Aletsch Glacier Trek for Beginners

One of my little Swiss dreams came true last weekend, walking on the Aletsch glacier with my whole family! We’ve admired this glacier from afar from the Jungfraujoch and multiple trails in the Aletsch Arena over the last decade. But finally our moment came and we walked all over that beautiful ice, enjoying the frozen waves and deep blue crevasses up close.

We did a beginners glacier trek with a guide, hiking about 90 mins to the glacier, then about 3 hours wandering around on the ice, then hike back. Although it didn’t feel particularly strenuous at the time, we were absolutely exhausted when we got back to the hotel. 

Even if you aren’t walking on the ice, I still highly recommend hiking to the ice edge as many other people were doing that day, including families with children too small to do a glacier trek. It’s a beautiful hike and the close view of the ice is well worth it.

See other family hikes in the Aletsch Arena

Note: This trip was sponsored by Aletsch Arena. All opinions are our own.

Location

This glacier hike is located in Fiescheralp, a mountain area in southern Switzerland (see on Google Maps). You can drive or take a train to Fiesch, then a gondola to Fiescheralp where the hike to the glacier starts. You can meet your guide at the gondola station.

Area overview

Here is the summer hiking map for Aletsch Arena, which includes three mountain areas, Riederalp, Bettermeralp, and Fiescheralp. We met our guide at Fiescheralp.

Normally, you ride a cable car up to Eggishorn (2860m) and hike “trail A” down to the hut at Vordersee, then down to the ice. But in late June, there was still too much snow on the peak. So instead, we hiked “trail B” from Fiescheralp to Oberes Tälli, then through a tunnel to reach the Vordersee. We returned the same way.

Trail map

Here’s a trail map showing the loop trail to the ice, about 10.3k, not including walking on the ice. If you skip Eggishorn, you’ll just go there and back on the lower trail, about 12k there and back.

How to get there

I recommend staying in the area because the glacier trek starts early in the morning. We stayed in Hotel Eggishorn in Fiescheralp on the mountain (more about that at the end of this post). The guide meets some guests at 8:15 at valley gondola station in Fiesch. Then s/he picks up the remaining guests at 8:45 at the top of the gondola at Fiescheralp, which is what we did.

Note: In 2019, the new Fiesch gondola/train station opened at a new location (46°24’21.4″N 8°08’03.9″E). It doesn’t yet appear on Google maps, which will direct you to the old gondola station a couple blocks away. 

By train: This journey is extremely convenient by train and quicker than driving from eastern Switzerland. Take the train to Fiesch, which changed locations in 2019 and now is directly below the gondola (doesn’t show on Google maps yet). 

By car: Drive to Fiesch and parking in the large lot across from the gondola station (Fieschertalstrasse 40, 3930 Visp). It costs CHF 6 for 12 hours, coins only. Display your parking ticket on your dashboard.

If you are coming eastern Switzerland, I recommend taking the Furka car train from Realp to Oberwald instead of driving over the pass. It cuts down on your time and stress. In 2020, it cost CHF 27 one-way. FYI, sometimes there isn’t a person selling you a ticket, so you have to buy a ticket at a machine inside the adjacent train station before getting in the car line or another driver might yell at you in French, while you hold up the car line trying to figure out what’s happening. I’m just saying.

Booking your glacier guide

Unless you are an experienced glacier trekker, it’s best to go with a local guide who knows this specific glacier and can guide you safely around the ice. 

We booked our glacier trek with Bergsteigzentrum, which is located in the Fiesch gondola station. There are many kinds of tours you can book. We did the Aletschgletscher Rundtour, which is offered Tues, Fri, Sat, Sun from mid-June to mid-October. 

Our tour cost CHF 90/adult, CHF 70/child aged 10-16. Our guide said there wasn’t a strict rule on minimum age. He said it’s more important that the child is motivated and will carefully follow safety instructions. So he would take a motivated child of age 7-8 who has lots of experience hiking. The crampons are adjustable and can fit smaller shoes.

This price includes include your crampons and safety harness. Unlike our tour on the Steingletscher, this tour company did not provide boots, gloves or an ice pick. More about what to wear and bring below.

Cable car ticket

The tour price does not include your gondola/cable car tickets, which must be purchased separately. You need a day hiking ticket, which costs CHF 55/adult. Children and SBB Half-fare get 50% discount. GA and SBB day passes ride free to Fiescheralp, the 50% on the cable car to Eggishorn. If you can’t ride to Eggishorn because of snow, you only need a round-trip ticket to Fiescheralp. Ask your guide before buying your ticket.

What to wear & bring

You should wear normal hiking clothes (trousers, no shorts!) and bring warm layers because even on a hot day, it gets cold and windy on the ice. I brought a fleece and light down jacket and used both on the ice, then wore just a T-shirt on the hike back. You should definitely bring gloves and maybe a warm winter cap and light scarf. I wore my baseball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes, but wore a light scarf to keep my neck warm. Definitely bring sunglasses as it can get very bright with the sun reflecting off the ice.

You need sturdy waterproof hiking boots with ankle support. Since my kids only have low profile hiking shoes, we rented proper boots from the Volken Sports store at the Fiesch gondola station. They cost CHF 15 for the day. I called ahead to reserve the shoes, so they were ready for us. When we got there, my son quickly tried them on and I paid before catching the gondola. We had to cross a river on the way to the glacier and I was glad my shoes were waterproof or I would have had cold feet the rest of the day.

We brought hiking sticks, which we used a little bit on the trail to the glacier. But not absolutely necessary.

You need to bring your own picnic lunch, which you will eat while on the glacier. We sat directly on the ice, so we were all glad to have our sitting pads to keep our bottoms from getting wet and cold.

Photo story

Meeting your guide

We met our guide at Fiescheralp. As I said earlier, we couldn’t start at Eggishorn because of snow in late June. So we took the dirt road leading to Märjelensee. It’s easy walking, slightly uphill, about 1 hour to the hut.

Follow signs to Märjela via Tunnel.

Still some snow on the sides of the trail.

One the way, you get a great view of the Fiescher glacier, not the one we’re walking on today.

The road leads to this tunnel that cuts 1 km through the mountain. It’s dark, wet and cold inside there. Best to put on a layer before you get in. It takes about 12 mins to reach the other side. There were lots of puddles we had to carefully avoid as we walked through. 

Arriving at the Gletscherstube hut

You see this pretty lake immediately after exiting the tunnel.

Then a short walk up to the hut on your right.

We picked up our harnesses here and some people got their crampons here. We took a break for about 20 mins, while people bought drinks and used the toilet. My kids were happy to get hot chocolate. But warning – there’s no toilet on the ice. So if your drink something now, you might be feeling it later on the ice when you’re roped together with all the other people. 

Continuing the hike down to the glacier

After our short break, we hiked another 30 mins or so down to the ice. This trail is more rocky and steep, so we used our sticks on this part.

We had to cross the river twice. This part was a little sketchy and some people got wet feet when they took a misstep. Our guide helped each person across. My kids are like mountain goats and didn’t need much help.

Getting on the ice

Here’s the end of the road unless you are walking on the ice. We put on our crampons here and got roped together. A few instructions, then walked directly onto the ice. It was much easier than my first glacier trek, where our guide used his ice pick to build stairs along an ice wall to get onto the glacier. That made me so stressed. But this trek was super relaxed and easy. A much easier experience for a beginner.

Then we slowly walked around admiring the glacier and occasionally getting bits of info from our guide. You can take quick pictures on the move, but it can be tricky because you need to watch where you step and the line is always pulling you forward. 

It was hard to get pics of us on the ice because we were all roped together and couldn’t get far enough away from each other to get some perspective. We got the guy two people behind us to swing around and snap this pic. This was the best we could do. During your lunch break on the ice, you might ask your guide if you can briefly unhook from the ice so you can take a family pic.

The ice landscape had lots of variety, stunningly beautiful.

I never felt in danger, but you need to watch your step. Lots of little and big cracks around. 

Level up! We successfully completed our first family glacier trek, hopefully more to come. 

Hike back to Fiescheralp

A few minutes after leaving the ice, you pass by the Märjelensee. I suggest a quick detour to get this view.

Our group stopped at the hut to drop off our equipment and enjoy refreshments. We got delicious rösti, which was well earned. Probably best to bring cash. Some of the group left earlier, some left together, some stayed. After your return your equipment, you are welcome to go back at your own pace.

Then a sunny, easy walk back on the dirt road to Fiescheralp.

Lots of family memories on this trip.

Arriving at our hotel in Fiescheralp

It was so nice to end our hike at our hotel on the mountain, instead of facing a long drive home. We stayed at Hotel Eggishorn, near the gondola station.

We had a lovely suite with a view across the valley. The kids had a separate sleeping area upstairs.

We had half-pension, which included a hearty four-course meal at their restaurant.

And a lovely view from our balcony, where we enjoyed some beautiful sunsets.

Well, that was a full day! See what we did on day 2 in Aletsch Arena, where we get a bird’s eye view of the glacier from Bettmerhorn, stroll around an alpine lake, and race down the mountain on monster scooters!