Swiss Mountain Hut: Albert Heim

We try to stay overnight in at least one mountain hut each summer, which lets us experience sunset and sunrise in the mountains and see more remote areas than we can usually reach on a day hike. In late September, we hiked to the Albert Heim Hut, near the Furka pass. The area is extremely beautiful, with dramatic peaks, rivers, waterfalls, and glaciers. Even you aren’t staying in the hut, the hike is amazing and well worth a visit.

This is a good hut for families because the hike to the hut is not very long or difficult, only 3.5 km. The hut staff was very friendly and had a variety of board and card games to entertain. The hut itself was a little more rustic than others we’ve stayed at, but comfortable.

I spent hours researching this hike, so I’m excited to share the details so you can get straight to hiking and skip the research. I hope you like it!

For more general info, see my Swiss Mountain Hut with Kids post and see all my mountain hut reviews.

Location

The Albert Heim Hut is in Central Switzerland, a few minutes west of Andermatt and east of the Furkapass. It is accessed by a short hike from Tiefenbach.

Hiking map

We started our hike at the Tiefenbach (Furka) bus stop and hiked to the hut, about 3.5 km, ascending about 400m of elevation. We slept overnight in the hut, then hiked down on a different trail, 6.5 km to Realp, where we caught the train back home. You could also simply have lunch at the hut and do the whole trail in one day. The full trail is about 10 km and took us about 6 hours.

The second half of the trail from the hut down is so beautiful!!! I want to take you all there right now to show you how beautiful it is. The trail is longer and a bit more difficult than the way up from Tiefenbach, with lots of rocks to climb over and some long switchbacks at the end. This part of the trail descends about 1000m, but it’s mostly gradual, so my knees didn’t hurt as much as they normally do when we have to descend so far. With kids aged 8 to 11, it took us about 3 hours walking time plus an hour break for lunch.

Shorter option: The hike to the hut only took us about 90 mins. So you could simply walk up, have lunch, then walk back.

Trail quality: It’s a narrow dirt alpine path, with lots of rocks and some tricky footing. Bring hiking sticks. It’s a bit of work in parts, but still suitable for families with children accustomed to hiking.

Because of the high elevation, this hut can get snow all summer long, but it usually doesn’t last long. But check the forecast and webcams and ask the staff about the trail conditions when making reservations.

Services: Besides the hut, there are no restaurants on the trail. Also no official fire pits or wood to build your own fire. Scroll down for the picture story of both hikes.

Longer trail options: I initially considered having us hike to the hut from the Furkapass along the Nepali highway trail, which is the trail that most adults staying at the hut took. However, this is a blue & white trail, meaning it is not always clearly marked, it can “sometimes lead across glaciers and scree, through rockfall areas and through rocks with short climbing sections.” (wanderland.ch), and my require special equipment like ropes and pick axes. I asked other hikers about the trail and they said it was very difficult but they didn’t need special equipment. Some thought our kids could have done it, but I would be very cautious with this category of trails. This photo story was the best info I could find on this trail.

Getting There

If you do the one way trail, you’ll need to use public transportation with at least part of your journey. There is very limited bus service to the starting point at Tiefenbach (Furka), only one bus in the morning and one in the afternoon. So plan your schedule carefully. I’ve included sample 2017 bus times below, so check the current schedule before heading it.

By public transport: 

Take a train to Andermatt, then catch bus 681 to Tiefenbach (Furka), where the trail starts. This bus only runs twice a day, leaving Göschenen at 8:10, or Andermatt at 8:30 or 15:34.

If you do the one way hike ending in Realp as described here, the train from Realp runs hourly (i.e. 14:05, 15:05, etc). It only stops upon request. There is a display at the train tracks where you push a button to request the train to stop.

If you instead hike back to Tiefenbach (Furka), the bus runs twice at day to Andermatt at 14:03 and 17:52. Don’t miss it! One reason we chose to hike to Realp is that we had more options in case we hiked to slowly.

By car:

If you are going by car and are doing the whole one way hike described here, I recommend parking at the Realp train station (the end of your hike) and taking the bus from Realp, Post to Tiefenbach (Furka) where you’ll start your hike. There is only one bus in the morning from Realp to Tiefenbach (Furka) at 8:42 (check current schedule to be sure). Don’t miss it.

If you are just hiking from Tiefenbach (Furka) and back, simply park there in one of the marked spots.

Albert Heim Hut

The hut is open for guests from about June through mid October, but check the website to make sure. The hut cafe is open for lunch and snacks during the day. If you want to stay overnight, make a reservation, especially on weekends. You can reserve by phone or online on their website. For last minute reservations, best to call +41 33 973 11 14. In 2017, an overnight stay with half pension was CHF 76/adult, CHF 53/youth 13-17, CHF 43/ child 7-12, CHF 16 for children 6 and under. SAC members get a discount. See website for current prices.

The sleeping rooms were typical large rows of mattresses, with pillows, duvets and heavy army blankets. The hut was rather cold during the day, but once we were tucked into bed, we were toasty warm even with a snow storm outside.

Many people hung out in the dining area during the day, taking shelter from the cold, playing games, studying maps and socializing.

This hut is typical of most mountain huts, but slightly more rustic. They do not have drinking water, so bring lots of your own or be prepared to pay CHF 10/liter at the hut. Toilets flush but are in shacks separate from the main hut (shown below), no lights at night.

The hut is powered by solar panels, with limited output. It is not possible to charge your electronics, so bring power banks. No wifi and cell reception is not strong at the hut, but you can get a signal.

This hut is at 2500m, which is high enough to get snow even in summer. We went in mid September and there were some snow patches around the hut and it snowed during the night. So check the forecast and trail conditions carefully before heading out.

We brought a dog, which is allowed if you inform them ahead of time. Our dog was allowed to sleep on the floor in the Winter room, which has 8 sleeping places. Or the dog may be required to sleep in the service area in the basement, which we found too cold for the dog as it was snowing that night and that door was kept open at all hours. They will provide blankets for the dog but that’s about it.

Note: The hut has been renovated since our last visit. So these pictures will not match what the hut looks like now.

Hike Up: Tiefenbach (Furka) to Hut

Here we are starting the hike from Tiefenbach (Furka). In the distance, you can see the road leading to the Furka pass.

First on a dirt road, then on an alpine footpath.

Looking back from where we came.

The path followed a beautiful river up the mountain.

Lots of wild blueberry bushes along the way, we ate lots.

A flat section before the steep climb up to the hut.

As you near the hut, the trail splits with this sign. You can take the 25 min path straight up to the hut. Or follow the “leichter Hüttenweg” which winds its way more slowly to the hut.

Here’s the easy path.

We took the harder, steeper path.

The trails join here.

So pretty up here!!!

Last little bit up to the hut.

Short Wander at the Top

If you are staying overnight and have extra energy, there are lots of places to explore near the hut. I wanted to walk up to the glacier (about 1.5 km) and search for crystals, but the kids were too tired. So we walked along the ridge to a lookout point, Auf den Stöcken, marked with a cross (about 15 mins).

The path is rocky, with tricky footing and very narrow in parts.

At the lookout point marked by this cross, the trail goes down the mountain again.

Here’s the view from the lookout point down toward Realp, the end of the trail tomorrow.

Hike Down: Hut to Realp

We woke up to snow, which was very surprising. We had rain jackets, warm layers, and mittens but not quite prepared for a snow storm. So we waited around in the hut until about 10am when the clouds cleared and the snow stopped. Luckily, there was only snow on the first 1 km of the trail.

The trail down from the hut to Realp is much more rocky than the trail up. It’s well marked but sometimes we got a little off trail on this first section, which is just rocks, a little hard to see the actual path. Keep your eye on the red and white markers.

Now the path is easier to see, scooting under these big cliffs for a bit.

Our picnic spot along the river, we had been walking about 90 mins.

Maybe the prettiest picture of the whole summer.

That red color is all blueberry bushes.

That’s Realp below but you still have about 2.5 km to go and 500m of elevation descent. It took us about 45 mins but we were running on lots of it trying to catch the train. We missed it by 10 mins.

Long switchbacks down the mountain. It was driving me crazy because instead of switching back every couple minutes, the path would go 10 mins before switching back. Felt very inefficient.

Entering Realp and realizing we’ve missed the train. Not a bad place to wait an hour for the next one.

That’s it. Let me know if you go to this hut. I’d love to hear about your experience.