Lötschental High Trail from Laucheneralp to Fafleralp

Monday August 23, 2021 -- A week of vacation worked out for us this time, with a stretch of relatively nice weather. We chose to spend a few days in the French part of Canton Valais, mostly because it was supposed to be warm, and because it's an area difficult for us to reach for day trips. Our plan was to explore some side valleys South of the Rhone Valley, in particular near the border with France near Mont Blanc, but that didn't work out, because it was actually very cold at higher elevations, and the clouds mostly didn't leave the mountain tops.

In any case, on the way down there, we had planned to hike from Canton Bern to Canton Valais via the Gemmi Pass, but studying the webcam photos in the train showed us thick fog along the trail (which ended up lasting all day) so a quick change of plans and we headed into the nearby Lötschental Valley, where the weather is often better than elsewhere. In fact, checking the webcams, it looked to be cloud-free (until we got there of course). After taking the large cable car to Laucheneralp and hiking uphill in air so cold my ears nearly froze, we whiled away some time at a mountain restaurant with coffee and fancy desserts until, fortunately for us, we caught a sunny break. 

The Lötschental High Trail (Lötschentaler Höhenweg) is a very popular trail and there is usually a procession of people walking here, but this time we were lucky, as there were really fewer people than expected. Also, we try to find slight alternatives to the more well-trodden paths, i.e. higher parallel trails, so that we feel like we are all alone in the mountains. As nice as the hike ended up being (even with the low clouds on the mountain tops), this was a consolation prize for us, as we did the exact same hike almost to the day six years ago... (no wonder all the landmarks seemed familiar!)

(As for the rest of the trip, we had rented a small studio apartment near the train station in Saxon, a place we had never been before, and this turned out to be quite a nice starting point for the following three hikes we ended up doing).

We came into the Lötschental Valley by bus from Goppenstein (South exit of the Lötschberg Tunnel), and took the large cable car from Wiler to Laucheneralp. On the way up the hill we could see the clouds gathering. (The village below is called Kippel)

Normally from here you can see the snow-covered peaks of the 4000-m high mountains in Canton Valais, but today they are hidden in the clouds

This large cable car from Wiler to Laucheneralp brings passengers in 3.5 minutes 550m above the valley villages, and can transport about 100 people at a time. But today we were barely 20 people.

Heading straight up the hill from the cable car station, we climbed about 150m uphill to the Berghaus Restaurant. It was very cold as the clouds had covered the sun and so a good time to do the uphill stretch

These homes are mostly used in winter for ski-in, ski-out!

We went into the restaurant to warm up with coffee and ended up having dessert as well. Urs said they gave us the "Stammtisch", which is where the important people or the regulars usually sit!

I had Apfel Strudel with warm vanilla sauce, very expensive, but oh so good!

After 45 minutes, the sky cleared, and we had pleasant enough weather for the rest of the day. No longer cold. The Berghaus had a very nice terrace, but it was too cold to sit outside earlier.

Starting on our hike up the Lötschental Valley. The clouds on the peaks stayed all day. The others came and went

Below is the official "Lötschentaler Höhenweg". We walked higher up on the trail at the left

A look down at the vacation village that is Laucheneralp

We were the only ones hiking in this beautiful alpine landscape

Another look down at Laucheneralp. 

The cable car is heading down the mountain again

To the South on the other side of the valley is the landmark mountain of this valley: Mt. Bietschhorn (3934m)  whose peak we saw for just a few minutes. 

A glimpse of Mt. Bietschhon and the Nest Glacier

Passing through the next hamlet called Weritzstafel

The wild blueberries are almost ripe

Getting further up the valley. The remnants of glaciers on the hillside are pretty interesting

A closer look at the Lang and Anun glaciers at the back of the valley. Back in 2019, we hiked up to the green plateau in the lower part of the photo

To our left as we head up valley is another piece of a glacier to the North, the Tellin Glacier

Here at the Telli Alp, our higher trail met up with the regular and more popular Lötschental High Trail. There is a restaurant here, but we didn't have time to stop for a drink. 

I rather liked the look of this house. 

And from here a good look down the Lötschental Valley to the West. In the back, behind the mountains on the right is the original trail we wanted to hike this day, but the clouds never left that region

Only another 35 minutes to the bus at Fafleralp. (We were worried that there would be a lot of people taking the bus, but that wasn't the case, either.)

Passing Lake Schwarzsee. There were some young people swimming here!

Way down below next to the Lonza River is a group of pretty barns!

The final hamlet before the large parking lot at the end of the valley: Fafleralp

This is an interesting piece of information!!!! A century ago, the people of this valley, who subsisted mainly on milk products and rye grain were particularly healthy! Oh, and I am glad for shoes.

This is the little Fafler Lake. 

From the parking lot (where the bus leaves from, back down-valley), a final look up to the Anun Glacier. 

This side of the Anun Glacier is a very fancy mountain "hostel", which we hiked to a couple of years ago. https://anenhuette.ch/site/en/

Photos from our hike in 2019, from Fafleralp to the Anen Hostel can be found HERE

This was not a particularly long or difficult hike: About 3.5 hours from Laucheneralp to Fafleralp. 

The following photos are from the bus ride back out of the valley:

Riding the bus back down the valley along the Lonza River. These are the barns we saw from further up the hill!

Lots of interesting buildings in the Lötschental Valley

This little village in the furthermost western part of the valley is called Kippel, and has a museum dedicated to the history of the valley. A must-see for another day. 

The village of Kippel in the Lötschental Valley

A final look up the Lötschental Valley before we head down into the Rhone Valley and our accommodations for the night. 

This is what the beautiful Lötschental Valley looks like on a cloudless fall day.

This is the area of the Lötschental Valley. Our studio apartment for three nights was between Sion and Martigny

Our little rented studio apartment in Saxon, for three days (the addition on the left of the house)

View from our little terrace at the rented studio apartment in Saxon. That peak is called Pierre Avoi, and the popular ski resort of Verbier is right on the other side. We did not have a chance to go there.