Switzerland 2015
In October 2014 I travelled to Zurich to visit Kipper and Huiwen. Over the weekend we took a train to Bettmeralp. The first day we went by cable car part way up the mountain where we stayed at a picturesque inn with spectacular views of the village and Alps. The next morning we started our long hike up to the summit to see the Aletsch Glacier.
Aletsch glacier has the longest ice flow in the Alps and the heart of the Swiss Alps' Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a length of 23 kilometers, an average width of 1,800 meters, and a surface area of approximately 100 square kilometers, the Aletsch Glacier has an impressive 27 billion tons of ice. The ice mass moves from the northern flanks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau down into the valley of Valais, and its meltwater flows through the wild Massa Gorge into the Rhone. As a landscape of extraordinary beauty, the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Region was included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites in 2001.
The sun-drenched terraces of Fiescheralp, Bettmeralp and Riederalp are half way between the valley and the sky. Six cable cars convey guests from the Rhone Valley to the resort villages and into the hiking paradise of the Aletsch Region, at an elevation of about 2,000 meters. From here they can travel to the most beautiful vantage points such as the 2,927-meter Eggishorn, which offers a panoramic view of the Aletsch and Fiescher glaciers.
Switzerland 2015
In October 2014 I travelled to Zurich to visit Kipper and Huiwen. Over the weekend we took a train to Bettmeralp. The first day we went by cable car part way up the mountain where we stayed at a picturesque inn with spectacular views of the village and Alps. The next morning we started our long hike up to the summit to see the Aletsch Glacier.
Aletsch glacier has the longest ice flow in the Alps and the heart of the Swiss Alps' Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a length of 23 kilometers, an average width of 1,800 meters, and a surface area of approximately 100 square kilometers, the Aletsch Glacier has an impressive 27 billion tons of ice. The ice mass moves from the northern flanks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau down into the valley of Valais, and its meltwater flows through the wild Massa Gorge into the Rhone. As a landscape of extraordinary beauty, the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Region was included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites in 2001.
The sun-drenched terraces of Fiescheralp, Bettmeralp and Riederalp are half way between the valley and the sky. Six cable cars convey guests from the Rhone Valley to the resort villages and into the hiking paradise of the Aletsch Region, at an elevation of about 2,000 meters. From here they can travel to the most beautiful vantage points such as the 2,927-meter Eggishorn, which offers a panoramic view of the Aletsch and Fiescher glaciers.