Lötschenlücke

Stage 1: Start at Blatten and hike via Eisten to Kühmatt, a renowned pilgrimage site, home to the impressive baroque "Mariä Heimsuchung" Chapel (Visitation of Our Lady). The trail continues over wide pastures to the Fafleralp. The signposted mountain track leads from the Fafleralp past the Guggistafel Alpine huts to the"Guggisee"  lake. At 2,108 metres, a bridge crosses the Anenbach stream fed by the glacier "Jägigletscher" and the route then becomes steeper. The Peter Tscherrig Anen Hut provides a splendid view over the entire Lötschental valley and its impressive surrounding glaciers. The ascent to the Lötschenlücke begins beyond the Peter Tscherrig Anen Hut. Cross the middle of the glacier "Langgletscher"at the end of the mountain path and climb underneath the steep cliff walls of the Schinhorn that fall down to the glacier and up to the Lötschenlücke, which can be seen from afar. The SAC Holladia Hut, which you will reach shortly, clings like an eagle’s nest to the rocks. The panoramic vista from this high SAC hut is simply indescribable.

 

Stage 2: The route continues the following day across the "Grosser Aletschfirn" field down to the "Konkordiaplatz". You may have to circumvent the glacier sump pond to the north or south. From the Konkordiaplatz, descend across the snowless "Grosser Aletschgletscher" (Great Aletsch Glacier), which is characterised by a system of fissures particularly around its edge and flows downwards in a southerly direction like a wide thoroughfare. The descent, which is normally straightforward, runs between the orographically left-hand lateral moraine and the medial moraine. At an altitude of around 2,340 m above sea level, you pass into the "Märjelental" (Märjelen Valley) between the Strahlhorn and the Eggishorn (either directly across the ice or in the rocks of the southwest slope of the Strahlhorn). Shortly afterward you will reach the upper lake, the dammed "Vordersee" Lake. The trail climbs and falls gently around the Tälligrat via the broad Märjelenalp. The hike along the slope is a pleasant one – with the procession of Valais peaks above the Rhone Valley becoming increasingly impressive. From Kühboden (the middle station of the Fiesch-Eggishorn cable car), descend by cable car to Fiesch.