Zinal Glacier

The Zinalgletscher before Dent Blanche and Grand Cornier

The Zinalgletscher (French: Glacier de Zinal ) is a valley glacier in the southern end of the valley of the Val d' Anniviers in the Valais Alps. It is located on the region of the Swiss municipality of Anniviers. The surface of the glacier with pronounced tongue was 13.41 km ² in 2005. In 2011, he was nearly seven miles long, since 1973 he has thus withdrawn slightly more than half a kilometer. The North exposed glacier descends from 4160 to just over 2,000 m, its average slope is given as 23.3 °.

The Zinalgletscher arises from multiple source glaciers. The eastern glacier is the source Mountetgletscher ( Glacier du Mounts ), which has its origin at about 3,800 m on the western flank of the Zinalrothorns. From Obergabelhorn with his ice wall of the Glacier de l' Obergabelhorn pushes down. Below Grand Mountet these two Firnströme unite with the coming of the south Durandgletscher ( Glacier Durand). This is separated by the Roc Noir ( 3'124 m above sea level. M. ) from the Grand Cornier Glacier ( Glacier du Grand Cornier ), which has its point of departure between the Grand Cornier in the north and the Dent Blanche in the South. Furthermore Eiszufluss receives the Zinalgletscher through the steep Hangfirne on the northeast edge of the Grand Cornier ( Bouquetinsgletscher ). Below the union of the three most important source of Zinalgletscher glaciers still flow around 3 km to the north through a deep valley between the Grand Cornier in the west and the Besso ( 3'668 m above sea level. M. ) in the east. Here, the ice surface is mostly covered by rubble and dust of the central and lateral moraines, and of falling debris. The glacier tongue was their end in 2005 ( 2,040 m), dehydrated in the Navisence, a left tributary of the Rhone.

Since the high stage of the Little Ice Age in the mid-19th century, the Zinalgletscher has greatly withdrawn. From 1891 onwards, his tongue is melted back by more than 1.6 km. In earlier times led along the Zinalgletschers and over the Col Durand ( 3'443 m above sea level. M. ) a brisk committed mule on which goods and livestock transports between the central Valais and northern Italy were settled. Today, the crossing of the glaciated Col Durand from Zinal the Matter can only be accomplished by appropriately equipped alpinists.

In the immediate vicinity of the Zinalgletschers are the huts of Petit and Grand Mountet. The Cabane du Petit Mounts ( 2'142 m above sea level. M. ) lies on the orographic left lateral moraine of the glacier. It is in private ownership. Five hours walk above the Cabane du Grand Mountet is ( 2,886 m above sea level. M. ), a promising location on the southern slopes of the Besso Hut of the Swiss Alpine Club SAC. It is the starting point for many mountain ascents and extensive glacier tours in the area.

In August 1834 came after heavy rainfalls led to a burst of large amounts of water from the glacier. In the body of ice, considerable water bags had formed, which broke through the lateral moraines, valley were causing major damage and left temporarily created a lake between Chippis, Chalais and Grône.