High Sierra Topix

Hey, Sierrans,

When I mentioned to my spouse that I was thinking of heading for a new and different destination in the Sierra next summer (2012), as well as the planned trip this coming summer, the reaction was immediate and visceral: "Why don't we go someplace different, like the alps!" It was about as close to a demand as she ever makes.

So: anybody have any experience hiking in the Swiss, Italian, or Austrian alps? Good guidebooks, guides, touring organizations? Personal suggestions? I understand people usually don't camp but instead hike from inn to inn, yes? Are the inns expensive? I'm linguistically impaired (Hablo solamente Inglés, mas o menas. ), and I'm wondering how much of a handicap that is likely to be.

Any suggestions at all would be most welcome. Got to keep peace in the family, and got to get to the mountains, so the Alps it is!

only know the French Alps well, which is the place I'd return to if I went back, even though my French stinks compared to German.

Basically, if you lke it a little more on the wild side, France is the place. The other countries are far more developed and in general it's just too darn tidy for me in Austria and especially Switzerland (where they only like you if you have a fat wallet).

Only done a day hike or two in the alps myself, a long time ago, but I found this:

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