Page 88 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

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ALETSCH GLACIER

! D5 ⌂ 69 km (43 miles) SE of Bern n Bahnhofstrasse 7, Riederalp;
www.aletsch.ch
A vast river of ice that stretches for more than 23 km (14 miles) from
EXPERIENCE Mittelland, Bernese Oberland and Valais
the Jungfrau region down to the Massa Gorge, the Aletsch Glacier
is the longest in the Alps and the most spectacular of all
Switzerland’s eternal ice fields.
The result of a vast accumulation of snow around 18,000 years
ago, the glacier is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area,
which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. The
best way to experience the Aletsch Glacier is to take one of the
guided walks that traverse its expanse. These tours can vary in
length from a couple of hours to long hikes that run over two
days. Setting off from the cable car station above the ski
resort of Riederalp, these walks allow visitors to explore the
glacier, and its caves and tunnels, some of which are stun-
ningly lit when the light of the sun pene trat es the walls of
ice. Special night excursions into these caves and tunnels can
be arranged with experi enced guides. The glacier is encircled
by 32 dramatic peaks, acces sible by cable car; the summits of
Eggishorn and Bettmerhorn – both well over 2,500-m- (8,200-ft-)
high – offer awe-inspiring panoramic views of the glacier from above.

A mountaineer making a
night-time descent into
one of the glacier’s caves

CLIMATE CHANGE
Although the sheer size
of the Aletsch Glacier
means that it is reacting
more slowly to climate
change than smaller
glaciers, since around
1870 this ice mass has
lost over 3 km (2 miles)
The spectacularly located Jungfraujoch in length; since 1980
Station, high above the Aletsch Glacier alone, it has lost an
incredible 1.3 km
(1 mile) and more than
300 m (980 ft) of its
thickness. By 2100, it is
estimated that around
90 per cent of the ice
will have disappeared.
In 2007, the American
photog rapher Spencer
Tunick had hundreds
of people pose naked
for a photoshoot on
the glacier in order to
draw attention to the
negative effects of
global warming.
A group of walkers standing back
to admire a section of the glacier
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