A modern information and networking platform, improved safety and easier orientation along the trail: the Via Alpina, the transalpine long-distance hiking trail, is getting a makeover in 2022. CIPRA International is seeking crowdfunding to support this project.

Clouds of mist drift through the Alpine landscape. Breakfast is simmering on the gas cooker. The day on the trail begins: a short video on the crowdfunding platform Okpal shows what an extraordinary setting a hike on the Via Alpina offers and how the unique long-distance hiking route is to be modernised and preserved in the future.

Through crowdfunding, CIPRA, which manages the Via Alpina office, aims to improve safety and orientation through routing apps along the adapted red trail. The Via Alpina website will be developed into a modern information and networking platform in five languages, where all interested parties can find out and exchange information about hiking conditions, mountain huts and route guidance. CIPRA is launching a crowdfunding campaign to implement these plans. “The Via Alpina belongs to all of us”, emphasises Jakob Dietachmair, Deputy Executive Director of CIPRA International and coordinator of the unique long-distance hiking trail. “Regional specialities, environmentally friendly building cultures and the diverse nature to the left and right of the path make the complex concept of sustainability tangible.” For this to continue, investment in infrastructure and safety is needed.

Exceptional, slow travel

In summer 2022, eight “Via Alpina Explorers” will also set out with the support of the VAUDE Sport Albrecht von Dewitz Foundation and hike along the adapted red route. Using social media, blogs or film, they will tell stories about Alpine biodiversity, environmentally friendly travel and challenges on the mountain. Support the Via Alpina now, kilometre by kilometre

Photo: The Via Alpina – a unique long-distance hiking trail that runs from Trieste/I to Monaco through all eight Alpine countries. © Christina Ragettli