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Aletschhorn Per La Cresta Nord-Est

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Aletschhorn Per La Cresta Nord-Est Aletschhorn per la cresta nord-est Il ghiacciaio dell’Aletsch, il più esteso delle Alpi, copre oltre 120 chilometri quadri di superficie in Svizzera, nei cantoni Berna e Vallese. Di tipo “vallivo”, deriva il nome da una delle più elevate vette che dominano la zona, l’Aletschhorn; ha origine dal bacino glaciale alla base delle maggiori cime dell’Oberland bernese, a meridione della famosa “triade” Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger, ricevendone le ampie colate che confluiscono nel Konkordiaplatz, un vasto altopiano glaciale pressoché pianeggiante largo oltre 5 km, e con uno spessore di ghiaccio stimato in circa 1.500 metri. La spettacolarità del luogo è stata tale, ed è divenuta celeberrima fin dalle prime visite dei pionieri dell’alpinismo, che il toponimo è stato trasmesso ad uno dei più grandi circhi glaciali hymalaiani, nella zona delK2 , denominato per l’appunto Circo Concordia. Sul suo lato orientale si trova un lago glaciale,lago Märjelen (Gr. Märjelensee) (2.350 metri s.l.m.). Ad ovest si trova l’Aletschhorn (4.195 metri), scalato la prima volta nel 1859. Il fiume Rodano scorre lungo il fianco meridionale delle montagne. Dal versante occidentale scorre il Grande Aletschfirn, che segue il lato nord dell’Aletschhorn e del Dreieckhorn. L’Aletschfirn viene rifornito a nord da tre lingue: l’Ebnefluhfirn, il Gletscherhornfirn ed il Kranzberfirn. Tutte queste lingue nascono ad un’altezza di circa 3.800 m. Da Ebnefluhfirns alla Konkordiaplatz, l’Aletschfirn è lungo circa 9 km. Da ovest, l’Aletschfirn nasce dai 3.173 m d’altezza del Gletscherpass, il Lötschenlücke, che lo porta nel Langgletscher, e quindi alla valle delLötschental . Dal versante nordoccidentale nasce ilJungfraufirn . Questa lingua rappresenta il prolungamento del ghiacciaio dell’Aletsch, che è il più corto dei tre ghiacciai. La fonte si trova sul lato sud delMönch . Quando raggiunge il Konkordiaplatz la lingua ha raggiunto i 7 km scarsi di lunghezza. Nel suo punto massimo raggiunge i due km di larghezza, mentre a valle si riduce ad un chilometro. Da lato nord nasce ilEwigschneefeld (campo eterno innevato). In un’ansa costeggia il Trugberg ad ovest ed il Gross Fiescherhorn ed il Grünhorn ad est, raggiungendo Konkordiaplatz. In questo punto è lungo circa 8 km e largo 1.2 km. Un altro affluente del Konkordiaplatz, da est, è il piccolo ma importante Grüneggfirn (3 km di lunghezza e 600 m di larghezza). Questa lingua unisce il ghiacciaio dal passo Grünhornlücke (3280 m) al Ghiacciaio di Fiesch ad est. Da Konkordiaplatz, il ghiacciaio dell’Aletsch ha una larghezza di circa 1.5 chilometri e si muove ad una velocità di circa 180 metri l’anno verso sudest lungo il corso della valle del Rodano, costeggiando il Dreieckhorn ad ovest ed il grande Wannenhorn ad est. A questo punto fa una grande curva a destra e si muove verso sudovest, costeggiando il fianco dell’Eggishorn e del Bettmerhorn. La parte inferiore del grande ghiacciaio dell’Aletsch è coperta per buona parte da detriti provenienti dalle morene laterali e centrali. Il punto più avanzato del ghiacciaio si trova a circa 1560 metri di altezza, ben lontano dall’inizio della zona alberata. Da esso nasce il fiume Massa, che corre lungo il Massa Canyon e viene utilizzato per generare energia idroelettrica. Prosegue attraverso la metà alta del distretto di Brig, per poi confluire nel Rodano. Nel Konkordiaplatz il ghiaccio ha uno spessore di 900 metri, ma durante la discesa buona parte fonde arrivando a circa 150 metri. La caratteristica morena scura, situata al centro del ghiacciaio, si muove in due fasce dal Konkordiaplatz per l’intera lunghezza della lingua avanzata del ghiacciaio. Questa morena è il risultato del confluire delle tre lingue che alimentano il ghiacciaio. La parte occidentale della morena è stata chiamataKranzbergmoräne , mentre quella orientale Trugbergmoräne. Una prima via normale di salita alla vetta parte da Betten ed è nel complesso lunga ad impegnativa. Un primo giorno viene impiegato per raggiungere il Mittelaletschbiwak (3.013 m) ed il secondo per raggiungere la vetta. La via affronta la cresta nord-est. Nel dettaglio da Betten in funivia si raggiungeBettmeralp (1.950 m). Partendo a piedi si passa sotto l’Eggishorn e poi si attraversa il ghiacciaio dell’Aletsch. Si risale poi il Mittelaletschgletscher arrivando così al Mittelaletschbiwak (3.013 m). Fino a questo bivacco occorrono dalle cinque alle sette ore di marcia. Dal bivacco si sale all’Aletschjoch (3.614 m), valico tra l’Aletschhorn ed ilDreieckhorn . Dal valico si sale la cresta nord-est della montagna. Questa seconda parte richiede circa cinque ore. Questa salita effettuata con un giovanissimo Marco, e i più “attempati” Salvatore e Cesare fu il preludio a una grande stagione di 4000 in Svizzera, non da ultimo il Weisshorn, che da qui osservavamo ergersi da contro altare al Cervino, più quotato ma meno interessante. L’Aletschorn è una montagna bellissima, selvaggia, faticosa, e quindi meritevole di essere salita, ancor meglio se possibile con gli sci. Sì, perchè gli sci sono il mezzo di locomozione ideale per queste scammellate nell’Oberland Bernese, dove le distanze diventano molto importanti.Lo scopriremo proprio al ritorno dalla vetta, al pelo riusciremo a prendere l’ultima corsa per scendere da Bettermeralp. Attraversare l’Aletschgletscher può essere una vera impresa, se si ha fortuna e intuito scegliendo il punto migliore si naviga comunque fra seracchi giganteschi, spettacolari montagne di ghiaccio alte anche 15 metri, continui sali e scendi, dentro e fuori cercando di tenere il più possibile una linea logica e imboccare il Mittlealeschglatescher. Ammirare uno dei luoghi mitici delle Alpi come il Konkordiaplatz ti fa rimanere senza parole, un fiume immane di ghiaccio con altri fiumi che convogliano nello stesso punto! Da qui possiamo osservare gli altri colossi dell’Oberland come l’onnipresente Finsteraarhorn o i versanti più placidi di veri mostri come l’Eiger, il Monch. Si vedono montagne che erano solo quote e nomi sulle cartine, foto sulle riviste del settore. Ora sono sogni e mete per il futuro. .
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