Swiss alps bivying illegal?

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 tomaspkr 09 Aug 2020

Went to do a 10 pitch route on Bergseeschijen with an intention of bivying near the climb to make it in time for the last bus. Had a beer at the hut before going towards the bivy spot in the evening (~7pm) and the hut owner shouted us of the mountain for trying to bivy (we just walked away from the hut in the direction of the climb..).

I saw the sign that camping is not allowed, but we were above 2000m in a desolated boulder field. In my mind such signs are there to deter large groups for setting up camps and trashing the place. But setting up a bivy at night to get a head start and avoid rushing, seriously?

This was the first Swiss alps weekend so wondering if stuff like this is common? Never had issues in Italy or Chamonix, where bivying is almost the norm

Post edited at 17:38
 MG 09 Aug 2020
In reply to tomaspkr:

The Swiss are serious about their rules.  You were lucky not to be fined. It can feel a bit restrictive (e.g. no loo flushing after 10pm in flats) but absolutely everything works properly with stunning efficiency

Post edited at 18:42
 EwanR 09 Aug 2020
In reply to tomaspkr:

In most parts of Switzerland it's fine to bivouac but certain communes including Göschenen ban it everywhere. The other ones being Zermatt and Leuk. 

See the rules on the Uri Korporation site:

https://www.korporation.ch/service/wildcampieren/

In Switzerland but especially in Uri and most of the central cantons rules are there to be followed and there are no exceptions. This is unlike France and Italy where there are so many rules that if you try and follow even half of them it's impossible to do anything. 

Hendofan 09 Aug 2020
In reply to tomaspkr:

I've camped in the valley around saas fee and on the mountain without incident. Pitch late, strike early and leave no trace and you'll be fine.

1
 IainL 09 Aug 2020
In reply to MG:

Not everything. Geneva airport shut for hours after a couple of inches of snow overnight. Most of the suburbs were clear. Not much more than causes problems at Heathrow.

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OP tomaspkr 10 Aug 2020
In reply to MG:

I would be lucky if I pitched the actual bivy and was caught. But getting fined for the intention would be something else.

Glad to know that some areas are better than others, will do research beforehand. I didn't even mind paying for the hut but everything was booked out all around the valley. Cheers

 Neil Williams 10 Aug 2020
In reply to IainL:

Having flown from Geneva well over 100 times I can confirm it is absolutely useless at dealing with what you would considered to be pretty normal Swiss weather!

 MG 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Neil Williams:

I'm sure it's the French bit that cause the problems🙂

 Slarti B 10 Aug 2020
In reply to MG:

"e.g. no loo flushing after 10pm in flats"

Oh my goodness, is that really true??

 Neil Williams 10 Aug 2020
In reply to MG:

> I'm sure it's the French bit that cause the problems🙂

TBH the French bit of Switzerland generally is more like France but a bit cleaner and slightly more organised.  It's the German bit that is hyper-efficient.  Similarly, Ticino is like Italy but a bit cleaner and slightly more efficient but similarly lacks the Germanic "perfection".

 Neil Williams 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Slarti B:

> "e.g. no loo flushing after 10pm in flats"

> Oh my goodness, is that really true??

It is in the German bit of Switzerland where they're picky about everything.  It wasn't in the flat I once rented in the French bit.

 MG 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Slarti B:

> "e.g. no loo flushing after 10pm in flats"

> Oh my goodness, is that really true??

Probably block of flats dependant, but yes.

 bigbobbyking 10 Aug 2020
In reply to MG:

> Probably block of flats dependant, but yes.

When I lived in Geneva I flushed the toilet whenever I wanted and never got complaints, but I think there were a lot of 'studio flats' with international temporary people in that block (like me). People I knew who rented in more Genevoise neighbourhoods definitely had complaints for any kind of noise (high heels on wooden floor even at social times of the day!)

In some cases it seemed over the top, but tbh I do like that they took noise complaints seriously. It can be such a blight on the lives of people who live in appartments - in the UK it takes months to deal with noisy neighbours. In Switzerland the real police will come around and deal with it...

 Dark-Cloud 10 Aug 2020
In reply to bigbobbyking:

> In some cases it seemed over the top, but tbh I do like that they took noise complaints seriously. It can be such a blight on the lives of people who live in appartments - in the UK it takes months to deal with noisy neighbours. In Switzerland the real police will come around and deal with it...

The real police being the Municipal police rather than Cantonal, but they still have guns, so best to comply if they ask you to be quiet, not that the threat seemed to bother the teens in an apartment next to one i stayed in that came back from the club at 2.00AM then sat on the balcony smoking dope and playing French rap music until about 5.30AM....

 Steve Woollard 10 Aug 2020
In reply to IainL:

> Not everything. Geneva airport shut for hours after a couple of inches of snow overnight. Most of the suburbs were clear. Not much more than causes problems at Heathrow.


Geneva airport is the worst airport I've ever had the misfortune to fly to and from. But that's another post

 bigbobbyking 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Dark-Cloud:

> The real police being the Municipal police rather than Cantonal

Well any police is more effective than the council responding in working hours after evidence that it is a persistent and on going problem etc...

 Neil Williams 10 Aug 2020
In reply to bigbobbyking:

Well, quite.  From Councils enforcing noise to HATOs on the motorway (though that they are non-judgmental does have some advantages) our unwillingness to properly fund the Police has ended up with all manner of ineffective half-jobs at enforcement.

To use an example, I've just got a new car and taken out an insurance policy on it, and it has only just today made it onto the MID (so it wasn't on over the weekend).  I managed to drive 200 miles, around town and 200 miles back again without this being picked up.  This happened because in that entire journey I did not see one single police car.  I had the certificate of insurance in the car so it wouldn't have been a problem, but that's a long journey without seeing *any* Police, let alone an ANPR-equipped car.

Anyone who thinks that level of policing is adequate is nuts.

Post edited at 14:08
 Neil Williams 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Steve Woollard:

> Geneva airport is the worst airport I've ever had the misfortune to fly to and from. But that's another post

It has some faults and quirks, but if it's genuinely the worst you've experienced then you can't have been to many airports.

 Dark-Cloud 10 Aug 2020
In reply to Neil Williams:

Agreed, any small Greek island airport would rank slightly higher on the worst scale for me!

Geneva gets better every time i got through, seems to be a lot of work going on in various areas.


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