Location: In Haslital (Oberhasli) near the village of Gadmen
Distance: 4 miles/6.5 km
Duration: 3-4 hours (Starting at Triftbahn tram station, Nessental)
Overall elevation ascent/descent: 1150 ft/350 m
Adventure in the Haslital
There aren't many
hikes in the Alps that can pack as much adventure into a half-day outing as an excursion to the Trift Glacier and suspension bridge. It's a triple adventure with a gondola ride nearly 1.5 miles long, the ascent of a deep-cut river gorge, and finally the crossing of a 170-meter long suspension bridge strung 100 meters above the Trift gorge.
This is a remote valley, thankfully off the well-beaten tourist trail, so some directions to the trailhead are in order. From Meiringen, take the bus that heads over the Sustenpass to the Nessental Triftbahn stop, about 32 minutes to the east. The bus stops in front of the Triftbahn where the next stage of this truly memorable journey begins.
Starting with the Triftbahn
The Triftbahn gondola holds just eight passengers and was built to shuttle supplies to the dam located at the base of the tram's end station. The gondola departs every 15 minutes and transports you into the remote reaches of the Trift Gorge.
As you purchase your ticket for the gondola you will also be issued a return ticket and time. You may return on an earlier or later gondola, but only on a space available basis.
After departing the gondola station, you'll cross a small bridge to ascend the valley on the west side of the Triftwasser, the runoff of the unfortunately diminishing Trift Glacier. The trail rises steeply at times as it crosses several of the small streams that flow into the Triftwasser below. While the trail is well crafted, it's not overworked or designed for much traffic, so you have the sense that you're on a true mountain trail. In fact, you will likely run into more locals than foreigners, so you will want to practice greeting other hiking groups on the trail with the typical Swiss phrase, Grüezi Mitenand.
Arriving at the Trift Suspension Bridge
After about a 90-minute hike, you will reach the suspension bridge. This remarkable bridge is firmly fixed to the glacier-polished stone walls on either sides of the canyon. The breathtaking Trift Glacier and its turquoise glacial lake lie just south of the bridge. The narrow suspension bridge is not for the faint of heart, but crossing the bridge is an experience you will not soon forget!
Although this suspension bridge itself is a destination, you can continue on to either the Trift Hut or the Winedegg Hut. Since these have huts have limited capacity, book ahead with the Swiss Alpine Club if you're planning to spend the night.
Changes in the Trift Glacier
It wasn't long ago that the Trift Hut could be reached on foot by way of the glacier tongue, but by 2004 the glacier had receded so significantly that a suspension bridge was built to take visitors to the hut. In 2009, the bridge was replaced with today's safer and more accessible bridge. Today's suspension bridge is one of the longest and highest pedestrian bridges in Europe, but the hike to reach it is well worth the trip even without the bridge as a destination.
If you would like to cross the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world, that's also in Switzerland. It's the Europabrucke and it's located above Randa on a trail leading to Zermatt.
