Die Alpen magazine is a specialised Alps guide for Switzerland’s committed mountain enthusiasts
A century-old Swiss magazine caters only to those who are serious about the Alps – and no detail is too small.
Few magazines can tread the same ground of a single subject matter for a century. Indeed, a publication would be considered lucky even to survive that long. But for Die Alpen, published every two months since 1925 to serve the members of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), the mountains’ vastness still offers a wealth of stories and inspiration.
The pages of Die Alpen capture the stunning vistas that the magazine was founded to celebrate, with in-house photography that details the landscape’s complex topography and changing seasons. But it’s not all about the dramatic photos. Shots of skiers negotiating glaciers are accompanied by useful information about their routes and technical details such as altitudes, wind speeds and difficulty ratings. “Our readers want specialisation,” Die Alpen’s editor in chief, Alan Schweingruber, tells Monocle. “It’s not a nature magazine. They want advice, recommendations and news about what’s happening, to know where they should go and what they should bring.”
The SAC, which was founded in 1863 in Olten, a small town between Zürich and Basel, used to release journals of the club’s records before it transitioned to the magazine format. Now, new members of the 180,000-strong club become subscribers upon enrolment and the magazine’s accessibility has always been a priority. “We translate every issue into German, Italian and French,” says Schweingruber. “It’s a major challenge but it’s a crucial part of our process.”
The Swiss Alps draw adventurers all year round, whether for skiing in the snowy months or hiking in the summer. In 2024, Switzerland’s alpine tourism hit record highs, with 24.4 million overnight stays in hotels in the summer months. But Schweingruber, who has been at the helm of Die Alpen for five years, has no plans to cater to those who aren’t serious about the landscape. “We don’t write for those who only head into the Alps from time to time,” he says. “We write for those who want to be members of an exclusive group – who want to be a part of the mountains.”
