Lower Grindelwald Glacier

The Lower Grindelwald Glacier with Gletscherrandsee seen from the Bäregghütte from. In the center, the inflow of Fiescher glacier, left the green Bänisegg, in the background Fiescherhörner

The Lower Grindelwald Glacier is the western of the two valley dining Grindelwald glacier, namely the ( earlier) further down the valley to the valley opens out of the two. From him the White Lütschinen springs (not to be confused with the Lauterbrunnen ).

Survey

The name " Lower Grindelwald Glacier " is the primary contributor to the recent strong ablated tongue of the glacier above, ie, the portion below the so-called Bänisegg to the tongue end. The extent to which lying above the glacier Bänisegg also part of the lower glacier, all parts of the glacier is questionable with the progressive melting. Until around 1990, meeting at the Bänisegg two usually about the same mighty glaciers to the actual Lower Grindelwald Glacier. Your affiliation to the Lower Glacier was not questionable, although they were usually simply referred to the cards with " Ischmeer " / Arctic Ocean; the Western and long years " (Grindelwald ) Fieschergletscher ". The tendency was the eastern of the two, which comes down from Finsteraarjoch (pictured right), seen as the main stream of Western rather than a cash basis. Since the fifties of the 20th century, this practice was, however, questionable inasmuch as since then the inflow from the eastern glacier ago largely dried up, so that the tongue of the lower glacier since that time almost exclusively from the western arm ( " Fieschergletscher " ) was supplied. Since about 2005, the glacier below the Bänisegg and the eastern arm are completely separate, so that today, two independent "Lower Grindelwald Glacier " when writing the name still wishes to apply to the eastern arm. Whether out forms such an exercise, the future must show. Perhaps the name " Lower Grindelwald Glacier " is limited to the tongue to the Bänisegg; maybe he even goes out completely with in the coming years expected melt completely this tongue - as the name " ground glacier " at Zermatt is extinguished.

The tongue end of the lower glacier is currently northwest of the Bänisegg. Continue down the valley at the height of Bäregg and Stieregg In 2006, a rockslide filled the local Toteisreste and dammed a lake which emptied occasionally, of course, but has recently also receive an artificial drain.

Below the rockfall mass flows through the springs from the Toteisresten White Lütschinen the Glacier Gorge, which can be visited from Grindelwald to prevent entry. The Glacier Gorge cuts in its lower part two striking rock paragraphs, the so-called upper and lower rock cropping. These paragraphs are clearly visible on the first image on the history of the glacier below the picture. At the foot of the lower rock cropping is now the entrance to the gorge (pictured right and painting at the bottom).

History

Starting with the cooling at the end of the Middle Ages ( 1500), the Little Ice Age so called, flowed into the valley of Grindelwald down the Lower Grindelwald glacier on the glacier gorge away. There a part of the village around 1600 had to be postponed because of the glacier ran over a house after another. Until the mid-18th century, he moved back over the cropping rocks back ( right picture). By 1740, the tongue with the mining of marble was begun on the right. Around 1770, the glacier extended remains strong and achieved in the area of today's Hotel " Glacier Gorge " the valley floor. Even the marble quarry was run over by a glacier. This foray documented Caspar Wolf in the painting at the bottom right as well as in the very bottom ( "Art " ) is quite realistic. The spectacular ice towers (called seracs ) ending glacier was for decades until around 1900 main tourist attraction of the Grindelwald and one of the Switzerland tourist attractions at all. In 1850, the glacier extended even farther and reached a high level again in 1855, similar to 1600's. He was flowing from the present entrance to the Glacier Gorge still about 500 meters towards the Grindelwald -Grund. 1863 received the Bern-based company Schegg & Bohlen a concession for commercial Eisabbau. Then a road from Grindelwald-Grund ago was built on the tongue of the glacier. The blocks of ice were transported to Interlaken for Bödelibahn and exported to Paris as a coolant. 1864 17'473 kilograms of ice were broken down, for example. With the rise of refrigeration units and the First World War ended in 1914 mining and export of glacial ice.

The glacier was severely torn and allowed in the summer no rise in the range above Bäregg and Stieregg, the Arctic Ocean to or referred to as the lower ( in the local dialect ) as Unters Ischmeer. Access to Bäregg and the further into the valley lying pastures followed even then the current route. On the Bäregg the first refuge of the Bernese Oberland in 1823 built and 1858, the Hotel Arctic Ocean. Above the Bäregg the glacier was virtually flat ( Eismeer! ) and allowed a smooth transition and even cattle drive on the opposite pastures of calli and Zäsenberg beyond the mouth of the Fiescher glacier. 1857 was climbed for the first time on this journey of a monk.

The glaciers melted in the following years from the strong. To 1864 he gave the former marble quarry free again, where Edmund of Fellberg up first found rose colored marble. Here once the attack was resumed. 1869 Berglihütte was built in the area of ​​the upper Fiescher glacier. Around 1870, the glacier left the Grindelwald valley floor, and around 1875 he released the so-called lower crested rocks, where today there is a bridge over the lower part of the glacier gorge. Until 1882 he had about a kilometer withdrawn, calculated from the high of 1855, namely to about 150 m southeast of the present bridge. There, the tongue remained stationary until 1897 and then moved about 200 meters into the gorge, giving, where also released the top crested rocks. She stayed there again in about Stationary by 1905 until 1932. Nellenbalm From the left of the ravine was built in a way to the top crested rocks, as are the marble quarry right of the ravine. Thus, the tongue was accessible from the valley without further until the thirties into it. On July 25, 1905, the Jungfrau Railway opened the stretch to the Arctic Ocean. This allowed a much easier access to Berglihütte and brave skiers the Arctic Ocean descent over the glacier tongue to Grindelwald. 1908 was built by the station from the Arctic Ocean Konkordiahütte.

Since the mid- '30s, the tongue of the glacier continuously moved more than 800 m back up to the upper entrance to the gorge at the Bäregg. The direct access to the glacier from the valley was doing progressively more difficult. At the same time the lower Arctic Ocean declined in the area above the Bäregg one to over 130 m (compared to 1855) and had returned steep moraines. The transition towards Kalli and Zäsenberg was thus always more complex and dangerous. From about 1970 to 1995, the glacier has remained essentially stationary below the Bäregg - with a little interlude to 1980, when Sturzeis from the strongly advancing Kallifirn the tongue in one year extended 125 m into the gorge. Accurate measurements could not be performed on her, as the tongue in the canyon was not available.

By since around 1998 progressive melting of the glacier, the eastern flank of the macaroni has become very unstable on the Eiger against the Bäregg. Therefore, there plunged in July 2006 a total of 2 million cubic meters of rock on the glacier and a 250,000 m³ large lake has formed. On the side of the moraine Mättenbergs 2005 broke up just before the Stieregghütte, which was subsequently abandoned and burned. She threatened to overthrow the Toteisreste in glacial cirques. Instead of Stieregghütte the Bäregghütte was built.

Because the lake on the tongue occasionally drained spontaneously, the entire Lütschinental is flood risk until it out to the Lake of Brienz. Therefore, a tunnel was created in 2009 from the outlet glacier gorge, through which the lake can be drained controls. The water is directed approximately 800 meters to the dam around and then plunges in a 140 -foot waterfall in the Lütschinen.

Arctic departure

1907 drove the Jungfrau Railway for the first time in the winter - from the Eiger glacier station and up to the then terminus of the Arctic Ocean. From there opened skier ski clubs Grindelwald the spectacular descent over the Fieschergletscher, the Zäsenberg, coming from Schreckhorn forth part of the Arctic Ocean and the then almost up against the upper tuft rock -reaching tongue of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier addition to Grindelwald. Part of this route was committed conversely a ski tour, with return by Jungfrau Railway.

This descent enjoyed in the 50 years of the 20th century great popularity, but was always dangerous and only in snowy years feasible. Today it is no longer possible, since one of the glacier tongue has no access to the bands more, which guide you through or above the Glacier Gorge to Grindelwald.

Mountain trails

Orographic right above the Glacier Gorge to Bäregg and along the lower glacier and further up along the Arctic Ocean runs the scenic overwhelming hut to hut Schreckhorn the SAC (T 4) or to the place of the former Strahlegghütte (L). This must be due to be laid up after collapsing lateral moraines again gradually. The former direct access to the glacier tongue left above the gorge was prepared in the 1980s by steel cables, but abandoned because of further glacier retreat in many years and also now live dangerously by the aforementioned rock movements.

Art

The glacier was painted among others by the Swiss artist Caspar Wolf 1774 and 1777. these images show a foray phase, which is characterized by a rupture of the tongue often ends in ice towers ( seracs ). The glacier is about to return to be nearly as large as against 1600th From the perspective of these images of the glaciers is not seen since about 1900.