"It's getting more and more extreme" - Alpine farmer complains about tourists, parties and waste

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• The Fählenalp in the Alpstein is increasingly frequented by foreign tent tourists.
• Some of the tourists come in large groups and stay for several days, even though wild camping is officially prohibited.
• Alpine farmer Sepp Inauen complains about environmental pollution, fireplaces and waste on the sensitive alpine pastures and now demands 12 francs per night as compensation.
• A legal ban on wild camping will not be possible until 2028 at the earliest - until then, the situation remains legally unclear and dependent on the goodwill of the landowners.

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The Alpstein region is a popular place for many hiking fans. But where silence and rare plants once reigned, people now splash around, camp and party. The Fählenalp, secluded at the far end of Lake Fählen, is becoming a hotspot for foreign camping tourists.

Alpine farmer Sepp Inauen, who has been making cheese with his wife Silvia for ten years and enjoys the peace and quiet on the Fählenalp, is sounding the alarm: "It's getting more and more extreme," he tells the Appenzeller Zeitung newspaper.

On June 19, there were 22 tents and around 50 people at the lake - in the middle of the sensitive Alpstein nature.

Christian group from Holland camped for four days

The tents belonged to a group from the Netherlands, a Christian organization according to Inauen. The guests stayed for four days - despite the lack of a legal basis.

Turnstile on the footbridge

Iseltwald BE defends itself against accusations of pure money-making

This is because wild camping is officially prohibited in the Alpstein, but bivouacking is permitted. However, there are still no clear rules for camping. The legal gray area remains - and with it the tents.

Because the crowds are getting bigger and bigger, Inauen now charges 12 francs per person per night. The reason: garbage, fireplaces, gas stoves - and guests who want to buy firewood from him to make cheese. "I don't do any advertising. And yet they come from everywhere with their throw tents."

The pressure is growing: "Someone camps almost every day," says Inauen. Usually just for one night, but groups like the Dutch are increasingly staying for several days. What is an adventure vacation for them is becoming a burden for the alpine pastures.

Laws? Not realistic until 2028

The grazing area is sensitive, it is not fertilized and rare flowers grow there. Inauen says: "If I catch someone camping outside the zone, they have to pack up."

Although the Innerrhoden government is working on a law against wild camping, it could be put to the people in 2028 at the earliest. Until then, much will be left to the goodwill of the herdsmen and landowners.

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