Jahrestagung der Bergsteigerdörfer

Annual Meeting of Mountaineering Villages

The Mountaineering Villages are an initiative of the Alpine Clubs and go back to a project of the Austrian Alpine Club.
In the spirit of European and Alpine-wide cooperation, the cooperation with the neighbouring Alpine Clubs in Austria, Germany, South Tyrol, Slovenia, Switzerland and Italy Mountaineering Villages has been awarded in recent years. There are now a total of 53 Mountaineering Villages and 5 of them in Switzerland.
As a platform for the special and nature-oriented sports and recreation offers in the individual mountaineering villages – from districts to communities to entire valleys – the target group of alpinists and nature lovers is to be addressed and local value creation is to be supported, but not at the expense of nature and the environment.
Mountaineering villages are small and fine villages in the Alps. They stand for unforgettable mountain adventures and an intact natural and cultural landscape. Mountaineering villages are committed to ensuring that sustainable development succeeds at the local level.
Every year, the annual conference takes place in a mountaineering village. This year, the Lower Engadine has the honour. The annual conference will take place in the mountaineering village of Lavin-Guarda & Ardez from 23 to 25 October.
Main topic "Protecting, using and experiencing water"

Switzerland is known as the water reservoir of Europe – but drought and water scarcity have always been an issue, depending on the region. This is also the case in the Lower Engadine mountaineering village of Lavin, Guarda & Ardez, which, as an inner-Alpine dry valley, is characterised by plenty of sunshine and low rainfall. The changing climatic conditions require a conscious and prudent use of the valuable resource water. And yet, water in the Lower Engadine, also because of its mineral springs, plays an important role in tourism. How do you use the commodity without wasting it? What approaches, measures and projects are there in politics, gastronomy and society? What challenges do businesses, alpine huts and guests have to face? Despite, or perhaps because of, the water scarcity, should the resource be made tangible and made more valuable for tourism? These questions will be discussed, exchanged and input sought at the annual conference.

The team of the Mountaineering Village Lavin, Guarda & Ardez as well as the SAC are looking forward to the first annual meeting of the Mountaineering Villages in Switzerland and to welcoming you!

Program 2026 German
23. – 25.10.2026 Lavin
FRIDAY · 23.10.2026
9:00 Arrival and coffee
10:00 Welcome
10:30 Lectures
11:45 Lunch
13:45 Greetings
14:00 Workshops
16:00 Free time / Guided tour of the village of Lavin
18:30 Aperitif
19:30 Concert Music Society Ardez
20:00 Dinner
22:59 last trip to Zernez by train
23:01 last trip to Scuol by train
SATURDAY · 24.10.2026
8:45 Coffee and croissants
9:15 Meeting point excursions
12:00 Lunch on excursion
15:00 Free time
17:00 Aperitif and group photo
18:00 Wrap-up Excursions
19:00 Concert Mi'amia
19:30 Festive evening and dance music by
Rümli Gäng
22:59 last trip to Zernez by train
00:00 last trip to Scuol by train
SUNDAY · 25.10.2026

Optional hikes:

Excursions (24 October 2026, approx. 9.30 a.m. - 3 p.m.):
Handling of water in the mountain huts
with the SAC Engiadina Bassa
New life in the Bos-cha fenland
with Angelika Abderhalden
On the trail of the geological phenomenon of Lower Engadine windows
with Matthias Merz
On the way to the WWF water pearl on the Inn
with Birgit Kohl
Source full of life - where water springs
with Stefanie von Fumetti
Experience water in the village of Guarda
with Andri König
Guarda, one of the ten most beautiful mountain villages in Graubünden
with Maria Louise Meier
The Romanesque model village of Ardez
with Walter Schmid
Participation is free of charge, lunch is included.
Registration required:
via the QR code
or at the guest information desk
(info@engadin.com or +41 81 861 88 00)
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