Oberaletschhütte (day 1)
We went by train from Zürich to Brig and Mörel, from where we took the cable car up to Riederalp and the start of the hike. We hiked up for a short time, before we came out on the other side, and started the descent. It was a slightly clouded morning, but we already had great views on the way down and got the first glimpses of Aletsch Glacier.
It was a nice and not too steep way down to the river which we crossed over on a suspension bridge. The views while crossing the bridge were really great and dramatic, and we took our time, and enjoyed the experience and the changing landscape.
Well over on the other side, we took a short break before we started the ascent up to Oberaletschhütte. It was already quite warm, and not long into the ascent, we ran into a herd of goats, which were very friendly and seemed to like our slightly salty skin.
As we made our way up, the views just kept getting better and better. We did not see much of Aletsch Glacier this day, but could instead see lots of mountain peaks in the distance between the constantly changing clouds. From here, we could also see the trail we would follow the next day up to Aletschbord and Hotel Belalp.
To get to the trail leading into Oberaletschhütte, we had to cross another river. The trail on the other side was carved into the rock wall and after crossing the river on a bridge, we made our way up over the rocks. The trail from here was changing between shorter sections of up and down, and while being relatively easy, the trail is in some places and especially on the last part, quite narrow.
Up on the top, we got the first views into the valley with Oberaletschgletscher. In the far back to the left, we also had views to Beichgletscher which merges with Oberaletschgletscher. We started the last part of the hike into the hut, and after a short while, we passed by a group of the Valais Blackneck.
The last part into the hut took about an hour, and we were happy when we finally arrived, and could relax after a tough but great hike. After a beer and salty snack on the terrace, we took a dip (some more than other) in the bathtub and enjoyed the amazing views.
I did a small walk up behind the hut to a viewpoint from where I could see down to Oberaletschgletscher and the pointy Aletschhorn in the background. I spend some time here and enjoyed the calm surroundings before heading back to the hut for dinner.
After dinner, we did another walk around the hut to see the area while the sun set. I really love staying over in the mountains and feeling the calmness falling over the area when it gets dark. The views back out of the valley to the mountain peaks in the distance were amazing, and after enjoying them for some time, we went back to the hut for a good nights sleep.
