Snow and sun on Bettmeralp and Riederalp

Explore the Swiss cheese landscape with cheezy . Our Tour de Suisse cheese box leads through the canton of Valais in November. A hiking report by Jürg Studer:

You can beat the lack of snow and sunshine in the lowlands with a trip to Valais. Here, on the southern slope between Bettmeralp and Riederalp, you can enjoy "white below and golden above".

Stock up on cheese before the hike
For many people, the tour involves a journey. Just as well, because on the outward or return journey from each direction, there are significant gourmet stops from the three possible directions. Those coming from the Lower Valais will find it at the A. Walker AG cheese dairy in Bitsch. From the south of Italy, or the Simplon, the eponymous Simplon dairy and from the east, from the Grimsel or Furka Pass via the Upper Valais, you arrive at the organic mountain cheese dairy in Gluringen.

In Bitsch, I like the Raclette du Valais AOP "Gomser 1" made from raw milk or the Raclette Aletsch made from thermized milk. The regional name Aletsch is deliberately used and the Aletsch Grand Cru is even made from Pinot Noir grape marc. On the Simplon, you can taste the passion of production in the Simplon Adler and in Gluringen the Mutschli Baschi, the smaller Baschili or the Gommer Fee, which was named in honor of the nurses at the Inselspital.

We start the hike in Bettmeralp
The village of Bettmeralp lives up to its name: the approximately 450 inhabitants of the merged municipality of Bettmeralp - 320 of whom live in Bettmeralp - have 18 times more guest beds. But the municipality's name is tricky: it is derived from the folk etymology of the verb "to pray", and the inhabitants are said to have prayed so loudly during the plague of 1720/30 that they could be heard all the way down into the valley. Fortunately, this dark past is a thing of the past - today, life in the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn mountain region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is more carefree.

Strolling through the village, you soon reach the tree line. This gives you an unobstructed view - not of the Mediterranean, as artists demanded, but of a magnificent mountain world. At the end of the village, the three cable cars take snow sports enthusiasts up to Wurzenbord, Schönbiel or to an altitude of 2647 m below the peak of the Bettmerhorn. Behind this mountain lies the Great Aletsch Glacier.

Magnificent view of the Matterhorn
The winter hiking trail, marked out with pink poles, turns left and climbs in two loops to the level of Lake Bettmer. The perfectly groomed trail climbs gently along the western shore of the lake and then climbs steeply for a short stretch over the Scheene Bodu to the highest point, the Scheeboduegg. These Valaisan expressions, which we Üsserschwiizer have found iconic not only since the TV show "Tschugger", are wonderful. After an easy ebrüf, it's now embri - the few Valais German words that almost everyone knows. As you cross under the piste at the reservoir at almost the highest point of the hike and emerge from the short tunnel, the Matterhorn comes into view. The symbol of Switzerland par excellence.

And it is by no means the only four-thousand-metre peak. The Aletsch promenade on the sun terrace above the Rhone valley doesn't really require any great fitness: just one thing, enough sun cream. Behind the Schweibufluo along the forest, the path leads me to the Gopperlücke alpine hut. This path is shared with the sledgers - otherwise all hikers are separated from the snow sports enthusiasts. The Moosflue intermediate stage with the glacier cable car and the destination of Riederalp are already visible through the sparse forest. The tour ends again directly through the village at the Riederalp Mitte cable car, which takes you directly to Mörel. The most important facts in brief 5.46 km, 1:55 h, 217 m up and 230 m down.

The most important facts in brief
5.46 km, 1:55 h, 217 m up and 230 m down. 

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