Themed Trail "Over the Raspille" along the Bisse de Varone in Valais

Saturday July 10, 2021 -- I guess you could say the weather was pretty nice in most parts of Switzerland on this weekend... Saturday in any case. But with all the rain recently, we thought we'd be safest if we went for the weekend to our driest Canton: Wallis/Valais, where we actually go quite often. We felt pretty sure we could avoid wet trails and possible landslides....

For our second hike of 2021 back in February, we had walked from Leuk eastward to Gampel on the sunny hillside above the Rhone Valley.... and this time we returned to Leuk, but traveled into the Dala Valley, starting higher up (but not quite as far as the popular resort town of Leukerbad) and walked out of the valley. The 3+ hour themed trail which we chose to follow was called "Over the Raspille", starting in Inden and heading out of the valley along something called the "Varner Ladders" (Varnerleitern), then westward via one of those irrigation channels (the six-kilometer Bisse de Varone, fed by the Raspille River and in operation since 1490) and into the wine-growing area along the Valais language border. (We had done part of the irrigation trail before, wanted to complete it this time). 

As nice as the weather was, this time the temperature was simply too hot. There was a large section of paved road to follow, and the trail along the irrigation channel was rather monotonous, partly because we knew we'd been in this area several times before, and partly because it was a long straight stretch. And did I mention it was very hot? It's a hillside we prefer to walk in Spring and Fall, for obvious reasons. This was not one of my favourite hikes, and I was pretty tired before we were done.

But the real reason we were in this area is because of the challenging hike we planned to do on Sunday, for which we wanted to start early and not travel far, so we spent a night in our favourite accommodation in Brig: St.Ursula's Guesthouse next to the Stockalper Palace. We even got the same room as last time a year ago! Brig has such a lovely old town, and the Stockalper Castle is fantastic.

(NOTE: I have included links to the other hikes we did in this area, under the corresponding photos)

It takes 3 hours by train from home to the Leuk train station in the Rhone Valley. Another 20 minutes or so by bus up the Dala Valley. The bus passes through Leuk Town, our starting point on one of the first hikes we did in 2021, back in February (walking in the opposite direction... photos can be viewed HERE)

As the bus heads North into the Dala Valley, this is a look down over the vineyards at the town of Susten, and the famous Pfyn-Finges Forest, one of the largest coherent pine forests in the Alps. 

The village of Inden is about half-way up the valley on the way to Leukerbad. It's here where we started on the themed trail called "Over the Raspille"

We always start with a tour through the villages, admiring the houses

It is fashionable to convert the old barns into modern homes. The backdrop of the mountains is stunning. 

Heading South now, with a final look back to the village of Inden

Back in the early 1900's, there was a train line from Leuk in the Rhone Valley to Leukerbad, as this was a popular resort and spa village for the famous and wealthy. Here in Inden, one of the railway stations still exists, converted to a village store.

We found the description for the 3-hour, 11-km hike called "Over the Raspille" (starting in Inden and ending in Miège) on our interactive hiking map, and thought this might be something relatively easy for us to do in the area the day before our 5-hour hike we had planned in the Aletsch Arena. 

From these information placards we learn that in the mid 1700's the main access to the resort at Leukerbad was either via the Gemmi Pass to the North, or the "Varner Ladders" to the South (which the famous author Johann Wolfgang Goethe crossed in 1779 to get to Leukerbad). A road in 1850 and the railway line in 1915 gave ease of access from the South.

As we headed South out of the Dala Valley, we saw that trail on the right, which turns out to be the "Varner Ladders" by which the spa resort of Leukerbad was accessed by Goethe in 1779.

The hike up the Varner Ladder trail was not as difficult or scary as it looked from here

Regional themed trail no.187: "Ueber die Raspille", or "Over the Raspille". The trail passes above the towns of Varen and Salgesch

What did look scarier than the actual trail along the vertical cliff, was this Via Ferrata trail also called the "Varner Ladders", which we had read consisted of a climbing wall with actual ladders. We figured we'd walk here a bit to see what the ladders were about.

This ladder goes straight up, and higher up you cross the rock face to the right. My knees got weak just watching Urs climb about five rungs....

The regular Varner Ladder trail was a breeze after returning off the super narrow Via Ferrata trail!

From the Varner Ladder Trail we look back up the valley toward Inden and the Gemmi Pass

A zoomed view of the village of Inden, and in the background the summit station of the Gemmi Pass cable car, accessed from Leukerbad below the vertical cliffs. You can walk up or down that cliff as well; there is a narrow trail, which was used to access Leukerbad before the road and railway were built from the South.

At the entrance of the Dala Valley we then headed westward. Here is a look over Leuk

Fantastic panorama views of the Rhone Valley and the Pfyn-Finges Forest as we head westward.

This one was hard to photograph as he didn't spend a lot of time on each flower!

Passing above the village of Varen, the starting point of a hike we did back in February 2020, hiking along the lower irrigation channel to Salgesch (photos of that hike can be viewed HERE)

Unfortunately there were wide road sections (both paved and unpaved) which offered little shade on this hot day!

We were glad to get to the start of the irrigation channel, as there we at least had shade. The Varner Irrigation Channel (Bisse de Varone) above Salgesch has been in use since at least 1490. The channel is 6 km long and flows mostly straight along the hillside, and the trail is very popular

Once along the irrigation channel, we did have lots of shade, but only the eastern side of the channel had some variety. At least the water flows here, which makes the long stretch more bearable. 

The waters of the Varone/Varen irrigation channel are still used to water the hillside and vineyards below. Apparently, it was in this area that the irrigation channels originated (We had already walked this stretch of the irrigation trail back in 2016, photos can be viewed HERE)

Ahead of us are the large vineyards of the Sierre and Crans-Montana Region, where, by the way, French is the main language spoken. 

Looking down at the town of Salgesch, which is the most westward of the German-speaking communities in this area, as the Raspille River which flows down into the Rhone River just to the West forms the language border here. 

The famous vineyards of Salgesch. For wine afficionados, Salgesch was the first community in Switzerland to use the term "Grand Cru" for Swiss wines (I personally do not know what that means).

At the western end of the Varone Irrigation Channel we crossed the Raspille River before the long descent to Miege. The Raspille River forms the German/French language boundary of Canton Walllis/Valais. In this area, the communities often have double names. 

VIDEO:

How the force of water erodes rock

Hiking down the vineyard landscape toward Miège. This view is up the Rhone Valley toward Leuk, where we started. 

Just above Miège, end of our hike.

Walking through Miège to the bus stop at the church. From here the bus takes us to Sierre/Siders at the bottom of the Rhone Valley

Heading to Brig by train from Sierre, and as we pass the town of Salgesch, you can clearly see the two irrigation channels on the slope. In 2020 we walked along the lower one, and this time (as well as 2016) we walked along the upper one).

In October 2016 we walked from Crans-Darnona to Salgesch along the upper irrigation channel (red trail), in February 2020 we walked from Varen to Sierre along the lower channel (yellow trail) and this time we walked from Inden to Miège along the upper channel (turquoise trail)

From Sierre to Brig is 40 km, about 30 minutes by train. We spent the night in Brig so we could start early on Sunday to get up to Belalp

Old town Brig

Old town Brig. The evening was pleasant and warm and there were lots of people in the outdoor restaurant seating areas. Later at night there was a storm, but it held off.

The way to our room at the Guesthouse is along this street with the ancient buildings, and past the Stockalper Palace

Apparently the Stockalper Palace is part of the "Grand Tour of Switzerland"! We discovered this by accident. Another photo for my collection.

The beautiful inner court of the Stockalper Palace

A very lovely carriage on display at the palace. This was previously the stagecoach used to cross the Grimsel and Furka Passes!!!  It can't have been a comfortable ride.

The evening was pleasant, so we decided to have a dinner at a restaurant in the old town, instead of a picnic in our room at the guesthouse. 

The stunning Stockalper Palace in the evening light. This castle built by the wealthy local businessman Kaspar Stockalper was the largest building in Switzerland in the 17th Century. Kaspar Stockalper was also the man who "rebuilt" the trade route over the Simplon Pass to Italy (the hike we did in early June this year, photos HERE). Unfortunately, his fellow citizens were jealous of his wealth and ambition, and trumped up allegations of misconduct on his part, which caused him to go into exile and lose his fortune.