Introducing ALPSinsight

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Mar 14, 2016

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This is not your usual business announcement. It’s not about market opportunities or percentage of growth in an industry. It’s about people and their love of a region. In this case, the Swiss Alps.

Run the Alps is pleased to announce that we’re partnered with a remarkable new company, ALPSinsight. I think ALPSinsight is going to change the very nature of mountain sports in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

Dan and Janine-- standing still, for a brief moment. — Dan and Janine– standing still, for a brief moment. Photo courtesy of Patitucci Photo.

That’s a big claim. I don’t make it lightly. It’s not marketing hyperbole, which I place in its own, special circle of Hell. I say it because I know Dan and Janine, the couple who are the creative force behind ALPSinsight. I’ve seen, firsthand, their drive, energy and enthusiasm. If you can put those elements together, you have market-changing forces. It’s the same in any business, large or small. Dig under the surface, and you find a few, core people. If those qualities come together, well… watch out. One way or another, good things are going to happen.

So…. what is ALPSinsight? It’s an online clearinghouse for visitors who want to play in the Jungfrau region in the very heart of the Swiss Alps. The stories, trip suggestions and tips are created by some of the most active and engaged people here. People who get out and trail run, cycle, climb, hike and backcountry ski every moment they can, no matter the weather.

One woman trail running on the Trummelbach Falls Trail from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, Switzerland, with views of the Jungfrau above. — Trail running on the Trummelbach Falls Trail from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen, Switzerland, with views of the Jungfrau above. Photo courtesy of Patitucci Photo.

ALPSinsight is a place to daydream. Explore mountain sports through Dan and Janine’s remarkable photography and the writing of a variety of partners. If you love being active in the mountains, my hunch is you’ll connect with those images and words. Then, whether you use Run the Alps, Grand Tours Project, some other company, or even come on your own, I hope you find yourself there before long. You won’t regret it.

At its core, ALPSinsight is people sharing a region they love. We all know these people. They’re the ones you search out in every mountain community. They’ve got the low-down. At any given moment, the climbing skins for their skis or their trail running shoes are drying out. They’re the few who have consciously answered the question writer Mary Oliver asks when she writes, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Dan and Janine have a ready answer to that question, because they’ve thought about it. So too have the rest of us who are lucky enough to contribute to ALPSinsight. We’re playing in the Alps, as much as we can. And we love sharing it with you.

Ready to play? Drop by anytime. Now you know where to find us.

Trail running on the Hardergrat, also known as the Brienzergrat. This ridge is 27km long with 3100 meters of vertical gain, and is a classic one day test piece trail connecting Interlaken to Brienz, Switzerland — Trail running on the Hardergrat, also known as the Brienzergrat. This ridge is 27 km long with 3,100 meters of vertical gain, and is a classic one-day test piece trail connecting Interlaken to Brienz, Switzerland. Photo courtesy of Patitucci Photo.

Doug Mayer

Doug Mayer is the founder of Run the Alps and lives in Chamonix, France with his labradoodle, Izzy. He is the author of The Race that Changed Running: The Inside Story of UTMB and writes for Outside Online and Ultrasignup News. His upcoming book is a graphic novel about Italy’s 330km long Tor des Géants trail race.