Trift Glacier
The Triftgletscher is a valley glacier in the far eastern part of the canton of Bern, in the Central Alps of Switzerland. He was in 1973 about 5.75 km long, in the upper part up to 3 km, in switches but no more than 500 m wide. At that time he covered with his side glaciers an area of approximately 16.55 km2.
The Triftgletscher formed from several firn basin on the northern edge of Winterberg massif. His starting point he takes on the Northern slope of the glaciated Tieralplistocks to 3,300 m above sea level. M. It flows northward in a wide arena with 3 km in diameter, on the west by Diechterhorn ( 3,389 m above sea level. M. ) and to the east by the White Nollen ( 3,398 m above sea level. M. ) limited. About the fissured hanging Pass ( 3,081 m above sea level. M. ) the Lower drift gap has the glacier towards the south associated with the Rhone glacier. Other inflows has the Triftgletscher from the drift bag, a col north of the White Nollens, surrounded on three sides by nearly vertical, 300 m high rock walls, as well as from the rear Tierberg, from Gwächtenhorn ( 3,215 m above sea level. M. ) and the Steinhüshorn ( 3,121 m above sea level. M. ). On the Upper bag of wild rugged glacier crashes on a 400 m high rock wall steeply into the depths ( with a slope of about 60 %). Below this steep place of Triftgletscher flows at present ( 2004) to around 1,660 m above sea level. M. into a lake above the rock bolt of Windegg. The Lake entfliesst the drift of water through a canyon in the rock barrier, a side stream of the Gadmerwassers, which opens at Innertkirchen in the Aare.
In the high stage of the Little Ice Age in the mid- 19th century, the Triftgletscher overlapped this natural barrier, ranged still more than 2 km further down the valley and ended at 1,400 m above sea level. M. The valley in which the lake lies today was, until well into the 20th century filled by a large mass of ice. In the 1990s, began to form smaller meltwater pools that gradually enlarged on the glacier tongue just behind the rock barrier. Particularly strongly opposed the glacier in the hot summer of 2003. The lake quickly became larger and the glacier tongue sank formally in meltwater, or dissolved therein, which led to a glacier decline of over 136 m within a year. Since 1861, the glacier has retreated a total of 2,771 m.
At 2,520 m above sea level. M. on the western slope of Mount Rear animal is the Trifthütte of the Swiss Alpine Club SAC. By 2004, they could only be reached through a crossing of the glacier drift. Previously led the way there on the glacier, where now the lake. Around the turn of the millennium the hut could be achieved only by experienced alpine hikers. To make the house again to a larger audience hiking, 2004, the drift bridge was built over the water drift at the rock band. In 2009, this was replaced by a new one. It is one of the longest and highest cable-stayed bridges in Europe. One of the hut ascent variants Windegghütte leads past the rope bridge, without that you have to cross it.