Trift Glacier
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The Trift Glacier (German: Triftgletscher) is a valley glacier near Gadmen, in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.
Morphology and retreat
The Trift Glacier is a northwest-facing valley glacier in the canton of Bern. 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. 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.
Until the 1990s the glacier terminus remained stable at the base of this basin near 1652 m elevation. Length-change records show that from 1861 to 1929 the glacier advanced by about 1200 m, followed by a sustained retreat. 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. The lower section detached in 2012 and has since melted away. By 2016 the cumulative retreat had reached about 3900 m, and by 2023 the total was 4383 m since systematic measurements began in 1861.
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. Modelled on Nepalese designs, it spans a lake formed by the meltwater of the Trift Glacier. The bridge, 100 metres high and 170 metres long, is among the longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges in the Alps.
Gallery
- 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
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.