Hiking before the dawn can be challenging. The public transport is often unavailable so it is difficult to get to the starting point of the hike. Once you get the there it is hard to tell where to go as it is completely dark and you are surrounded by endless ocean of trees. It can get scary, especially if you go on the trail alone or with your partner who is also frightened.
However once you overcome these difficulties you often get rewarded. Already, at the start of the hike you get to see full range of stars, including those that are not visible in the cities due to light pollution. On the ascend you observe how gradually nature around you comes out from the darkness. How first rays of sun reflected by the sky illuminate clouds above (or below!) you. How the Moon slowly transition from being the brightest object on the sky to being almost invisible. And, at the end of your physical effort, you can finally relax, sit at the peak, drink hot tea and eat your favorite snack and observe how the Sun finally shows up over the mountain range to start another day.
This is what Sunrise Geneva has to offer – unforgettable experience of hiking in unique locations about 1 hour drive from Geneva to experience the sunrise from the peak.
Time of the trip
The best months to experience sunrise in Alps are March, April, August and September. There are a few reasons for that. Firstly, at altitude ~ 2000 meters above sea level there isn’t much snow left. Especially soft, fresh snow is often gone which makes it easy to hike to the top. Secondly, The Sun rises above the Alps at fairly convenient time – between 6:30 am and 7:30 am. Remember that for most hikes we need to wake up often at least 4 hours before the actual sunrise to have enough time for our morning routines, travel and comfortable hike.
Late spring and early autumn have also good chance for perfect weather. It is usually fairly warm with some clouds around – and a little bit of clouds is something that you want during the sunrise as it makes the view (and photos!) often even more interesting.
Typical schedule on the day of the hike
4 am – picking up participants from Geneva surroundings
5 am – arriving at the start of the hike
6:30 am – reaching the peak
7 am – observing the sunrise, relaxing
8:30 am – back in the car
9:30 am – return to Geneva
This is very rough schedule. Every trip is different and customized to meet the capabilities and preferences of participants.
Weather
For the best experience some of the trips can be cancelled or moved to another day depending on the weather forecast. The weather in the mountains can change abruptly and is hard to predict. However often at night and before the sunrise the weather can be stable. I always make a day or two before assessment whether we can go on a trip and in making the decision I take into account all the factors including: hiking experience of participants, predicted snow or rainfall and the height of cloud cover. The last one is especially important as it might be very disappointing to each the peak just to find out that instead of Sun we can only see they grayness of the clouds around us.
Equipment
Basic equipment for the hiking is required. Comfortable shoes, warm (or ideally rain-proof and wind) jacket, small or big backpack. Shoe gripes (spikes) are not required to have but depending on the time of the year and needs of participants they can be sometimes useful.
Physical shape
No marathon preparations are required ;). The hikes are mostly short (between one and three hours) however some physical effort is of course needed to reach the peak. Refer to your common sense or send me the email in case of doubts.