Ken Baldry's Alpine Pages

Bella Tola (3025m) is the best viewpoint in the Swiss Alps - 2

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The views & getting down

Westerly panorama from the Dent Blanche to Mont Blanc

Northerly panorama to the Bernese Oberland

Wh is the Wildhorn Wi is the Wildstrubel

AB is the Altels and Balmhorn

B is the Blumlisalp A is the Aletschorn

South-East & Southerly panorama

M is the Matterhorn (its not very big) & DB is the Dent Blanche

There are three possibilities for getting off the hill:

1. The simplest & bad weather option is back via the hut to St. Luc;
2. In July 1982 with my Dad, we went down to the Pas de Bouef (along the ridge & South), then cut round the East side of the the Meidspitze (thus crossing the Röstigraben here) & scrambling down to the Meidsee for the Meidpass path down to Gruben in the Turtmanntal;
3. In June 2002, I used the Bortertalli route round to Gruben but the pass was blanked off by snow, so I scrambled down to the first visible lake across rocks & a snowfield, then turned the cliff under the lake to the South & went steeply down a snowfield (facing the snow & kicking steps: ice axe essential but I always say it is) to the second lake. This is not for the faint-hearted! Then, a long walk down the valley, picking up the official Pas du Boeuf path. I followed the valley down to the Angi cowsheds. Here, the Kummerley & Frey map and LK50 differ. I followed LK, crossing the stream for the more comfortable & fluoriferous Bortaralpu.

Backside of Bella Tola

At Zer Pletschu barns, I picked up the bergweg to Grüben, which is very well marked & goes up & down quite a bit. It started to hail, then rain as I set off along it. Where it meets the jeep track, I eschewed the first short cut (as it looked unnecessarily steep) but took the second round the first bend. This met the road a kilometre from Grüben, to which I walked & at 1445, booked into a proper room at the expensive but basic (no private shower) Hotel Schwarzhorn, Sfr90 half board in 2002. (It said a scary Sfr125 behind the door).

In 1982, Dad & I stayed in the bunkhouse on top of the hotel, which is cheaper. The food is the same whichever you do & up to the usual Swiss standards.

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Contact: Ken Baldry for more information, 17 Gerrard Road, Islington, London N1 8AY +44(0)20 7359 6294 or e-mail him
URL: http://www.art-science.com/Ken/Alpine/BellaTola/bt2.html © 2002-2010 Ken Baldry. All rights reserved. Last revised 16/11/2010