If you’ve never walked on a glacier, you need to add this journey into your bucket list. This trail is special because it is one of the only few hiking trail in the whole of Europe that allows hiking on glacier without a guide. We cross 3 glacier on this hike.
Chessjen Glacier
The hike is accessible from the Felskinn station in Saas Fee. From Felskinn station, we hiked across the snows of the Chessjen Glacier to reach the Egginerjoch pass (2,988 m). From the pass we went down a glacier bowl before climbing a small hill to reach Britannia Hut. After a short break at the hut, we descended down to cross Hohlaub Glacier and then Allalin Glacier. Finally, we descended down to Mattmark Reservoir to catch a bus that brings us back to Saas Fee.
Relaxing at the Felskinn Station. We arrived early in the morning and there was nobody around. The Chessjen Glacier is located just next to the station and its a easy cross with clear path.
Felskin Station to Britannia hut
After the crossing the glacier, the trail then drops into the glacial bowl beyond the pass before climbing again to the Britannia Hut. You can see the hut in the image on the left…but where is the trail?
Mysterious Glacier
Britannia hut is located at the top of the pass. There is a glacier in front and we are not sure if it is safe to cross this glacier. We know that we have to cross 3 glacier but this is not one of them. And the safety pole that marked the safe path is not clear either.
To our shock and surprise, our 2 kids have already crossed to the other side and waving for us to come over. Dont think they know the danger involved. Reluctantly we cross the glacier nervously, praying that there are no crevasses on our path. If you hiking with children, make sure they follow you all the time.
Britannia Hut
The Britannia hut located at 3030 m is one of the most popular SAC huts in the alps and is the starting point of the famous Haute-Route. Among all the mountain huts I have been, this has arguably the best view among all. In summer, there are comfortable dormitories sleeping 115 in rooms of 4 -8 beds which we can book if we are staying overnight. There are many mountain climbing tours and hiking trail in the area.
We reach Britannia Hut in 1.5 hours. If you do not have time, hiking to this hut alone is a worthwhile journey.
What a stunning view!! The great thing about mountain hut in Europe other than its glorious view is the price of food and drinks here. It is the same price you would get from any restaurant in town. In other places, it would be double.
From the hut, one could glimpse Allalin glacier (on the left) and Hohlaub glacier (on the right). The glacier looks small from afar but they are really huge and it took us almost 3 hours to cross both.
Hohlaub Glacier
Walking on the glacier is a fantastic feeling, mixed with certain degree of anxiety as well. There is no indication of how thick the ice plate we were walking on, certainly there is no guarantee for our safety. We just got to trust and follow the marking people had put on the surface as a guide.
We found an ice cave towards the end of this glacier. Wanted to go in the cave but scare it will crash down on me
Land of Rocks
Besides the ice and snow, those rocks and boulders are also never fail to amaze us. It’s like if we ever dare to move a single piece out from its place, all of the others will be falling on us. We were scrambling around the rocks for an hour and I slipped once and broke my camera lens. Still, I feel very grateful we are safe with only scratches here and there
Alpine Ibex
The Alpine Ibex, also known as the Capra Ibex, is a wild goat that lives high up in the European Alpine mountain range. Centuries of intensive hunting reduced Alpine ibex numbers to just a few hundred in Europe. We have hike in Europe for many years and this is the first time we saw a family of ibex.
Allalin Glacier
Have to be very careful walking here. Not sure what to do if anyone slips into these crevases. Luckily the pole that marks our trail is clearly visible.
Descending Mattmark Reservoir
After crossing the last glacier, we climbed up a mountain pass before descending down to Mattmark Reservoir: Europe’s largest earth dam (2,200 m). We took around 2 hours to complete this 7 km trail. This lasts section is tiring. But it was all worth it. The hike has everything you could ask for; the scenery, mountains, rocks, ice, stream, lakes and glacier.
No Responses