Trift Glacier
| Trift Glacier | |
|---|---|
| Triftgletscher | |
 Trift Glacier in September 2007 | |
  Trift Glacier Location in Switzerland | |
| Location | Canton of Bern, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 46°39′40″N 8°22′40″E / 46.66111°N 8.37778°E |
| Length | 5.4 km (2016) |
The Trift Glacier (German: Triftgletscher) is a valley glacier near Gadmen, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.[1]
Morphology and retreat
The Trift Glacier is a northwest-facing valley glacier in the canton of Bern.[1] In 2016 it covered an area of 14.5 km2 and extended 5.4 km in length, with its elevation ranging from 3386 m down to about 2120 m above sea level.[1] The upper part lies in a basin about 3 km wide, narrowing below 2700 m where steep slopes lead to the formation of large séracs. At about 2400 m it receives a tributary separated by the Triftstöckli, before descending a 35° rock step toward the basin that formerly held its tongue.[1]
Until the 1990s the glacier terminus remained stable at the base of this basin near 1652 m elevation.[1] Length-change records show that from 1861 to 1929 the glacier advanced by about 1200 m, followed by a sustained retreat.[2] A proglacial lake began to form in 1998, and during the hot summer of 2003 the glacier retreated by 136 m in a single year.[1][2] The lower section detached in 2012 and has since melted away.[1] By 2016 the cumulative retreat had reached about 3900 m,[2] and by 2023 the total was 4383 m since systematic measurements began in 1861.[1]
Tourism
The Trifthütte, a mountain hut of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), was once reached by crossing the Trift Glacier tongue. As the glacier receded, this route became impassable, and in 2004 a suspension footbridge was built to restore access.[3][4] Modelled on Nepalese designs, it spans a lake formed by the meltwater of the Trift Glacier.[3][4] The bridge, 100 metres high and 170 metres long, is among the longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges in the Alps.[4]
Gallery
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Trift Glacier retreat since 1864 -
Trift Glacier viewed from the south, winter 2014 -
Tongue of the Trift Glacier in summer 1971, before the formation of Triftsee
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Triftgletscher (BE) factsheet". GLAMOS – Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland. Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) / VAW, ETH Zürich. 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Triftgletscher (Gadmen)" (PDF). Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (VAW, ETH Zürich). 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ a b "The greatest alpine show on earth?". Swissinfo. 19 July 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Trift Bridge – a spectacular footbridge". Switzerland Tourism. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
Further reading
- King, Lorenz (1974). Studien zur postglazialen Gletscher- und Vegetationsgeschichte des Sustenpassgebietes. Basler Beiträge zur Geographie, Vol. 18. Basel: In Kommission beim Verlag Helbing & Lichtenhahn. 123 pp., with 3 pollen diagrams in the annex. ISBN 3796523544.
External links
