Fiescheralp - Riederalp
I did this hike together with a friend on the 13th of October, 2024. We had bought a daypass the month before to go to Aletsch Glacier, as none of us had been there before. The weather forecast changed a lot, and despite the risk of a very grey day, we still decided to go and do the trail below.
Full route: Swisstopo
We went from Zürich by train to Fiesch, from where we took the cable car up to Fiescheralp and the start of the hike. It was very foggy as we walked out of Fiescheralp on the trail, but despite the lack of mountain views, it was a very special experience.
After the first 5 km, the trail turned and went in direction Aletsch Glacier. The clouds started to clear a tiny bit and we could see some of the mountain tops around us. Before reaching Aletsch Glacier, we passed by Märjelen-Stausee with a snow covered Eggishorn behind.
From the lake, it didn’t take long before we got the first views of the glacier. The clouds had cleared even more and the views were just stunning with the starting autumn colors and fresh snow on the mountain peaks.
There is a short path going down to the glacier itself, which we decided to take. It is at times steep and with lose material, but nothing we found too problematic. It was amazing being down by the glacier and have close up looks at the ice, and we spend quite some time here.
Before leaving the area, we decided to have our lunch break. Because of the slightly grey weather, there were only a few other people down here, which made the experience even more special.
After our lunch break, we continued the hike. From the glacier, the trail goes up steep for some time. On this part up, we had amazing views over the glacier and the entire area. The colors of the landscape were great, and the constantly moving clouds made for some nice scenery.
The path on this part of the trail was generally easy, at times though a bit narrow, but it wasn’t a problem since we almost didn’t meet anyone else. I really loved this hike and have since been in the area several times.
About half way through the trail on this side there is a longer part going through an area with larger rocks, which you walk over and through. It is not difficult, but we did have to stay quite focused in some sections.
We reached the top of the trail and had another break before starting the descent. Up here, we came past some smaller ponds, and by now also had relatively clear views to the mountains on the opposite side of the glacier. The clouds kept on coming in from the valley, so we never managed to see the front of the glacier.
As the trail went over the ridge away from the glacier to the other side, it again got more clouded and foggy. Hiking back to Riederalp, we ended the hike as we had started, with a very low visibility. In Riederalp, we took the cable car down to Mörel, from where we continued back home to Zürich with the train.
