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Mountful Hikes

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Mountful Hikes

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Guided hikes in the Swiss Alps for tourists, locals and companies.

15/10/2026

TO TRAVEL BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS : not every hidden gem needs a geotag.

I love sharing the mountains. It’s part of my work, and I hope that what I share inspires people to get outside and explore.

But when I find somewhere beautiful, quiet and relatively unknown, I deliberately keep the location vague. I might mention the canton, the region or simply say “the Swiss Alps”. I don’t share the exact location.

I’ve seen what can happen when a quiet place suddenly gets exposed to a huge online audience. Trails become crowded. Mountain huts that were once relatively easy to book can become fully booked months in advance. And the very thing that made the place special starts to disappear.

I understand the temptation. You find somewhere incredible and naturally want to share it.

But you can share the photo. Tell the story. Inspire people to explore. Without telling thousands of people exactly where to go.

So to fellow travellers, bloggers and content creators: before you drop that pin, think about what might happen if everyone follows it.

Some places deserve to be discovered rather than downloaded.

13/10/2026

A little reintroduction, because there are quite a few new faces here. 👋

I’m Famke, the person behind Mountful Hikes. I live in the Swiss Alps, where I spend much of my time exploring the mountains, guiding hiking and snowshoeing adventures, and trying to keep up with Woody, my Golden Retriever.

But there’s a little more to me than mountains and hiking boots.

🏔️ I first fell in love with the Alps when I was five. Apparently, I asked my parents why we couldn’t just live here. It took a while, but I eventually made it happen.

⛵ Before becoming a mountain leader, I did all sorts of other things. I studied French and Law, started my own business helping teenagers with their schoolwork, taught sailing and spent two winters as a ski instructor. I’ve always enjoyed sharing things I love with other people.

🐾 Woody is my favourite companion on mountain adventures. One of the downsides of teaching skiing was that I couldn’t bring my dog along. These days, I’m very happy that he can often join me.

🏡 I’m also something of a late bloomer when it comes to settling down. Last year, we built our own home, and for the first time in my life I got to choose tiles and wallpaper. The wallpaper is still waiting to go up, by the way. 😄

📚 And when I’m not in the mountains, you’ll often find me curled up on the sofa with a book. I love reading so much that I even have a separate Instagram account dedicated to feelgood reads.

Mountful Hikes actually began with a suggestion from a friend. We were hiking together one summer when she said, “You know so much about these mountains. Why don’t you make this your work?”

And that’s pretty much how it started.

Today, what I love most is bringing people together for a few days in the mountains, sharing the places I love and watching a group of people become hiking companions.

So that’s a little about me. Now I’m curious about you.

What brought you here? The mountains, the hiking adventures, Woody… or perhaps my impeccable fashion sense and fabulous hairstyles? 😉

11/10/2026

Big mountains. Gentle days.

This is probably our most spectacular snowshoe trip — but also one of the most accessible.

Over three days in the Italian Alps, we spend around 3–4 hours a day on snowshoes, surrounded by some seriously impressive mountain scenery. You’ll want a reasonable level of fitness, but you don’t need to be an experienced snowshoer.

The first night we stay in a comfortable mountain hut, and on the second we swap snow boots for bathrobes at one of my favourite spa hotels.

It’s a lovely combination: enough time outside to feel like you’ve had a proper mountain adventure, without every day needing to be long or hard.

And those views…

If you like the idea of winter in the mountains, but aren’t looking for the toughest trip on the programme, this could be the one.

Comment ITALY and I’ll send you the link to this perfect combo.

06/10/2026

I’d only ever seen the Daubensee in winter, covered in snow while ski touring. This weekend it looked more like the moon.

The lake was completely dry, and the landscape around it felt almost lunar — huge grey rock faces, an empty lakebed and spectacular trails winding through it all.

I was there with Maev and Sarah, with our three dogs along too. Two days of hiking, catching up and exploring a new area for future trips.

We also tried to take a few yoga photos for Sarah, which turned out to be surprisingly difficult when there always seemed to be a Golden Retriever wandering into shot. 🤪

04/10/2026

Give yourself something to train for.

There’s something rather lovely about having a big mountain adventure in the diary to look forward to.

Our women-only Via Alpina deluxe departure from 26–30 July 2027 already has its first two bookings. With a minimum group size of four, we’re now looking for just two more women to make this departure guaranteed.

Five days of beautiful hiking through the Swiss Alps, a small group of no more than six, and comfortable hotels waiting at the end of each day.

And booking early means you have almost a whole year to look forward to it. Plenty of time to get out walking, build your fitness and have a very good reason to keep training through winter and spring.

If the Via Alpina has been sitting somewhere on your wish list, perhaps 2027 is the year.

Could this be the adventure you’d like to train for?

Comment VIA ALPINA and I’ll send you the details.

01/10/2026

This one actually is AI-generated. And there’s a reason I’m posting it…

A week ago, Instagram labelled one of my posts as AI-generated content. Which was slightly annoying, because every photo in that post was real and taken by me on my very ordinary iPhone.

The only thing I’d done was ask ChatGPT to put some text on the first photo after spending far too long fiddling with it myself. Apparently, that was enough for the AI label.

So, just for the record: the mountains are real. The snow is real. Woody is definitely real.

And yes, Tuesday’s icy waterfall dip was real too. Unfortunately. 🥶

This photo, however… completely fake.

Although I have to admit, I’m still rather tempted by that green dirndl. 😉

29/09/2026

Apparently it’s still swimming season. 🥶

Back at this beautiful spot with Richard, Woody and a friend and somehow the four of us ended up taking a dip in the waterfall.

On a sunny day at the end of September it was just too tempting. Although judging by my face, the water was every bit as cold as you’d expect. 😂

Quite possibly the last mountain swim of the year. Or so I keep telling myself…

27/09/2026

Italy, Bernese Oberland or Jura: which snowshoe adventure would you choose? ❄️

Over the past few Sundays, I’ve introduced our three multi-day snowshoe trips for winter 2027 separately. But they’re actually three very different ways to experience snowshoeing in the Alps, so I thought it was time to put them side by side.

🇮🇹 Italy
Our three-day snowshoe trip in the Italian Alps is the most accessible of the three, with around 3–4 hours of snowshoeing each day. Expect spectacular views towards Mont Blanc and the Grandes Jorasses, a night in a cosy mountain hut and a second night in a beautiful hotel with a rather lovely spa.

🏔️ Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
This is the most demanding of the three, with around 5–6 hours of snowshoeing each day. We spend our days exploring big winter landscapes, stopping for outdoor lunches with a thermos of hot tea, before returning to two carefully chosen alpine hotels.

🌲 Swiss Jura
With around 4–5 hours of snowshoeing each day, this three-day trip takes us through snowy forests and across open ridges, with wonderful views towards the Alps. It’s a completely different winter landscape and a beautifully peaceful part of Switzerland to explore on snowshoes.

All three are small-group, three-day snowshoe adventures, and you don’t need previous snowshoeing experience. But in terms of landscape, atmosphere and how much time we spend out each day, they feel very different.

So, which one sounds most like you?

Comment ITALY, OBERLAND or JURA below and I’ll send you the full trip details.

24/09/2026

I love skiing. Anyone who knows me knows that.

But I also think snowshoeing is hugely underrated.

Because snowshoeing opens up the winter mountains to people who aren’t confident enough skiers to head into the backcountry. You can leave the pistes behind, get a proper workout and explore beautiful winter terrain that doesn’t need a big climb or descent to make it worthwhile.

And then there’s the pace of it. Walking through fresh snow can be wonderfully calming. You have time to talk, think, spot wildlife and animal tracks, stop at a frozen waterfall, or simply enjoy the silence.

So, do I really think snowshoeing is better than skiing?

No. 😄 But that wouldn’t have made nearly as good a title for this post.

What I do think is that if you love being in the mountains in winter, but skiing isn’t your thing, snowshoeing is a brilliant way to experience everything beyond the pistes.

I actually wrote a whole blog about snowshoeing versus skiing and the differences between the two.

Comment BLOG below and I’ll send you the link.

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