The Great Aletsch glacier July 2018
Having been to Catalonia in may and experienced whitewater rafting, the curiosity of melting winter snow and glanciers lingered well after the trip.
Time for another “ mother and daughter” weekend (MODA) as we now call ourselves. A MODA weekend in Switzerland was mooted and very quickly agreed on. Pat suggested an exciting high altitude guided glacier hike of the Great Aletsch Glacier for our get together and this ticked all the boxes for excitement, a decent challenge and some bonding time.
Leaving Dublin in the middle of a heatwave to hike Switzerland’s longest glacier of 23km seemed the craziest of ideas as I arrived in Zurich to meet Jane, Pat and Sarah.
With some Irish “Gun powder gin” as a gift in hand, I was looking forward to starting our adventure with a touch of Drumshambo distilled gin, tonic and ice. Alas since there was no ice at Sarah’s tastefully decorated apartment we postponed the appetitive until our return.
The Train up was 180cf and included the segment to the summit.
It was an initial shock to think that a one way train ticket could be so exorbitant but I later appreciated the engineering feat of the final train that we would take to the summit of the
The journey time flew by as we whizzed past Bern, Interlaken, lauteebrunnen and Klein’s scheidegg.
We took the privately run train of The Jungfrau Railway which was built in 1912.
It is the highest railway station in Europe and goes to the summit of the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 metres. Top of Europe.
There were many Asian tourists flocking to the observing point to tick this box on their European tour. They have been growing in numbers to view the Aletsch glacier and the unique mountain scenery of the Eiger, Mönch and the fiescherhorner 4,049m from the many viewing points.
We were truly Green horns coming to glacier trekking world in thin air for the first time.
We were going to trace how the Great Aletsch Glacier has grown and receded in the landscape of the Aletsch Region. Around 11,000 years ago, the terminus of the glacier was in the Rhône Valley and the glacier's edge reached almost as far as Riederfurka.
One thing that truly strikes you is how small and insignificant we are in relation to these mountains.
The glacier is a living thing, with a head and a trunk moving and shaping the landscape over thousands of years.
We stopped to take a comfort break and a snack. Ziggy had our break time measured, Swiss style and gave us the precise number of minutes we had available to deal with our needs.
The Matterhorn came into view as we took in its shape and beautiful easily recognisable contours.
Ziggy explained how you can see from the landscape that the area that was covered by ice is smooth and rounded, but the shapes of the Bettmerhorn and Eggishorn are sharp and jagged.
We stared with awe into the brilliant blue depths of the open crevasses and wondered why the water was so blue. The deeper light energy travels, the more photons from the red end of the spectrum it loses along the way. Two meters into the glacier, most of the reds are dead. A lack of reflected red wavelengths produces the colour blue in the human eye.
We fearfully jumped over these traverse crevasses initially. Just as we were getting used to jumping over we reached a deep crevasse with fast flowing blue water.
Her fast recovery from shock and determination to get on with it while soaking to the skin as well as the contents of her backpack was very impressive. We continued on the ice
following the Jungfraufirn down to the Konkordiahütte.
At this point we were begining to grasp the complicated mix of snow, firn, dirt, running water, solid ice, and rock that make up a glacier as we arrived on Konkordiaplatz.
We made our weary way over to long metal stairs for the konkordiahutte and began the climb of the “stairway to heaven” to our sleeping place at 2,850m at the eagles nest. Little did we know that there were 467 steel steps on a sheer wall of rock. I climbed with the sweet words of Jane ringing in my ears from above me “just take deep breaths and don’t look up or down”.
I tried to not entertain any negative thoughts of what would happen if I faint or trip or doubts about why am I doing this. Any thought trying to weave its way into my head was just allowed to pass through like the clouds floating overhead.
One thought was allowed to linger, that of the joy I would feel on getting there and just sitting down to take in the magical primeval views. This kept me focused in just “one step at a time”. Shaken, I arrived and relieved to hug Jane, pat and Sarah after the high fives and a photo on the Hüttenterrasse. There were truly spectacular views from this mountain hutte.
Instead of sitting outside to sip a beer and savour the feeling of gratitude to be overlooking this Arctic Ocean of ice in such a mystic place, I fell into the top communal bunk beds.
There were 6 adjoining mattresses I was to share with Sarah, Jane and a couple of total strangers. Underneath were six more strangers. With super clean bedding and total exhaustion. I slipped into my silk liner and went into a state of deep sleep until I was woken by pat for dinner. Pat got the only bed in the room and she deserved that after her fall and soaking in the crevice.
We arrived at our group table with Debbie, Greg and ziggy and were served a basic lentil and vegetable soup, followed by a goulash and rice. This was received with no complaints and devoured by all with intent and speed. We discovered that wine at 4ch per glass was cheaper than bottled water at 12cf per litre. But after discussion, we learned that water supply is secured by three water reservoirs with a total capacity of 70,000 liters. Bottled water is flown by helicopter and partly explains the price. After hiking and feeling exhausted there was no desire among us for alcohol.
A quick exit from the dining area, and settling in to my bunk, I popped in my waxed earplugs and covered my eyes and did not move or wake until 4am for a sunrise descent from the hut back to the glacier. Breakfast was a basic muesli and slice of brown bread with a big bowl of coffee.
What makes the Burren landscape different from other glaciated landscapes is the dissolution of the underlying limestones by water. This landscape is termed ‘Karst’ after the Kras region in Slovenia where this type of dissolution-dominated landscape was first described. The Burren is most correctly termed a ‘glaciokarst’ region. This is an area where the development of karst features (karstification) has been influenced by the effects of glacification.
Glaciation over one million years ago, facilitated greater denudation. Glaciers expanded and retreated over the region several times. The result is that The Burren is one of the finest examples of glacio-karst landscape in the world.
Totally and absolutely exhausted we sat in on the train buzzing with the excitement and challenge of the last two days in this isolated, magical and mystical place with a daughter, a sister and a niece. What a shared experience.
"With its silent vastness, beauty and power, the glacier of Aletsch conveys a sense of overwhelming peace, reminding us of the source of Creation" UNESCO
Time for another “ mother and daughter” weekend (MODA) as we now call ourselves. A MODA weekend in Switzerland was mooted and very quickly agreed on. Pat suggested an exciting high altitude guided glacier hike of the Great Aletsch Glacier for our get together and this ticked all the boxes for excitement, a decent challenge and some bonding time.
Leaving Dublin in the middle of a heatwave to hike Switzerland’s longest glacier of 23km seemed the craziest of ideas as I arrived in Zurich to meet Jane, Pat and Sarah.
With some Irish “Gun powder gin” as a gift in hand, I was looking forward to starting our adventure with a touch of Drumshambo distilled gin, tonic and ice. Alas since there was no ice at Sarah’s tastefully decorated apartment we postponed the appetitive until our return.
Over a lovely family dinner we checked that we all had the appropriate hiking gear for the challenge ahead.
Day 1: Saturday 30th June 2018
Rising at 5am and arriving at the train in central Zürich to be greeted for our sunrise coffee by Sarah, we grabbed a nice carriage to get in the mood.Trains and the Journey
The Train up was 180cf and included the segment to the summit.
It was an initial shock to think that a one way train ticket could be so exorbitant but I later appreciated the engineering feat of the final train that we would take to the summit of the
The journey time flew by as we whizzed past Bern, Interlaken, lauteebrunnen and Klein’s scheidegg.
We took the privately run train of The Jungfrau Railway which was built in 1912.
It is the highest railway station in Europe and goes to the summit of the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 metres. Top of Europe.
There were many Asian tourists flocking to the observing point to tick this box on their European tour. They have been growing in numbers to view the Aletsch glacier and the unique mountain scenery of the Eiger, Mönch and the fiescherhorner 4,049m from the many viewing points.
The Great Aletsch Glacier
Not for us the viewing points, We were going to take a deep dive into the journey of the great aletsch glacier from its origin in the Jungfraujoch
We arrived at the meeting point and felt the effect of the high altitude and the queasy feeling took over. Knowing it was normal and would soon pass as we descended some height I just went with the feeling. The scale and unique magic of the Great Aletsch Glacier was begining to take hold.
This huge river of ice that stretches over 23 km from its formation in the Jungfrau region 4000 m down to the Massa Gorge, around 2500 m below,
The vastness of the Great Aletsch Glacier and the view of the higher peaks: the Mönch, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Wannenhorn and the Finsteraarhorn were overwhelming.
It was difficult to take your eye off the ground in front of you to grab the odd glimpse of the magnificent surrounding views.
We arrived at the meeting point and felt the effect of the high altitude and the queasy feeling took over. Knowing it was normal and would soon pass as we descended some height I just went with the feeling. The scale and unique magic of the Great Aletsch Glacier was begining to take hold.
This huge river of ice that stretches over 23 km from its formation in the Jungfrau region 4000 m down to the Massa Gorge, around 2500 m below,
The vastness of the Great Aletsch Glacier and the view of the higher peaks: the Mönch, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Wannenhorn and the Finsteraarhorn were overwhelming.
We were to learn a lot over the next 2 days as to How glaciers shape the landscape as well as the glacial formation itself and most important how to respect nature with all its beauty and treachery,
The Great Aletsch Glacier has shaped the landscape of the Aletsch Arena over thousands of years. During the last ice age (around 18,000 years ago), ice still covered the mountain ridges between the Bettmerhorn and the Riederhorn; only the peaks rose above the ice.High Altitude Glacier Hike
Our glacier hike started st the Jungfraujoch and we put on our harnesses and one by one, each of the six of us attached ourselves to a rope with the mountain guide, Ziggy, at the front of the line.we started with a nice gentle pace over the ice, Nordic walking style. You immediately get the sense of how the rope was going to keep the group of 6 in tow behind the leader and also act as a safety measure. Walking in the chain gang and getting used to 7 people being connected by rope over two days was something to ponder over. Initially it felt like we were stepping over baby waves in the ocean.
It was difficult to take your eye off the ground in front of you to grab the odd glimpse of the magnificent surrounding views.
We were going to trace how the Great Aletsch Glacier has grown and receded in the landscape of the Aletsch Region. Around 11,000 years ago, the terminus of the glacier was in the Rhône Valley and the glacier's edge reached almost as far as Riederfurka.
One thing that truly strikes you is how small and insignificant we are in relation to these mountains.
The glacier is a living thing, with a head and a trunk moving and shaping the landscape over thousands of years.
The Matterhorn came into view as we took in its shape and beautiful easily recognisable contours.
Ziggy explained how you can see from the landscape that the area that was covered by ice is smooth and rounded, but the shapes of the Bettmerhorn and Eggishorn are sharp and jagged.
The crevasses
It was awesome to see the Crevasses of the glacier with some of them as deep as 100 metres, as wide as 20 metres, and up to several hundred metres long. Looking into the abyss of a deep crevasse was one of the great thrills of this glacier hike. Crevasses open slowly from the stress of glacier flow. We looked in awe to see the inside structure of the glacier.
Transverse crevasses span the width of the glacier and are found anywhere there is active movement.
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We fearfully jumped over these traverse crevasses initially. Just as we were getting used to jumping over we reached a deep crevasse with fast flowing blue water.
Ziggy at the front crosses followed by pat. As pat reached the other side with one foot fixed, the other foot went through thawed ice and she fell backwards into the water of the crevasse. Ziggy responded quickly by pulling on the rope on the far side while I pulled the rope on my side. Pat braced the shock of being immersed in freezing glacial water very well. This was a wake up call to our little group as to the hazards of glacial hiking and all its varied topography.
This confirmed to all of us why Climbing parties rope up in teams so that others can stop someone from falling to the bottom.
Her fast recovery from shock and determination to get on with it while soaking to the skin as well as the contents of her backpack was very impressive. We continued on the ice
Konkordiaplatz and the Konkordiahütte
The Konkordiahütte in the Bernese Alps and overlooks the Konkordiaplatz. This is where the Grüneggfirn , the Jungfraufirn and the Grosse Aletschfirn unite to form the Great Aletsch Glacier . Talk about mixed emotions. We were truly fascinated, inspired and totally exhausted as we approached our accent to the hut.
We made our weary way over to long metal stairs for the konkordiahutte and began the climb of the “stairway to heaven” to our sleeping place at 2,850m at the eagles nest. Little did we know that there were 467 steel steps on a sheer wall of rock. I climbed with the sweet words of Jane ringing in my ears from above me “just take deep breaths and don’t look up or down”.
I tried to not entertain any negative thoughts of what would happen if I faint or trip or doubts about why am I doing this. Any thought trying to weave its way into my head was just allowed to pass through like the clouds floating overhead.
One thought was allowed to linger, that of the joy I would feel on getting there and just sitting down to take in the magical primeval views. This kept me focused in just “one step at a time”. Shaken, I arrived and relieved to hug Jane, pat and Sarah after the high fives and a photo on the Hüttenterrasse. There were truly spectacular views from this mountain hutte.
Instead of sitting outside to sip a beer and savour the feeling of gratitude to be overlooking this Arctic Ocean of ice in such a mystic place, I fell into the top communal bunk beds.
There were 6 adjoining mattresses I was to share with Sarah, Jane and a couple of total strangers. Underneath were six more strangers. With super clean bedding and total exhaustion. I slipped into my silk liner and went into a state of deep sleep until I was woken by pat for dinner. Pat got the only bed in the room and she deserved that after her fall and soaking in the crevice.
We arrived at our group table with Debbie, Greg and ziggy and were served a basic lentil and vegetable soup, followed by a goulash and rice. This was received with no complaints and devoured by all with intent and speed. We discovered that wine at 4ch per glass was cheaper than bottled water at 12cf per litre. But after discussion, we learned that water supply is secured by three water reservoirs with a total capacity of 70,000 liters. Bottled water is flown by helicopter and partly explains the price. After hiking and feeling exhausted there was no desire among us for alcohol.
A quick exit from the dining area, and settling in to my bunk, I popped in my waxed earplugs and covered my eyes and did not move or wake until 4am for a sunrise descent from the hut back to the glacier. Breakfast was a basic muesli and slice of brown bread with a big bowl of coffee.
Day 2: 1st July 2018
After a restful night and extensive views over the vast expanses, we assembled on the deck at 5.15am and harnessed up for the day which was to last for 9 hours trekking,
Today we would follow the Great Aletsch Glacier to the trunk.
At the edge of the glacier, we donned our crampons and Ziggy had an ice axe which would be needed today as a means to explore the glacier environment and glimpse the exciting real-time geologic process at work.
The descent from the hut required total focus on each step and sure footed skills on scree and rock which, if it tumbled risked rolling on to the next person downhill.
We were now standing on Concordia – where the Grosser Aletschfirn, Jungfraufirn, Ewigschneefeldfirn and Grüneggfirn firn fields merge. This vast space has a Surface area of
86 km2 and is large enough to hold a town such as Chur. The ice thickness is 900 m at Concordia.
It was interesting to note that currently, glaciers hold more than 75% of the planet’s fresh water supply. We were now noticing more glacial deposits as we progressed.
The immense lateral moraine that was formed in the process is clearly visible from the moraine trail. The maximum extension of the Great Aletsch Glacier to date was around 1860. At that time, it was around 3 km longer than it is today and the edge of the glacier was 200 m higher.
This area still stands out against the surrounding mountains as a light strip of land with fairly young vegetation.
The ice formed in the catchment area of the glacier moves downhill like a viscous mass, providing a constant supply of ice to the snout. The distance covered by the ice over time in the process is the glacier's velocity. The velocity of the Great Aletsch Glacier is 200 m per year at Concordia, and 80 – 90 m per year at the level of the Aletsch Forest.
Its maximum ice thickness is more than 900 m at Concordia.
If this mass of ice were melted, it could supply every single person on the Earth with a litre of water every day for 4.5 years.
Heat-trapping “greenhouse gases,” are the cause of most of the climate warming and glacier retreat in the past 50 years.
Today we would follow the Great Aletsch Glacier to the trunk.
At the edge of the glacier, we donned our crampons and Ziggy had an ice axe which would be needed today as a means to explore the glacier environment and glimpse the exciting real-time geologic process at work.
We were now standing on Concordia – where the Grosser Aletschfirn, Jungfraufirn, Ewigschneefeldfirn and Grüneggfirn firn fields merge. This vast space has a Surface area of
86 km2 and is large enough to hold a town such as Chur. The ice thickness is 900 m at Concordia.
It was interesting to note that currently, glaciers hold more than 75% of the planet’s fresh water supply. We were now noticing more glacial deposits as we progressed.
Erratics
Glaciers leave behind anything they pick up along the way, and sometimes this includes huge rocks. Called erratic boulders, these rocks might seem a little out of place, because glaciers have literally moved them far away from their source before melting out from underneath them.
Moraines
Bits of rock, ranging in size from powdery glacier flour to large boulders, are carved from the valley floor and walls by the flowing ice and deposited as moraines along the edges and on top of the glacier. Glacial till is the name for this unsorted mix of clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders.The immense lateral moraine that was formed in the process is clearly visible from the moraine trail. The maximum extension of the Great Aletsch Glacier to date was around 1860. At that time, it was around 3 km longer than it is today and the edge of the glacier was 200 m higher.
This area still stands out against the surrounding mountains as a light strip of land with fairly young vegetation.
The ice formed in the catchment area of the glacier moves downhill like a viscous mass, providing a constant supply of ice to the snout. The distance covered by the ice over time in the process is the glacier's velocity. The velocity of the Great Aletsch Glacier is 200 m per year at Concordia, and 80 – 90 m per year at the level of the Aletsch Forest.
The effects of climate change
The Great Aletsch glacier weights about 11 billion tonnes, or the weight of 72.5 million jumbo jets.Its maximum ice thickness is more than 900 m at Concordia.
If this mass of ice were melted, it could supply every single person on the Earth with a litre of water every day for 4.5 years.
Global warming is affecting the Aletsch Arena's "ice sea" to a concerning extent. Measurements by the Pro Natura Center Aletsch show that the Great Aletsch Glacier is experiencing dramatic ablation, shrinking by up to 50 metres in length each year and retreating significantly at the edges.
It is also human-induced global warming is tipping the delicate balance of the world's glaciers.Heat-trapping “greenhouse gases,” are the cause of most of the climate warming and glacier retreat in the past 50 years.
The Burren
While hiking on this glacier, I found myself wondering about the Burren landscape which is also a glaciated landscape.What makes the Burren landscape different from other glaciated landscapes is the dissolution of the underlying limestones by water. This landscape is termed ‘Karst’ after the Kras region in Slovenia where this type of dissolution-dominated landscape was first described. The Burren is most correctly termed a ‘glaciokarst’ region. This is an area where the development of karst features (karstification) has been influenced by the effects of glacification.
Glaciation over one million years ago, facilitated greater denudation. Glaciers expanded and retreated over the region several times. The result is that The Burren is one of the finest examples of glacio-karst landscape in the world.
Zurich Bound
We walked for nine solid hours today and arrived at a cable car that took us down to the village of Fiesch on a low hill on the sunny side of the valley of the upper Rhone.
Totally and absolutely exhausted we sat in on the train buzzing with the excitement and challenge of the last two days in this isolated, magical and mystical place with a daughter, a sister and a niece. What a shared experience.
"With its silent vastness, beauty and power, the glacier of Aletsch conveys a sense of overwhelming peace, reminding us of the source of Creation" UNESCO
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