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BRICOLA
The Bricola alp is located high in the Val d' Herens,
south of Sion in the Swiss canton of Valais.
This is a short hike, which takes you to high mountain
vistas without the crowds typical of some of the
more popular tourist destinations. We did this hike
on July 20, 2003.
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The high alp Bricola [269 Kb]
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The hike starts
at the small village of Salay, site of a hotel, church,
and a few chalets, elevation 1766 meters.
The trail follows a road in the forest for the first kilometer,
paralleling the La Borgne de Ferpècle.
The Ferpècle dam and other waterworks are passed along the way,
all part of the massive Grande Dixence hydroelectric project.
The trail then swings to the southeast, entering a meadow with
the old Hotel Bricola now in view 300 meters above.
At this point, one can choose either to ascend the hillside
to Bricola, or continue along the valley bottom to
the foot of the Glacier du Mont Miné. As
usual, I picked the high route while Fiona picked the low.
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The trail climbing toward Bricola [526 Kb]
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The vistas begin to open up as the trail to Bricola climbs out of the valley.
Bricola is reached after about two kilometers of climbing
along a good trail. The old Hotel Bricola, a three story stone building,
and a few old shepherds' huts in varying stages of collapse crowd
the edge of the Bricola alp. The view of Dent Blanche from
here is magnificent, along with views back down the valley.
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Dent Blanche rising above Bricola [261 Kb]
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Bricola [307 Kb]
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Glacier de Ferpècle [376 Kb]
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From Bricola, the trail continues to climb toward the southeast, now with
spectacular views down to the Glacier de Ferpècle.
About 1.5 kilometers
beyond Bricola, the trail, now really more of a route, climbs along the
spine of an old lateral moraine, with the Glacier des Manzettes lying
to the south. The route continues on toward the Cabane de la Dent Blanche
(SAC), but time didn't
permit further exploration. The view from here, at about 2800 meters,
is not unlike that from Gornergrat, but without the hordes of tourists.
Rising to the east is the Wandflue, with
Schönbielhütte
just beyond. After returning to Salay, we drove back down the valley to
the town of Les Hauderes for some Rösti and beer.
Other stuff:
Panoramic pictures
Other pictures
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