The Rhone Glacier
A trip to the tip of the ice for the trip
tenth anniversary of the descent of the Rhone off.
A trip to the tip of the ice for the trip
tenth anniversary of the descent of the Rhone off.
(below the unpublished report of this trip)
Nothing beats a walk on the top of the ice to really realize the extent of a glacier. (The photos on this blog are copyrighted)
To access the Rhone (in Swiss German), I first borrowed a path steeper going from the town of Oberwald up at the hamlet of Gletsch.
That day, the Rhone river was in flood, two times more potent than a decade ago. Six miles to walk six kilometers to climb and climb still, seeing the Rhone flowing over rocks in a row deafening.
That day, the Rhone river was in flood, two times more potent than a decade ago. Six miles to walk six kilometers to climb and climb still, seeing the Rhone flowing over rocks in a row deafening.
Falling Rhone
A Gletsch I continued another three miles along a small path to arrive flat near the rockfall at the bottom of the cliff and watch the fall of the Rhone. No question though
me up onto the cliff with your bare hands. The wind in the bunch, the peaks of snow, and cold crossed the clothes as soon as the sun was hiding behind a cloud. I returned to Gletsch to spend the night in "Hotel du Rhone Glacier.
From dawn to the glacier
The next day, dawn greeted my first steps towards the glacier. A crow flies, three miles, but following the laces of the road (totally deserted of cars) it took nearly six miles. This was especially the latter which was the most painful. The slope became well pronounced even more pronounced. Several times I overheard whistling ... person either before or behind! It is only by chance that I discovered it was marmots. They emit short whistles, very striking.
The tip of the glacier: sand and ice
The glacier itself is fabulous, but you have to climb on his back or to approach very closely to discover the vast surface.
far, we do not notice it because all the beginning, the first five hundred meters, is partly covered with sand, small gravel (probably from the mountains around). In places, there is a thin layer of soil carried there, I suppose, by the wind. Viewed from afar, this tip of the glacier is not very nice to look at, but if one takes the trouble to climb a few steps, the vision changes soon.
adventure on the ice
The adventure begins when you actually set foot on the ice. But we must be extremely careful because of flaws sometimes arise through the ice itself, some narrow, others wide of more than one meter. If you approach them the wrong way, a simple swipe of not sending you to the depths of the fault.
(At the beginning of this blog, you have a photo - Photo copyright Patrick HUET)
, so do not go near them. Only with the greatest care and advancing upwards, that I could address two of them safely and take some pictures.
Pink Snow and ice cliff
Once out of the blackened area of sand and gravel, snow flowing magnificent awaits. It covers that part of the glacier. What a pleasure to run on these white flakes and sometimes even pink. And when it raises its head, it opens our eyes to the immense cliffs to seven or eight miles away - the ice cliffs of an extraordinarily bright blue light in the morning.
the extreme limit of the glacier
Where is important not to venture alone, it is the extreme limit of the ice.
For my part, I only went there because I had the chance to detect a passage providing access to the very spot where the river Rhone is formed and precipitates out of the glacier.
Under the high wall of ice, a lake was formed, but a roaring lake driven by a great power.
I went to the rock where the torrent exploded, swirling, and then jumped over the cliff. That is why we should not go alone. A single false move, and it is carried away by the force of the torrent and then shredded by a fall of several hundred meters.
Recognizing the risk, I did not even want to put me on his belly to touch the stream of the hand (it was close to that point), preferring to remain firmly attached and take pictures of impressive memories.
( above the stream at the outlet of the Rhone Glacier, just before jumping over the cliff - Photo copyright Patrick Huet)
The Rhone - Summer 2008.
