Resources for Alps hike/trek planning

This sub doesn't get a lot of traffic, but I thought I'd contribute by gathering some resources I've found helpful for planning a hut hike in the Alps. When I first started Alps hiking, online information in English was more limited, but now there's so much out there. (And translation tools have gotten better). I'm not European, and I'm sure others have more extensive knowledge and resources to add.

BOOKS

The Cicerone Guidebooks are great. They do a good job providing a list of major and minor routes and detailed descriptions of trail conditions and huts. The one downside is that the illustrative photos are limited and the maps are just schematic.

Regular guidebooks like Rough Guide or Lonely Planet don't thoroughly cover hikes, but I've gotten good inspiration from them and in fact chose my first hut hike based on one. LP also has a Walking in Switzerland book, now out of print, I believe.

ALPINE ASSOCIATION, TOURISM AND TOPO SITES

Hut finders:

https://www.alpenverein.at/huetten-en/finder.php

https://www.sac-cas.ch/en/huts-and-tours/

https://pzs.si/

https://ffcam.fr/rechercher_refuge_chalet.html

General: https://www.deine-berge.de/av_reservierung.php

Alpine Association:

https://www.alpenverein.at/britannia/ is useful for UK or non-European English speaking hikers. This comes with insurance and reciprocal membership at other AA huts.

Swiss rescue insurance: https://www.rega.ch/en/

Italian rescue insurance: https://dolomitiemergency.it/english/

Switzerland has a lot of available online information:

The SwissTopo app: https://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/en/swisstopo-application

https://schweizmobil.ch/en/summer

Local and regional tourism sites can be helpful. Tirol's for instance: https://www.tyrol.com/activities/sport/hiking

People may have their favorite general topo sites. I often use https://www.wanderreitkarte.de/

TRAIL SPECIFIC SITES

Some trails have their own websites. For instance, https://www.stubai.at/en/

Popular trails like the Tour du Mont Blanc or Alta Via 1 (Dolomites) have unofficial sites devoted to information. An internet search can find them. I often add "stages" to a search to focus on sites with more detail.

https://tmbtrailguide.com/

https://amellie.net/alta-via-1-hike-itinerary-reportage/

TRAVEL BLOGS

Some travel blogs are more influencer oriented and not very reliable. But others have good information and moreover lots of photos that can provide inspiration. Just a sample:

https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/hut-to-hut-hiking-in-austria/ (They also have pages on Slovenia, Switzerland, the Dolomites, and Bavaria)

https://inafarawayland.com/category/dolomites-hut-to-hut-treks/ (Also has a page on Austrian hikes)

https://swissfamilyfun.com/hut-to-hut-switzerland/

https://marmotpost.wordpress.com/category/alps/

I'd welcome suggestions of other good sites!

GENERAL HIKING INFORMATION

https://marmotpost.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-staying-in-an-alpine-hut/

https://alionswitzerland.com/hiking-in-switzerland-2/

https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/hut-to-hut-hiking/

TRAIL DIFFICULTY RATINGS

It's important to stay within your ability and experience!

https://www.bergfreunde.eu/alpine-grades-calculator/

https://alionswitzerland.com/hiking-difficulty-levels-switzerland-reliable/

SHOULDER SEASON

I stick with summer and early September. For hikers wanting to go in shoulder season, it's important to read up on conditions. (Off season huts will not be open). A couple of useful posts:

https://www.tyrol.com/activities/sport/hiking/refuge-huts/spring-huts

https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/hiking-in-the-dolomites-in-october-italy/

ORGANIZED TOURS

I've never felt the need or had the budget to pay a company for a tour or self-guided huts package, so I can't speak to the ones out there.

I'm interested to know if people have other resources to add. Happy hiking!