High mountain tour
A high mountain tour, or Hochtour, is a multi-day hike in the high, permanently icy zone of mountains. In the Alps this usually means above about 3,000 meters where glaciers are common. It needs more planning, equipment, and skills than ordinary hiking.
In glaciated terrain you must move roped, wear crampons, and carry an ice axe. You should know basic safety and rescue techniques. A rope team is necessary; hiking alone in glacier areas is dangerous. You may also need crevasse rescue gear, anchors, ice screws, and snow protection.
To do these tours well you should be fit and acclimatized to high altitude. Higher places, such as the Himalayas, Karakoram, or the Andes, can be much tougher and require even more preparation.
The tougher routes demand not just sure footing and a head for heights, but also basic rock and ice climbing skills, or mixed climbing techniques.
Dangers often come from changing weather and conditions rather than just climbing difficulty. There are rating systems to describe route difficulty and fitness needs, such as the SAC Mountain and High Mountain Tour Scale.
Knowing how to read maps and weather forecasts matters, and you should understand avalanche risk, even in summer.
High Alpine areas are changing quickly because of glacier retreat and climate change, which can change how hard or dangerous a tour is.
In the Alps, several famous first ascents helped shape high mountain touring, such as Ankogel (1762), Mont Blanc (1786), Großglockner (1800), and Ortler (1804).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:11 (CET).