Bettmeralp - 30/5/2008 - 31/5/2008

A conference in Milan, Italy, provided a good excuse to add some personal holidays to either end. Brian and I spent the first long weekend in the Swiss Alps, exploring the towns of Bettmeralp and Zermatt and, more importantly, the surrounding countryside.

We had a reminder of why it was unwise to book train travel in Italy over the internet. I got a discount on prebooking the Milano Central to Brig train tickets, but learned that I would have to travel to Switzerland to collect the tickets. So, I had to figure out how to buy Italian tickets, an adventure in itself. Upon arrival to Brig, I got a refund of my unused Swiss ticket in francs, so everything was right in the end.

At an altitude of 1950m, Bettmeralp is car-free town, accessible only by cable car from Betten station or long slog up the hill. I booked a room for one night at the Restaurant Alpina, which turned out to be the only restaurant open in Bettmeralp at all and one of very few sources of accommodation. The lull between the end of ski season and the beginning of the summer season is when many hotel and restaurant owners take their holidays. We found it easily enough from Bettmeralp station and settled into our room.

The weather outside didn't look very friendly, but we decided to take our chances with a walk to see the glacier anyway.

The Aletsch Glacier is the largest in Europe and the area around it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We followed the well marked trail from Bettmeralp to Moosfluh overlooking the glacier. As elevation increased, more snow surrounded the trail. Along the ridge at Moosfluh, snow-filled crevasses made the walk far more challenging. The rain made it cold as well. We were soaked pretty quickly and made our retreat after reaching one of the glacier overlooks.

By the time we reached the restaurant

Brian looks fetching amidst the Alps and the ill-placed flagpole.

A few weeks prior, the Bettmeralp ski centre probably still had plenty of snow.

The dark sky we saw wasn't joking. The weather quickly turned to heavy rain, turning us wet and cold. Our first hike was long enough to see the glacier but short enough that we were back in the warm room drying our clothes an hour later.

Trailfinding along the ridge was easy when the blazes were not covered in snow (beside Brian's feet).

The Aletsch Glacier is the largest in the Alps. It and the area around it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sadly, this point was the closest we got to the Aletsch Glacier. The hike down was steep, snowy, probably laden with snow-filled crevasses and most definitely going to cause wet feet through knees. The snow was melting, not quick enough to reveal the crevasses but quickly enough to guarantee the wet feet.

The Bettmerhorn is the big lump on the left and Bettmeralp is the town right.

The town of Bettmeralp I'm not sure how many years ago. This black and white photo was in the entranceway of the place where we stayed and had our meals, the Restaurant Alpina.

Some of the original landscape remains.