Thursday August 26, 2021 -- This was Day 4 of our 5-day trip to Canton Valais. For a long time now we have wanted to visit the Grande Dixence Dam, which is the world's largest gravity dam, and the fifth highest dam in the world! But it is far back in a side valley South of the RhôneValley (Val d'Hérémence) and certainly not possible for us as a day trip, but from our little rented studio in Saxon, only a 90-minute trip!
(Side note: Lac des Dix, created by the Grande Dixence Dam, as well as Lac de Cleuson which we had visited two days earlier, are both part of the Grande Dixence complex which includes four pumping stations and three production plants, producing 20% of Switzerland's storage energy.)
We had first laid eyes on the dam in August 2018 when we also spent a week in Valais discovering side valleys, and we had done a hike on Mont-Rouge (Thyon), which is also part of 4-Vallées and on the ridge that separates Val d'Hérémence from Val Nendaz (where we had been two days earlier). [Those photos are HERE].
Our plan was to start at the Grande Dixence Dam (another fabulous bus ride on a winding road to right below the dam, from where we took a short cable-car ride to the top) and walk along the entire high trail high above Val d'Héremence and back to Thyon. It was going to be a hike of over five hours (in the end, more than 17 km) and we were not able to return to our little studio for the fourth night (to our great disappointment, it was already rented out for that night), so we found a hotel right at the very end of the trail in Les Collons, where we could end the hike without having to take public transit!
This was the first day where we had no clouds at all and the weather was perfect for this hike. But in the end, the distance did start to take its toll, and as it was getting late in the afternoon we also ran into cold and shady sections. But then all the fatigue disappeared when we rounded a corner to find THREE ibex on or near our hiking trail! We stood still and watched them, and even though they had seen us come, they didn't move from their grazing. That is an advantage to hiking later in the day: The wildlife comes out to graze. That was definitely the highlight of this trip!
As we head to the back of Val d'Hérémence by bus from Sion, we are pleased that we finally have a day without cloud cover!
After another one of those bus rides along hairpin turns to the base of the dam, you can either walk up to the top of the dam (40 minutes) or save yourself 230 uphill meters by taking the Grande Dixence cable car! It transports only 8 people at a time, and we were very lucky because right behind us was a tour bus full of older gentlemen, probably coming for a tour of the inside of the dam! (It was a 4-minute ride....)
On our way up to the top of the dam with the Grande Dixence Téléférique
At dam level, we watch as the next group comes up by cable car!
A short walk behind the dam to see the lake. It's a very big lake and we cannot see around the corner
Information panels on the dam indicate that it is 200m wide at its base, and almost 300m high! And it required 6 million cubic meters of cement to build. (Built between 1951 and 1961)
And we're off to Les Collons where we had reserved a hotel room. Minimum 4.5 hours. But with a couple of detours and retracing our steps to a restaurant at the end, we walked over 5 hours this day!
Watching the Grande Dixence cable car arriving at the summit station
It only took 90 minutes to get from our accommodation in Saxon to the the Grande Dixence Dam. We walked at least five hours and 17 km to our hotel for the night in Les Collons.
Heading off down the valley now, this is one of many looks behind us at this fantastic structure.
Panorama view of the Grande Dixence Dam, Lac des Dix, and the Hotel/Restaurant at the base of the dam, from where we took the cable car up to dam level.
Up ahead is the long Val d'Hérémence, and we are walking all the way to that arrow down there, which is about 16 kilometers! (You can see part of the trail below, which first goes into a side valley to the left, before continuing ahead.
At the back of this side valley, called Combe de Plafeuri, is a Swiss Alpine Hostel
I had to try to get a self-timed photo of us with the magnificent dam in the background.
Close-up view of the Grande Dixence Dam
Every time we looked behind us, I took photos! You can see the trail we are following. A very good trail and easy to walk.
Ahead of us the view is also always basically the same. We were particularly glad that we had no clouds here, whereas on the range on the North side of the RhôneValley, the clouds are once again hanging on the peaks.
Even though the trail was long and always in the same direction, there were plenty of interesting sections to cross.
It's always nice when we run across alpine flowers at these high altitudes!
A short stop to have a picnic lunch and massage my feet, then off we go again!
Another look back towards the dam
Zoomed view of the dam. The photo quality is not good with my camera, but it was impressive to see the glacier appear. We did not see this angle from the dam itself.
Here we reached the Cabane d'Essertse where we really would have liked to support the owner by stopping for refreshments (no other patrons at this time), but it was already 4 p.m and we still had 90 minutes to go to get to our hotel, so we had to push on.
Another look back up the Val d'Hérémence, and the Cabane d'Essertse which we just passed on the right.
Another close-up view of the Grande Dixence dam and the Vallée des Dix behind it.
We came to an interesting section, a large steep hillside covered in avalanche fences, and made our way downhill winding in and out among them. We had a lot of late afternoon shade here!
I think daisies are such a happy-looking flower.
AND THEN WE ROUNDED THE CORNER and discovered this beautiful ibex on the trail (usually it's cows!). It saw us, but did not run away. Simply crossed and made its way into the brush below the trail. This was surely not more than 10 meters away.
A beautiful ibex on our hiking trail, not more than 10 meters away. By the ridges on its horns, this one is about 8 years old.
And right below the trail, even closer, was a big male almost hidden in the brush! What a fabulous experience to be so close to them! They knew we were there, but did not run away. This is the advantage of hiking in early evening, when the wild animals come out to graze.
See, he noticed us. Kept right on grazing. By the ridges on his horns, he would be at least 12 years old.
The ibex from the trail came to join the larger one in the brush
And then we spied another one just above us, looking down at us! This is a much younger one, about four or five years old!
VIDEO:
Three ibex were on or near our trail, grazing in the cool early evening!
What a fantastic experience to watch them. The best part of this day's hike.
(This is my own video, can be watched in YouTube)
As we then moved on and looked back, we saw the beautiful ibex further down the hill. What fantastic horns those are!
The last section of trail before reaching the paved road in Les Collons
And then Urs also spied a female deer on the steep mountainside. This is the large variety of deer called "Hirsch", which you apparently don't see often in Switzerland. The smaller deer which we sometimes come across are called Roe Deer.
A surprising final look at the Dixence Dam (Zoomed view) in the evening light. (This must be 16 kilometers away!)
More than five hours and 17 kilometers, we reached our hotel (more like an inn) called "Auberge de L'Ours" only to find they weren't serving dinner, and we had to go back up the road again to find an open restaurant! The hotel room was quite old and shoddy, needed lots of renovations. Was also very poorly insulated and Urs could hear the other guests... except I did not, as I slept quite soundly that night!
How the front of the dam looks on Google Satellite Maps
In this region of 4-Vallée we did the "Tour du Mont Rouge" in 2018, which is how we knew of both the Val Nendaz and Val d'Hérémence, both of which we visited during this 5-day trip.
This photo which is NOT mine, is used by license from Wiki Commons, photographer is Jeremy Toma. This shows what the dam looks like face on. It is a fantastic structure.
Monday August 20, 2018 -- Day 2 of our second week of hiking vacation. It was very hot in Canton Valais, 30 degrees, so we went up high. But it was still hot. And we got up early to be out the door by 6 a.m. and at the start of our hike by 8 a.m., and it was already hot. As luck would have it, the clouds and fog, which were only expected mid-afternoon, moved in quickly up here as if they knew I was there. Unfortunately this had the effect of just making everything too cold, so I spent the day changing in and out of pants and shorts.... The trail we chose for this day is called the "Tour du Mont Rouge", Mont Rouge being a peak above the vacation village of Veysonnaz near Sion. I saw a video advertisement of someone running along the ridge and I thought: "That's a ridge hike I want to do". But I learned quickly, ridge hike does not equal ridge hike, and I really need to avoid ridge hikes that look like this on a map:
The description on our Switzerland Mobility Map reads as follows: "Magnificent high altitude walk, passing by the Crête up to the summit of the Mont Rouge, then the summit of Greppon Blanc and return via the highest bisse in the Valais, the «ancien Bisse de Chervé".
The tour starts with an ascent to the Crêtes de Thyon above Veysonnaz. A panoramic path will lead you then to the Mont-Rouge, suspended between the Val de Nendaz and the Val d'Hérémence. ...
The Mont-Rouge can be recognised by its cross.... A panoramic information panel helps you to identify the surrounding summits. Then the path becomes rockier and more difficult to access the Mont-Loéré and Greppon Blanc to come back down to the pastures.
The return to Thyon is made via the «ancien bisse de Chervé», the highest in the region, now unused. You, therefore, finish your walk on a wide and easy path running along the mountainside, shaded by pine and larch forests......
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There were many things wrong with this:
1. Because of the fog, we could identify no surrounding summits.
2. "The path becomes rocker and more difficult".... that was an understatement. We never did get up to the Greppon Blanc.
3. "Bisse de Chervé" was misleading. We were all excited about another irrigation channel, especially "the highest in the region". There was no irrigation channel at all, just a wide dirt road, and by the time we got there, after an annoying steep descent, happily warmed by a now fully cloudless sky...
4. Marked as 4 hours and 20 minutes for the whole round tour, we had 5 hours 15 by the time we reached the Veysonnaz cable-way (in other words, we didn't even go back to Thyon) and never even attempted the additional 30 minutes' climb to "Le Greppon Blanc"
But along most of the ridge the hiking was good, and when the fog lifted to give us some view windows the sights were incredible, all the way to Mount Matterhorn and the stunning Dixence Dam (highest gravity dam in the world), and down the Rhone Valley from West to East. Not one of my favourite hikes, though. Maybe I was too tired from the very long hike the day before... In retrospect, we should have gone down sooner, but I was always waiting for the fog to disappear. (Side note: this was the only day there was fog up here).
Early morning light on the two hills of Sion, as the bus takes us up the switchback road to Thyon
At 8 a.m. as we start our hike the clouds are already moving in. Just one single glance at the unusual West side of Mount Matterhorn (on the right) before the view disappeared.
Time to Mont Rouge was correct. At 2:45 we were about 30 minutes short of Greppon Blanc
In the background and not visible in the haze is the magnificent Grand Dixence Dam. A goal for another day (or year)
The marshlands of Essertse were stunning. Down below a large herd of Ehringer cows were grazing. Ahead is the ridge: Mont Rouge on the right (easy) and what turned out to be a difficult climb to Mont-Loéré in the middle.
Already looking like autumn with the pink heather on the slopes
The cross of Mont Rouge up ahead, and the daunting-looking crags of Mont-Loéré
A quick look back as the fog rolls up the hill to swallow my partner...
All of a sudden the marmots started whistling. I looked around and there was this dear bolting it across the marshes!
A short break at Mont Rouge in the hopes that the fog would clear and we could finally get a view. No luck with that, so we press on.
The trail disappeared into a bunch of soft slippery limestone and you had to find your way through carefully. The slopes fell much more steeply than it appears, and it took us way longer to reach the top than simply shown on the map.
Looking back again to Mont Rouge on the left and the marshland below on the right.
Happy to have made it in one piece to the top of Mont-Loéré. The ultimate goal of the Mont-Rouge Tour, i.e. Le Greppon Blanc, is in the fog on the left. We didn't even try that peak.
Our little bit of sunshine up here.
On the next dip after leaving Mont-Loéré, we finally got some views: Below are the pastures we will ultimately cross on the way back, and WAY below is the Rhone Valley.
Looking South and still just barely visible (zoomed shot) is the mighty Grand Dixence Dam
Looking East, the last glimpse of the Essertse marshland.
It was at this point where we saw the next peak we had to cross (on the right) before heading up Greppon Blanc (behind Urs on the left) that we decided to take a shortcut down at the non-operational chair lift.
The soft limestone shale is very crumbly and I'm surprised not more of it comes down. This farmer had to turn back to get help to clean this up.
There was even still snow up here which was a surprise, but this is a ski area so it was probably hard-packed snow which takes way longer to melt. Down below is the Rhone Valley and the city of Sion.
The fireweeds created splashes of colour across some parts of the slopes. This is on the way back to the West of the slope of Mont Rouge
And here is where we got our idea for the fourth hike we were to do: across the Rhone Valley to the North is a large Valley we wanted to discover. It takes you up to a Lake, le Lac de Derborence. Below on the slope is the very large vacation village of Haute Nendaz
Instead of returning to Thyon 2000 (next bus not till 3 hours later), we took the cable car down to Veysonnaz, where there were better bus connections back to Sion.
Early morning we took the bus up on the East side of the hill to Thyon 2000, and after finishing the loop, we descended by cable car to Veysonnaz. This loop took us 5 hours 15 minutes. And we didn't even go to the top of Greppon Blanc
