To end my stay in the mountains of Wallis, I chose to visit a landmark that had been on my list for a long time: the Aletsch Glacier. With a length of 23 kilometers, a surface of 86 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 900 meters, it is one of the most impressive glaciers of the Alps. My sister had been there a couple months before I did and she had told me about the Bettmer Ridge, a blue and white hiking trail which she had done. As I only had the time for a day hike anyway, I thought I would check out that ridge as well. :) To get to the glacier and the ridge, I was able to choose from many different starting points and as the area also is a popular skiing destination, there were plenty of cable cars to shorten the way. For once I opted to use one of them and headed to the mountain village of Riederalp in the early morning. The idea was to earn the view of the glacier and then walk alongside it until the viewpoint on the Eggishorn. It seemed as I was the only one with that idea, as I walked out of the village all by myself. :) Before long I was heading upwards and after a short detour due to a missing sign, continued my hike along the mandatory cow meadows. The view of the surroundings was already lovely, but as it was too early to take a break, I just carried on with the ascent.
It didn't take too long anyway until I came upon another cable car, as well as to the first "tourist attraction". A tiny lake called Blausee was just next to the terminus and an engraving on a bench praised it as one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in the region. Well, I wouldn't necessarily second that, as the cable car somewhat interfered with the otherwise idyllic scene. Again, I resumed my hike without a break and keeping a steady pace as the way led further upwards, I unfortunately got stuck behind a group of about 30 people shortly afterwards. It was impossible to overtake and so I had to walk behind them for the next 15 minutes.
One of the reasons why I kept a steady pace was the weather, as thunderstorms were possible from lunchtime on and I neither wanted to be on the Bettmer Ridge nor on the Eggishorn once they got going. Luckily the group turned left at the next turnoff and while I took the trail to the right, the Aletsch Glacier made its first appearance. And what a sight it was! It simply looked as impressive as on all the pictures I had seen before. :) Not only the glacier was remarkable however, but also the high mountains surrounding it. Taking a moment to appreciate the view, my plan had worked out so far and I was as close to the glacier tongue as I could get within today.
Moving on, the trail now became much more crowded, as many other hikers crossed my path on their way up or down the mountain. Knowing that there was a cable car going to the bottom of the Bettmerhorn, that was no surprise at all. :) Never minding all the other people, I enjoyed the walk along the lovely trail and the occasional lookouts towards the glacier. Keeping my steady pace, the cable car station below the Bettmerhorn came soon into view and not much later on I arrived at the viewing platform with its fabulous outlook over the Aletsch Glacier.
Moving on once my eyes had feasted enough on the gorgeous scenery, the beginning of the next highlight was just within the reach of five minutes. Apparently the Bettmer Ridge was very popular, as from the outset, there were many other people scrambling up and down the rocks. There even were families with their children or hikers with their dogs, which was quite a surprising sight, as I wouldn't have recommended taking them over the ridge as well. But to each his own I guess. :) Right from the start, the trail went steeply upwards and it didn't take long until I had to use my hands for the first time. Walking on narrow stairs, scrambling over rocks and trying to go round all the other hikers, the going naturally was pretty slow. A huge cross appeared quite soon though and so did some mighty fine views into every possible direction.
The cross didn't mark the summit of the Bettmerhorn however and so I ascended further, taking my first steps on the actual ridge. Reaching the peak about 10 minutes later, a short break had to be taken as the scenery was simply too beautiful to just walk on. :) The look into the sky was promising as well, as there was still a lot of blue among a few scattered clouds.
From the top of the Bettmerhorn, the trail continued to follow the ridge, sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards and as it basically was a constant scramble, it was (at least for me) a lot of fun. :) The views towards the glacier remained marvelous throughout and it was more than understandable why I had to share the trail with so many other people. After a while the Eggishorn eventually came into view as well and I had to find out that the ridge didn't extend to it all the way. There was a huge gap in between and so the actual ridge walk ended with a steep descent into that gap.
The descending slope came with the most difficult part of the whole ridge, but with plenty of poles and ropes to hold on to, it wasn't too big of a problem to get past it. Since the blue and white trail ended at the bottom of the gap, the ascent on the other side happened on a proper hiking path and coming upon the Eggishorn cable car station, I had a déjà vu. :) There was a viewing platform again, there were plenty of people again and of course there still was the gorgeous view towards the Aletsch Glacier. To get to the actual top of the Eggishorn, it was another 15 minutes walk and as the clouds had intensified in the meantime, I opted to take my lunch break on the peak in order to check out the view before the possible thunderstorm. So after a short ascent over a rocky trail, I sat down on the summit and had a good look at the glacier while I ate my lunch. Luckily, the sun broke through the clouds when I was about half an hour into my break and with the glacier fully enlightened, the scenery was simply as beautiful as it could get. :)
Retracing my steps to the viewing platform shortly afterwards, I had another good look around and then decided to walk all the way down to the Rhone Valley. :) Again, I probably was the only one with that idea and so I met only a few people during my descent towards the Fiescheralp. The trail was lovely though and so were the views, making the time go by rather fast.
Once I was past the Fiescheralp, there were even fewer people and for a while I didn't see anyone at all until I came upon a junction where three mountain bikers stood. They left before I arrived and as I walked straight ahead, another turnoff appeared a couple minutes later. A confusing sign pointed into the direction of nowhere and checking the map, I learned that there were two trails leading away from the turnoff: one was following a wide dirt road, the other entered the nearby forest. As the sign pointed more towards the trees and as I could see on the map that the two trails joined again, I decided to walk through the woods. Well, that might have been the wrong decision. :) While in the early stages the path was fine and there were a few faded markings to be seen, the deeper I headed into the trees, the more the trail disappeared. It also became rockier and I had to climb over some fallen trees more than once. That was just the beginning though, as before long there was more wood on the trail than around me. :) The three mountain bikers had taken the same way as I had and while it was already a hassle for me, I could only imagine how tough it was for them. Well, when I caught up with them pushing their bikes through the thick undergrowth, I learned exactly how they felt, as I heard one of them saying: "This is a f***ing nightmare!" :) We somehow made it back to the official trail however and were glad that we made it out of the woods unscathed. A few raindrops had been falling in the meantime, but the weather was still holding up pretty good and there seemed to be no thunderstorm today. That was just fine for me and descending into the Rhone Valley, I made it right on time to reach the train in Lax to head back to my campsite in Brig. Now that had been a lovely day and simply the perfect ending to an excellent couple weeks in the canton of Wallis!
Highlights of the day: the Bettmer Ridge and all the views over the Aletsch Glacier
This hike is for you if:
- you want to have as many different viewpoints of the Aletsch Glacier as possible :)
- you like scrambling
- you don't mind to share the trail with many other hikers
- you want the option to shorten the hike by cable car
This hike is not for you if:
- you have vertigo
- you mind rocky trails
- you want to be away from civilization
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