee

  • Accommodation at 2250m
  • Little snacks on the way
  • Dinner on Saturday
  • Breakfast on Sunday

Not included in the participation fee

  • Train ride from your place to Preda
  • Drinks in the cottage
  • Lunch on Saturday and on Sunday
  • Train ride from Filisur to your place

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel your registration
  • less than 12 hours before the start of the event (that is, 10:30 PM, Thursday), you pay the entire participation fee
  • 12-24 hours before the start of the event, you pay 75% of the participation fee
  • 24-48 hours before the start of the event, you pay 50% of the participation fee
  • 48-72 hours before the start of the event, you pay 25% of the participation fee

Checklist - Remember to Bring

  • Sandwiches and other snacks and drinks for Saturday and Sunday
  • Thin lightweight sleeping bag (for inbetween the duvet)
  • Good hiking shoes
  • Rain coat (you never know when it's going to rain or cool down in the mountains)
  • (optional) coins to buy drinks in the cottage
  • Two strong legs and endurance

Checklist - Remember to leave at home

  • Towel and shampoo, because there's no shower in the cottage (I told you no luxury)
  • All the heavy stuff that you probably wouldn't need anyway. Remember you have to carry your whole backpack always with you

Meeting point and train connections

  • Our meeting point is at the train station in Preda at 10:30 am.

From Basel

Train from Basel

From Lausanne

Train from Lausanne
If you come from Lausanne you need to travel already on Friday. There is one hotel in Preda (and some others in Bergün, Filisur or Tiefencastel). There is also a campground in Bergün. 

From Zurich

Train from Zurich

To Basel

Train to Basel

To Lausanne

Train to Lausanne

To Zurich

Train to Zurich

For further information on train connections, check the SBB website.

Registration

The maximum number of participants allowed for this event is 15 (including organizers and helpers) and the registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If your registration is not among the first 15, it will be put on the waiting list.

The online registration closed on Monday, 14 September 2009, at 17:00:00.

Check out the list of participants for this event.

Contact

If you have any questions, write to Show e-mail address.