Trift Glacier

The Trift Glacier is a northwest-facing valley glacier in the canton of Bern.^[1] 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.^[1] 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.^[1]

Until the 1990s the glacier terminus remained stable at the base of this basin near 1652 m elevation.^[1] Length-change records show that from 1861 to 1929 the glacier advanced by about 1200 m, followed by a sustained retreat.^[2] 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.^[1][2] The lower section detached in 2012 and has since melted away.^[1] By 2016 the cumulative retreat had reached about 3900 m,^[2] and by 2023 the total was 4383 m since systematic measurements began in 1861.^[1]

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.^[3][4] Modelled on Nepalese designs, it spans a lake formed by the meltwater of the Trift Glacier.^[3][4] The bridge, 100 metres high and 170 metres long, is among the longest and highest pedestrian suspension bridges in the Alps.^[4]

• 
  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

• List of glaciers in Switzerland
• Swiss Alps
• Trift Bridge