Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch

A guiding school more than sixty years old

The Bergsteigerzentrum Aletsch is the mountain guides' centre in Fiesch, in the Goms valley, in the Swiss Valais, at the foot of the Aletsch Glacier, the largest in the Alps. Its history begins with a small sports shop opened in Fiesch by Anna and Sepp Volken. In 1962 Sepp Volken founded the Swiss Mountaineering School of Fiesch, and in 1999 the school became a limited company owned by local mountain guides, with its current name. Ten mountain guides work with it. Among its partners is Volken Sport, a sports shop in Fiesch.

The office is at Fieschertalstrasse 1 and is open every day from 8:00 to 18:00.

What it does and when

Its programme covers the whole year:

• Summer (roughly June to September): one- and two-day Aletsch Glacier crossings, multi-day treks through the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage area, crossings from the Jungfraujoch via the Konkordia, and ascents of Valais four-thousanders such as the Breithorn, the Allalinhorn, the Weissmies, the Lagginhorn, the Alphubel or the Finsteraarhorn. It also runs alpine and ice training courses on the glacier.
• Winter (roughly December to April): ski touring, from day trips in Goms and the Binntal to week-long tours and the Haute Route from Zermatt to Chamonix, and snowshoeing.

There are tours for families and children, for companies and associations, and last-minute offers. The prices of what we list are in the offers on this page.

What is included and what to bring

The price includes the mountain guide. Rental equipment is not included unless the tour says so; ask what you need (crampons, harness, ice axe) and whether they can rent it to you. The website does not publish group sizes or the minimum age for each tour, nor the meeting points, which are given on confirmation.

The terms require you to have suitable accident and health insurance, and recommend checking that it covers rescue and helicopter transport.

Booking, payment and cancellation

You can sign up online, by phone (+41 27 971 17 76) or at the office, and you receive a confirmation. You pay in advance online or in cash, in Swiss francs, at the start of the tour.

If you cancel, in writing: up to 60 days before, CHF 100 in charges; from 59 to 30 days, 50%; from 29 to 15 days, 80%; after that, 100%. If you don't show up or leave the tour partway, there is no refund. The centre may cancel or change the programme because of weather, safety conditions, lack of sign-ups or participants' lack of ability; in that case, if you don't choose another activity, it does not charge you.

Languages

The website is in German and English. It does not say which languages the guides speak; if you need another, ask when booking.