after Mont Blanc (the Dufourspitze on Monte Rosa at 4634m), which is located a few metres west of the Italian border above Zermatt.
Perhaps the most attractive and challenging of Valaisian mountains on the north side of the Rhône is the 3934m Bietschhorn, which stands guard over the entrance to the Lötschental, dominates that valley with its elegant cone shape, but is also clearly evident from many paths and valleys of the Pennine Alps to the south.
The valleys
It is the lateral valleys which cut into these mountain ranges that provide the Valais with its essential charm, its scenic qualities, character and magnetic appeal. These valleys include the Saastal, Mattertal and Turtmanntal, the Vals d’Anniviers, d’Hérens, Nendaz and Bagnes, Entremont and Ferret and the Vallée du Trient, and the splendid Lötschental that carves into the wall of the Bernese Alps above Gampel. Each one has its own particular contrast of peak, pasture and glacier to ensure that walks tackled among them will provide a host of memorable experiences to relive in the months ahead.
Fieschertal and Aletsch Glacier
Northeast of Brig the Fieschertal is the longest of the northern tributaries feeding into Goms – the upper reaches of the Rhône’s valley. With Fiesch at its entrance, it’s a pleasant valley whose main attractions for walkers lie at its head, and on the high plateau of Bettmeralp to the west, reached by cablecar.
Glaciers and glacier gorges lend the area its most distinctive features. The Fieschertal has a gorge carved by the retreating Fieschergletscher, while on the far side of Bettmeralp’s backing wall, the longest of all Alpine glaciers, the Grosser Aletschgletscher, provides an exciting backdrop to a number of walking opportunities.
The Bettmeralp plateau is shared with the little resort of Riederalp which has the lovely Aletschwald nearby. This old larch forest is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the Jungfrau, Bietschhorn and Aletschgletscher. Perched high above the western edge of the latter’s glacier gorge, Belalp has far-reaching views and plenty of walking possibilities.
Lötschental
Midway between Visp and Sierre a side-road cuts north, snaking above Gampel before plunging into a tunnel, from which it emerges alongside the important trans-Alpine railway. Road and railway soon part company at Goppenstein, entrance to the Lötschbergtunnel, which carries the motor-rail through the mountains to Kandersteg and northern Switzerland. Beyond the station the valley remains a narrow defile until at Ferden the Lötschental curves to the northeast and opens into a sunny trench full of charm. A string of small villages (Kippel, Wiler, Ried and Blatten) stands above the right bank of the river, and high above them another collection of alp hamlets is linked by a footpath which carries the Lötschentaler Höhenweg, one of the finest of all the walks in the Valais. The Lötschental is the longest and by far the loveliest of those valleys which drain from the Bernese Alps into the Rhône, a romantic, unspoilt backwater, full of simple beauty.
Saastal
Saas Fee, one of the major resorts of the Valais
About 7km due south of Visp, Stalden stands at the confluence of the two most important valleys of the Valais – in terms of tourist appeal, that is: the Mattertal, which leads to Zermatt; and the Saastal, with Saas Fee its major attraction. The southeastern stem is the Saastal (served by postbus from Visp), which pushes deep into the eastern end of the Pennine Alps, with several attractive villages lining the bed of the valley, while car-free Saas Fee itself is located some 250m above the Saaser Vispa in a fabulous glacial cirque at the foot of the Mischabel wall, crowned by the Täschhorn, Dom, Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn. The valley extends further south beyond Saas Almagell, its highest village. The roadhead is at the Mattmark dam, but walkers can go on beyond that and climb to the Monte Moro pass on the Swiss/Italian border to gaze on the majestic East Face of Monte Rosa.
This is but one of countless very fine walking opportunities from and within the Saastal. There are extensive balcony paths that stretch almost the complete length of the valley, trails that edge the glaciers, and others that climb to remote mountain huts. Cableways provide opportunities to access high routes without major effort, while more gentle riverside rambles go from village to village through flower-filled meadows. The Saastal also makes a good base for a climbing holiday. Hard routes are to be found on the steep walls of the Mischabel group; there are snow climbs on Allalinhorn, Alphubel and Rimpfischhorn, and easier rock climbs on peaks neighbouring the Weissmies on the eastern side of the valley directly above Saas Grund.
Mattertal
It’s tempting to concentrate on Zermatt and its rim of 4000m mountains when describing the Mattertal, but the valley does have other places worth visiting – Grächen and Gasenried, for example, at the northern end of the valley above St Niklaus. The first is a sprawling resort with a sunny position and views across the Rhône, while Gasenried, much smaller, huddles below the Ried glacier, which hangs from the Nadelhorn and has its own undeniable magic. Across the valley the tiny hamlet of Jungen is indescribably lovely, a gathering of barns and chalets on a plunging hillside. Halfway between St Niklaus and Zermatt lies Randa, just far enough above the river and on the right side of the valley to have escaped obliteration by a massive rockfall in 1991 – the debris remains as a sober reminder of the fragile nature of the seemingly solid mountain walls. To all intents and purposes Täsch appears to be a car park for motor-free Zermatt, but move away from the railway and you’ll find an attractive, traditional Valaisian village, while the narrow valley that cleaves the mountains behind it leads to peaceful Täschalp and some wonderful mountain views.
That brings us to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Zermatt, one of the busiest resorts in all the Alps, lies at the foot of the most distinctive of mountains. Once seen, never forgotten. The town has been a focus of attention for mountaineers since the mid-19th century. Nowadays most of the climbs involve long routes on snow and ice, and there are, of course, difficult test-pieces such as the North Face of the Matterhorn. Easier ascents exist for competent alpinists on the Monte Rosa massif, which boasts no fewer than ten 4000m summits, and on other peaks that wall the Swiss/Italian frontier: Liskamm, Castor, Pollux and Breithorn. All these mountains are on display to walkers tackling routes described in this guide without the need to set foot on ice or snow, and when viewed in their full spectacular spread above the Gorner glacier, the scale is almost Himalayan.
Turtmanntal
The Weisshorn is one of the most conspicuous peaks in the Mattertal, standing tall and proud west of Randa. It’s a massive peak whose icy West Face plunges into the Val de Zinal (the upper reaches of Val d’Anniviers), and whose northern aspect overlooks the little Turtmanntal, one of the shortest of the Rhône’s tributary valleys draining the Pennine Alps. It’s an undeveloped valley with a summer-only village, Gruben-Meiden, nestling among the pastures between two walkers’ passes used by trekkers on the classic Chamonix to Zermatt Walker’s Haute Route.
Val d’Anniviers and Val de Moiry
The road into Val d’Anniviers wriggles south of Sierre into the jaws of a gorge that obscures the valley’s wonders, but once you emerge from that, one delight after another is announced. A few small villages and hamlets cling to the steep hillsides on both sides of the valley, and at Vissoie the road forks, with a secondary route branching off to Grimentz and the Val de Moiry. The upper stem of the main valley takes its name from Zinal, the highest of its villages, which serves as an important, though small, mountaineering and walking centre. Reached by postbus from Sierre, Zinal lies just short of the glacial amphitheatre that closes the valley in an arc of towering peaks: Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Ober Gabelhorn, Dent Blanche, Grand Cornier and Les Bouquetins. Thanks to the steepness of these walling mountains and the long ridges they push north, some of the trails in Val d’Anniviers are quite demanding, but the visual rewards they give more than compensate for the effort required to tackle them.
One of these routes crosses Col de Sorebois into the Val de Moiry. Much shorter than the main valley, the Moiry glen is known for the tightly packed and flower-choked village of Grimentz, and for the impressive icefall on the Moiry glacier near its head. The Cabane de Moiry enjoys a privileged close view