The SAC hiking scale helps you find the right route.
Six levels, from a paved lakeside path to technical alpine mountaineering. Every hiking region spans several of them. This self-assessment deliberately only recommends up to T3 — the range that can be responsibly judged through a quiz like this.
Scale reference: Schweizer Alpen-Club SAC, revised 2023
A clear, well-built path. Any exposed spot is properly secured. No particular skill needed — you could navigate it without a map.
Still a continuous trail, but the terrain turns genuinely steep in places. You'll want basic sure-footedness and a sense of where you are.
The path isn't always obvious underfoot. Steep, sometimes with ropes or chains through exposed sections. Real sure-footedness and a little alpine experience matter here.
Often no visible path. Hands-on scrambling, exposed grass and scree, sometimes easy snow crossings.
Mostly pathless. Short climbing passages, glacier travel, real fall consequences.
Sustained exposure and climbing. This is mountaineering, not hiking.
Five honest questions, the same qualities the scale itself is built on. Your result is set by your weakest answer, not the average — the same way a trail's grade is set by its hardest stretch, not its easiest.
1. Continuous uphill walking, 3+ hours — how does that sound?
2. Loose, uneven, or rocky ground underfoot?
3. Real drop-offs or exposed edges nearby — not how tired you are, just the height itself?
4. Path isn't clearly marked and you need to read the terrain?
5. Ever done a trail with rope- or chain-secured sections?
This guide offers general orientation, not a personal fitness or safety assessment. Trail conditions, weather, and your own physical state on the day all matter more than any quiz result. AlpineSpot is not liable for decisions made based on this page — always check current local conditions and use your own judgement, and consider a lower difficulty than your result if you're unsure.
Applies at every level, T1 included.
Alpine weather turns fast. A clear forecast at the trailhead can still mean a storm at altitude by afternoon.
Which trail, roughly when you'll be back. The simplest safety net there is.
Pick a time to head back no matter where you are — before you leave, not once you're tired.
Snow can sit in shaded gullies into summer and turn a T2 route genuinely harder. Recent trip reports beat assumptions.