Triftsee Suspension Bride – Urner Alps – Switzerland
The Trift suspension bridge is located in central Switzerland near the town of Gadmen in the Urner Alps. The hiking bridge was constructed by the local community to allow travelers who used to traverse the Trift Glacier to get to mountaineering huts on the other side of the gorge seen above. The melting of the glacier due to global warming has been a recent phenomenon, as the lake (Triftsee) only emerged from the melting ice in 2002. Since then the glacial retreat has been fairly rapid. Similar glacial retreats have been common in other parts of the Swiss and European Alps.
To reach the Trift bridge, you have the option of hiking all the way from Gadmen or taking a cable car up the mountainside at the beginning. On this ocassion I took the cable car, but the hike up from Gadmen looked amazing. From where the cable car stops, its about an 1 1/2 hr hike to the bridge. The cable car only runs until a certain point in the afternoon, so you will want to keep this in mind when planning your hike. Several mountain huts are available in the area, for those who want to extend their stay and explore this spectacular corner of Switzerland.
It takes about one to two hours to reach Gadmen from Bern, and slightly longer from Zurich.
Switzerland Tourism – Trift Bridge
Trift Bridge – Virtual Tour
Suggested Reading:
Lonely Planet Switzerland (Travel Guide)
The Swiss Alps (World Mountain Ranges) – Kev Reynolds