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. 

Round-Tour Hike to the Anenhütte Hostel at the back of the Lötschental Valley

Wednesday September 11, 2019 -- We packed up our stuff for four days and headed out early to Canton Wallis where the weather suddenly turned marvelous! Clear Autumn skies, cool mornings, pleasant afternoons. And this time we did four hikes all very different and all at the most within two hours of the town of Visp, near where we had rented a room for two days.

But the first night we spent at an old hotel in a tiny town called Ried in the Lötschental Valley, with a bus stop right in front of the hotel. Leaving home early we got to the hotel at 9 a.m. to drop off our packs, have a coffee at the hotel restaurant, check out the town of 12 houses, and catch the next bus one hour later to the end of the valley, to Fafleralp, to walk our planned four-hour round-trip hike above the Glacier called Langgletscher, to a very exclusive mountain hostel, (offers Spa vacations!) called Anenhütte.

We knew the afternoon would get cloudy (and cold, as it turned out!) but for the ascent we had the most ideal conditions both for the climb and the views. The Lötschental Valley is the largest Valley in Canton Valais (in the region of the Unesco World Heritage Site Aletsch Arena), and because it runs East-West it has lots of shade in winter. The ride by bus into the valley from Goppenstein was looking doubtful, but by the time we started at the wide open back of the valley, we were already peeling off the layers.

Most impressive was the massive glacier moraine below Mount Schinhorn; small panels mounted to boulders informed us that the glacier filled this upper part of the valley in 1850. Also very exciting: we spotted an entire herd (at least 20) of Ibex lounging on the steep flanks, so tiny that they were almost impossible to spot with the naked eye, and hard to photograph, but with magnification you could see their magnificent horns.

It took us a little over two hours to hike each way to do the 600m ascent.

(Photos of the hike we did the next day are HERE).

Heading up into the Lötschental Valley at about 8:30 a.m. it is looking very shady, also at the back where we are planning to hike up to just below the points of the two glaciers.

Our Hotel Bietschhorn right next to the bus stop. Shortly after 9 a.m. we dropped our packs off in our room (tiny room under the roof), had a coffee at the hotel's restaurant, and then walked to the top of the village (of about 12 houses!)

Impressions of the tiny village of Ried in the Lötschental Valley

Shortly after 10 a.m. we were at the start of our hike on the Fafleralp, and the sun is now shining!

First stop is this very pretty little lake called Grundsee

Time to shed some clothing and take some photos!

Right to the left of my head, perched on an outcropping, is the Anenhütte (mountain hostel) which is where we are walking up to.

Look back to the little lake and the Lötschental Valley

In 1850 the Langgletscher (Lang Glacier) filled the valley up to this point. This is the vegetation that has grown in the past 170 years.

Not only is there a building on the left (Anenhütte), but there is also a Swiss Alpine Hostel perched on a cliff above the saddle on the right...

Crossing the Lonza River, heading to the Anenhütte above the Langgletscher

The Lonza River is the outflow of the Lang Glacier, and flows down the Lötschental Valley to join the Rhône River at Gampel-Steg

Here's where we had lunch. Magnificent glacier moraine, incredible to think ice used to fill up this entire space.

 

At this point we are actually walking along the other glacier moraine

Not much longer now, almost at the Anenhütte. Below is glacier ice covered in gravel and debris.

This is the mouth of the glacier, from which escapes the Lonza River (all compact ice covered in the debris that the glacier leaves behind when it recedes) 

Mount Breithorn and the Lonza Horns. On these flanks we spotted a herd of Ibex.

Behind the Anenhütte is a small lake called Anusee (not a very attractive name), and we made a loop this way before heading to the hostel

The clouds are moving in, but up here it was still magnificent

Just some lone sheep wandering the Alps.

Figuring out if I pose any kind of problem...

 

Anenhütte from the back

View back down along the Lötschental Valley from the Anenhütte, and below is the return trail (goes past the tiny lake in the center of the photo)

Zoomed view of the peak of Mt. Bietschhorn, the King of this valley, but further down valley. Weather changes quickly in the Alps.

One last view back at this unique and exclusive mountain hostel, before heading back down the valley to Fafleralp

Wild blueberries cover the mountain flanks far and wide, and it's fun to pick handfuls along the way. 

The best I could do to photograph the herd of about 20 Ibex. They were far up above the glacier moraine on the steep mountainside, and we would not have seen them were it not for someone at the hostel handing his binoculars to his wife and saying "See them up there?"

This is where the ibex were on the mountain side, just barely visible as a bunch of small dots to the naked eye.

The clouds moved in quickly, and it got uncomfortably cold. We even thought it might rain.

One last break at the little lake called Guggisee

Back down at the parking lot. We just missed one bus by 15 minutes, had to wait another 45 minutes till the next one headed down the valley

And just as we headed back for dinner at the hotel, the skies started clearing, and we had a wonderful evening plus the most glorious day the next day as we started the second excursion: Hike out of the Lötschental Valley along the Lötschental High Trail. (photos HERE)

It usually takes longer to walk these trails than when you map them out, because of terrain. We had a total walking time of about 4 hours 20 minutes, but total excursion time of 6 hours (with breaks)

For dinner, a very expensive Walliser KäseToast at the fancy hotel restaurant.

We had a 50% deal on this hotel room, and as cute as it was, I would never pay full price. I kept hitting my head on the ceiling, and we had to share a tiny hall shower and toilet with three other rooms.... AND we had to climb up five stories to get here! The hotel was very nice though.