Walking in the Valais. Kev Reynolds

      Lac Bleu is popular with visitors to Arolla, and is reached by a very pleasant walk of an hour and a half (Walk 86)

      The layout of this guide follows an east–west convention, beginning on the north side of the Rhône valley and describing routes from the Fieschertal and the Lötschental, then moving to the Pennine Alps south of the Rhône. The most easterly valley to be described here is the Saastal, after which the guide moves west into the Mattertal, before visiting the Turtmanntal, Val d’Anniviers and so forth.

      Each valley system is treated as a separate unit (or section), for which a map is provided as a locator. The walks themselves should be followed on the recommended topographical map of the area. Within each valley section details are given in regard to the various villages or resorts, their access, facilities, tourist offices, huts, etc, and a number of walks of various grades are then described. All the walks are listed in an index at the back of this book, and an explanation of the grading system is found below.

      Distances and heights are quoted throughout in kilometres and metres. These details are taken directly from the map, where possible, but in attempting to measure the actual distance of each walk it has been necessary to make an estimation, for with countless zigzags on many of the routes, it’s impossible to be precise.

      Times quoted for each route are approximations only. They refer to actual walking time and make no allowances for rest stops or interruptions for photography – such stops can add considerably (25 per cent or more) to the overall time you’re out during the day, so bear this in mind when planning your day’s activity. Although such times are given as an aid to planning they are, of course, subjective, and each walker will have his or her own pace which may or may not coincide with that quoted. By comparing your times with those given here, you should soon gain an idea of the difference and be able to compensate accordingly.

      In route descriptions ‘left’ and ‘right’ apply to the direction of travel, whether in ascent, descent or traverse. However, when used with reference to the banks of glaciers or streams, ‘left’ and ‘right’ indicate the direction of flow, ie: looking downwards. Where doubts might occur, a compass direction is also given.

      Abbreviations are used sparingly in the guide, but some have of necessity been adopted. While most should be easily understood, the following list is given for clarification:

       C–Z Chamonix to Zermatt, the Walker’s Haute Route

       LS Landeskarte der Schweiz (maps)

       PTT Post Office (Post, Telephone & Telegraph)

       SAC Swiss Alpine Club

       VTT Trains à Grande Vitesse

       TMB Tour of Mont Blanc

Grading of walks

      The walks in this book have been chosen with the express aim of helping you to make the most of your holiday in the Valais, and since it is hoped that walkers of all degrees of commitment will find something useful here, a grading system has been used to direct readers to the standard of outing that might best suit their requirements. As mentioned above, the walks have been graded into three categories, but since the grading of walks is not an exact science, each of these categories will cover a fairly wide spectrum. There will inevitably be variations and, no doubt, a few anomolies which may be disputed by users of this book, but they are offered in good faith and as a rough guide only.

      Grade 1: Suitable for family outings; mostly short distances or walks along gently graded paths or tracks with little altitude gain.

      Grade 2: Moderate walking, mostly on clear footpaths with a reasonable amount of height gain. Walkers should be adequately shod and equipped.

      Grade 3: More strenuous routes on sometimes rough or unclear paths. Some modest scrambling or use of ladders, fixed ropes, etc, may be involved in rare instances. A head for heights may be called for. On some of these routes there will be passes to cross, some glacial travel (individual sections will be marked in the text) and possibly screes to contend with. In short, true Alpine walking. There will be steep ascents and descents, and fairly long distances involved. Walkers attempting these should be fit and well equipped.

      The ladder route below the Pas de Chèvres (Walk 92)

      INFORMATION AT A GLANCE

      Currency: The Swiss franc (CHF); 100 centimes/rappen = 1CHF. Although Switzerland is not in the Euro zone, some hotels and retail outlets accept payment by Euro. Change will be given in Swiss francs.

      Formalities: Holders of a valid UK passport or the national identity card of a Western European country do not need a visa to enter Switzerland. Citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa can stay for up to three months without a visa.

      Health precautions: At the time of going to press, there are neither major health concerns to consider nor vaccinations required by visitors entering Switzerland from Europe or the West. However, as there is no state health service and all medical treatment must be paid for, it is advisable to take out insurance cover that includes personal accident and sickness. Should you plan to tackle walking routes that stray from habitation, rescue cover in the event of an accident ought to be included.

      International dialling code: When dialling Switzerland from the UK: 0041. To phone the UK from Switzerland the code is 0044, then ignore the initial 0 of the area code which follows. Cashless Swiss public call boxes are operated by a phonecard (Taxcard) on sale at post offices, newsagents and railway stations for CHF 5, CHF 10 and CHF 20.

      Language: French and German in the Valais, but English is widely spoken.

      Tourist information: Valais Tourism, Rue Pré-Fleuri 6, 1951 Sion, Switzerland (Tel [phone], [email protected], www.valaistourism.ch or www.matterhornregion.com); Switzerland Travel Centre Ltd, 30 Bedford St, London WC2E 9ED (Tel [phone], [email protected], www.MySwitzerland.com)

      FIESCHERTAL AND THE ALETSCH GLACIER

      The Grosser Aletschgletscher is the longest and most impressive in the Alps

      The upper region of the Rhône valley, from the Furka Pass downstream towards Brig, is known as Goms. It’s a gentle district of attractive villages, broad meadows, and a wonderland of prepared walking and cross-country ski trails in winter. Although part of the Valais/Wallis canton, tributaries on the valley’s true right flank drain mountains and glaciers of the Bernese Alps, and the largest of these tributaries is the Fieschertal. With the small resort of Fiesch at its entrance the valley is flat-bedded and U-shaped to betray its glacial origins, while beyond the roadhead and the last group of houses, its wild raw nature is revealed.

      ACCESS AND INFORMATION

Location	On the north slope of the Rhône valley, about 16km northeast of Brig
Map	LS264T Jungfrau 1:50,000, and the Kümmerly + Frey sheet 18 Jungfrau Region at 1:60,000 cover most of the district. For more detail see the 1:25,000 sheet LS2516 Aletschgebiet.
Bases	Fiesch (1049m), Bettmeralp (1957m), Riederalp (1930m), Belalp (2094m)
Information	Tourismusbüro, CH-3984 Fiesch (Tel [phone], www.fiesch.ch); Bettmeralp Tourismus, CH-3992 Bettmeralp (Tel [phone], www.bettmeralp.ch); Riederalp Tourismus, CH-3987 Riederalp (Tel [phone])
Access	By road or rail to Fiesch. For Bettmeralp,