A night in Cabane Mont Fort in Switzerland

Thousands of meters above the Swiss city of Verbier sits the Cabane Mont Fort, a mountain hut that is celebrating its centenary this year.

Verbier is in the Valais canton of French-speaking Switzerland, an easy train journey from Geneva airport to the valley town of Le Châble where a gondola whisks you up the mountain. It’s a world-class ski resort – some say only equaled by behemoths like Jackson Hole in the USA and Furano in Japan – and it has a stealth-wealth vibe for intermediate and advanced skiers, and experienced off-pisters.

Although the mountain resort is chic and offers ultra-modern facilities for sports and adrenaline junkies in summer too, I’m in a reflective mood when I visit Verbier in July 2025. I’m after gentle hiking, vibrant nature, a digital detox, peace and quiet, and a taste of what makes this 100-year-old tiny Alpine hut so special.

A skiier is airborne on a slope with snowy mountains in the background — Skiing in Verbier, Switzerland. Cabane Mont Fort

Beauty and the bisse

My guide is Marie Berazategui, one of just two female mountain leaders in Verbier. Marie has lived almost all her life in the region and has the spirit of the mountains running through her veins.

We meet at Le Marlénaz restaurant on the north side of Verbier and start our hike by joining the Bisse du Levron. Bisses are water channels common to Valais, Switzerland’s driest region, and they have also become popular hiking paths.

Marie gesticulates to the gamboling clouds in the distance. “When winds come from the west, they tend to bring rain clouds with them,” she says. “We mustn’t lose time.”

The bisse cuts across the mountainside, the snow melt rushing furiously down the narrow channels that are intersected here and there by bridges, wooden water wheels and an intricate gate system. As we walk, we enjoy open views of the valley expanse and snow-capped mountains beyond and then we dip into the shade of ancient pine trees. We pass a Swiss family with young kids who are racing tiny wooden sail boats in the bisse, pushing them gently with sticks to set them right again when they capsize.

We follow the bisse for a couple of hours of gentle climb, over terrain that is earthy, grassy and gravelly by turns. I enjoy the sound of rushing water and the periodic jangle of gondolas as they pass over the cable car posts.

A small, furry brown animal on grassy land with snow-capped mountains in the background — A marmot in the Swiss Alps. Olha Solodenko/Shutterstock

Summer in Switzerland is a great time for seeing plant life

Marie stops suddenly and cocks her head toward a whistling sound. “Marmots,” she whispers. “If we’re quiet, we’ll see one.” I don’t want to tell her that I’ve long been victim to a safari curse. I’ve seen footprints, fresh feces, leaves dancing in the wake of an elusive beast. I’ve heard the call of many a wild animal in different continents, but I never see anything.

True to form, the marmots do not appear. “They’re probably at the golf course,” Marie says, unfazed. “They love lying on the greens and catching the afternoon sun.”

Where fauna fails, flora delivers. It’s high season for petal peepers; from bell flowers and blade campion to common shamrock, arnica montana, heather, blueberries and achillée millefeuille, it’s a colorful and idyllic walk.

Cabane Mont Fort’s Swiss flag is eventually visible above us and we pause to recover before the final ascent. Marie straddles the bisse, bending double and scooping the cold water to splash on her face. I follow suit and enjoy the icy cool on my hot cheeks.

A man and woman holding their young children in front of a stone building — The guardians of Cabane Mont Fort, Audrey Galas and Fabien Navilloux, with their children. Cabane Mont Fort

Cabane Mont Fort’s rustic beginnings

The cabane was built in the summer of 1925 to provide shelter to the early pioneers of alpinism. My tired legs groan at the thought of how hard it must have been to build; a community of male and female volunteers from the valley pitched in to transport materials, stone by stone, to this 2500m ledge.

While I know I have the luxury of bed, shower and food when I arrive, erstwhile adventurers would have lain cheek by jowl on the floor.

Accommodation was free, but it was tradition that visitors would “pay” for their lodging with delivery of a hunk of wood for the fire, or some fresh food for the guardian and his family.

As we make our final climb to the door, we discuss expectations. I wonder if the sense of relief will be as strong for us after a three-hour hike as it was for the hut’s early visitors who had hiked many more hours to get here. I wonder if the food will taste as good as it did in the 1900s, knowing that it’s now brought by van on a bumpy path. As late as the 1980s, Daniel Bruchez, the hut’s longest-serving guardian, was bringing bread, fondues, salad and even Bolognese sauce to the hut on skis.

I also wonder if I will feel the same connection as the hut’s loyal fans, a connection that’s seen many visitors return year after year with different generations of their family and refer to it as “ma cabane.”

Marie casts a weary glance my way and laments the demands of some of today’s visitors. Whereas 100 years ago, weary climbers were content with a space to sleep on the floor, today’s guardians, Audrey Galas and Fabien Navilloux, are often greeted with the call of “Where can I charge my phone?” and “What’s the wi-fi code?”

A soup with salads and drinks in a formal place setting — A course of the evening meal. Cabane Mont Fort

Feeling part of the family

I am met at the door by a member of the 10-strong summer team. “Come in,” he says, “take your shoes off, help yourself to a pair of our Crocs, leave all your luggage in the boot room and come in for a drink and some food.”

It feels like visiting a friend and it sets the tone for my overnight stay; Cabane Mont Fort is a friendly and safe place in what is, after all, a hard and unforgiving environment.

I mean to go up to my room and freshen up, but I’m distracted by all the stories of derring-do among guests who come from New Zealand, United States, Scotland, Ireland and Germany and the lure of a cold beer on the big wooden terrace. Suddenly it’s dinnertime.

We dine together on food that would be out of place in town, never mind up here in splendid isolation. A starter of gazpacho and salad is followed by a hearty polenta and cheese dish and then a slab of chocolate brownie that I stash in my pocket for the descent the next day.

Like me, most people stay at Cabane Mont Fort for one night and I feel an urgency to our conversation that comes from kindred spirits knowing they have a limited time together. Some of us are hiking the Haute Route from Chamonix, France, to Zermatt, Switzerland, others have e-biked up here, and there’s a family on a walking vacation, too. We’ll most likely never see each other again but the evening provides connection and memories for all of us.

I give my quads a rub and drag my backpack upstairs for a shower before bed. The tiny community at the Mont Fort hut is respectful and the whole place is silent by 10pm so staff and weary guests can get the sleep they need before doing it all again the next day.

Dawn breaks a bluebird day, as we skiers say, and after a hearty breakfast, I bid farewell to Mont Fort and Marie. I’m keen to descend back to Verbier via the golf course to see if I can spot a few marmots and exorcise that safari curse once and for all.

Two sets of bunk beds flush against the walls on opposite sides of a room with a wood-paneled wall that has a window — A room at Cabane Mont Fort. Cabane Mont Fort

Staying in Cabane Mont Fort

One night in Cabane Mont Fort costs CHF130 (US$161) per person including evening meal and breakfast.

For every night spent in Verbier, visitors receive a Verbier Infinite Playground (VIP) Pass that offers discounts and access to the entire area throughout the summer season. It is provided free of charge to all guests.

Train tickets from Geneva Airport to Le Châble (in the valley below Verbier) start from US$54 each way from Travel Switzerland. From Le Châble train station you hop into a gondola to reach Verbier itself.