A hike to the headwaters of the Rivers Rhine, Reuss, Ticino and Rhone. Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gotthard Massif Lak e Grim - r Lake Göscheneralp sel e e i La n Göschenen ke O c Sidelen be o a raar Source of the l h Hut SAC R G Rhone Belvédère Grimsel Pass Lake 5 Tiefenbach Tote Andermatt - otthard Oberalp Pass orn-G B) Furk Matterh y (MG a mo Railwa Furka Pass (st unt Oberwald eam ain ake ra s L lp ilw e bera a ct O Gletsch y) io ne n l Realp Ulrichen ho e Hospental R n ) n s tu s e Münster e r s p Headwaters 4 a x B E B - - l GB) r B of the Rhine ne hn (M a e hi rd-Ba k e d R ha i d n S ott Obergesteln r r -G c r l orn u s n a erh F a a e att l s u h h Lake Toma M G u t t n ( t t e t n d o o u R a t G G o Tschamut y r a Vermigel Sedrun w l i Maighels Lake a Hut SAC r Hut SAC Headwaters Lucendro s of the lp Gotthard Pass a 2 1 N Nufenen Pass Gotthard-Reuss e Lake Val Maighels k a Piansecco Sella L Hut SAC Lucendro Pass Maighels Pass Lake Gries Cruina 3 Ti Headwaters cin Bedretto o Villa Airolo of the Ticino All’Acqua Ronco Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Reproduced by permission of swisstopo (BA120056) 2044 m 2345 m 2314 m 2421 m 2042 m 2042 m 2375 m 2701 m 2776 m 2256 m 2091 m 2091 m 2182 m 2522 m 2128 m 2015 m 1996 m 1938 m 1982 m 1982 m 2093 m 2003 m 2440 m 1925 m 1762 m 1533 m 1355 m 1355 m 1368 m 1550 m 1757 m 2170 m 2429 m 2271 m Oberalp Lake Maighel Maighel Vermigel Vermigel Summer- Sella Giübin Lake Gotthard Gotthard Alpe di Lucendro Rosso Ri di Ri di Ri di Piansecco Piansecco Nufenen Alpe di Nufenen Ladstafel Hosand Kittbrigg Ober- Ober- Ober- St Nicholas Gletsch Muttbach Furka Hotel Pass Toma Hut Pass Hut Hut matten Pass Sella Pass Pass Lucendro Pass di Fuori Cavanna Bedretto Ronco Hut SAC Hut SAC road Cruina Pass gesteln gesteln wald chapel (station steam railway) station Pass Belvédère 4 3 2500 m 2500 m 2500 m 2500 m 2500 m Village 5 INFORMATION ABOUT DAY HIKES Stages5 can also be 4 6 7 2 3 Platinum sponsors: 3 4 5 2250 m 5 6 2250 m 6 2250 m 3e_500cmyk_LT_feb10 2250 m 2250 m 3 Source of 2 Source of the 4 Source of 1 7 House/Hut1 4 the Rhone STAGESthe Rhine 1- 5 Gotthard-Reuss 1 2 8 done as day hikes 5 2000 m 1 2 2000 m 2000 m 2000 m Headwaters of 2000 m 6 7 the Ticino 6 1750 m 1750 m 1750 m Food 1750 m 1750 m 3 EFFORT Distance: 85 km/Time: about 32 hrs./ GETTING THERE/AWAY Starting and end 7 2 1 1500 m km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1500 m km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1500 m km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1500 m km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1500 m km 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 8 Ascent:hrs./min. 1/50 > 6,161 2/50 > m/Descent: 4/05 > 5/20 > 5,932 m pointshrs./min. 1/19 > are 2/40 > serviced 4/24 > 5/15 by > buses or trains hrs./min. Accommodation 1/35 > 2/45 > 3/35 > 4/35 > 5/30Dr. > 5/50 Christoph > 7/30 > Blocher, hrs./min. 1/31 > 1/55 > 3/25 > 4/55 > 5/25 > 6/15 > 7/00 > hrs./min. 0/40 > 1/20 > 3/05 > 4/45 > 5/45 > 7/15 > DIFFICULT Y Continuous, mostly hiking on MAPS Switzerland national map 1:50,000, Bus former Federal Councilor marked trails (SAC rating: T2/T3) No. 5001 “Gotthard”. Excerpts reduced Train START Oberalp Pass 15 percent (see pages 10, 16, 22, 28, 34). Shopping Support from: FINISH Hotel Belvédère INFOR M ATION www.four-headwaters-trail.ch 2044 m 2345 m 2314 m 2421 m 2042 m 2701 m 2776 m 2256 m 2091 m 2182 m 2522 m 2015 m 1996 m 1982 m 2003 m 2440 m 1925 m 1355 m 1368 m 1757 m 2429 m 2271 m Oberalp Lake Maighel Maighel Vermigel Sella Giübin Lake Gotthard Alpe di Lucendro Ri di Ri di Piansecco Alpe di Nufenen Ladstafel Ober- Ober- Gletsch Furka Hotel Pass Toma Hut Pass Hut Pass Sella Pass Lucendro Pass Cavanna Bedretto Hut SAC Cruina road gesteln wald (steam railway) Pass Belvédère 2500 m 2250 m Source of the Source of 2000 m Source of Headwaters of the Rhine Gotthard-Reuss the Ticino the Rhone 1750 m 1500 m 5 hrs. 20 min. 14.4 km > 5 hrs. 15 min. 12.8 km > 7 hrs. 30 min. 20.6 km > 7 hrs. 19.8 km > 7 hrs.15 min. 17 km > Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 through the St Gottard Massif StGottard the through Trail Headwaters Four Four Headwaters through Trail the St Gotthard Massif Foundation Edited by Rhine, Reuss, Ticino and Rhone. A hike the to headwaters of the Rivers Table of Contents 5 Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gotthard Massif 7 Off to the headwaters! 8 From the Oberalp Pass to the Source of the Rhine Stage 1: Oberalp Pass – Lake Toma (Source of the Rhine) – Maighel Pass – Vermigel Hut 14 From the Vermigel Hut to the Gotthard Pass Stage 2: Vermigel Hut – Sella Pass – Piz Giübin – Lake Sella – Gotthard Pass 20 From the Gotthard Pass to the Source of the Reuss Stage 3: Gotthard Pass – Lake Lucendro – Source of the Reuss – Lucendro Pass – Piansecco Hut All rights reserved © 2012 Four Headwaters Trail Foundation, Altdorf 26 From the Piansecco Hut to the headwaters of the Ticino Stage 4: Piansecco Hut – Headwaters of CONTENT MAP AND TRAIL DESCRIPTIONS the Ticino – Nufenen Pass – Obergesteln Josef Arnold-Luzzani, Schattdorf 32 From the Upper Goms to the Source of the Rhone Stage 5: Obergesteln – Gletsch – Furka Pass – DESIGN AND LAYOUT Rhone Glacier (source of the Rhone) – Hotel Belvédère Armin Furrer, Furrer Graphic Design, Lucerne 38 Rivers and Paths Shape Development The Gotthard Region – A cultural overview EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION Edith Jörg, pr-work jörg, Lucerne 52 Rich Diversity of Plants and Animals A natural history journey in five stages TR A NSL ATION 60 How Mountains Grow and Recede Tim Neville, www.timneville.net A five-stage hike through geological history production and distribution 70 Reservoirs of Water Power Gamma Druck + Verlag AG, Medien-Atelier, Altdorf Harnessing water in the St Gotthard Massif 76 Practical Information 1st edition 2012 79 Appendix, bibliography and credits Printed in Switzerland ISBN: 978-3-906200-49-1 80 Acknowledgements Four Headwaters Trail through the St Gottard Massif The Rhine, Reuss, Ticino and Rhone rivers all begin in the Gotthard region and that gave Paul Dubacher from Seed- orf the idea for the Four Headwaters Paul Dubacher, Trail. He’s something of a specialist founder and project when it comes to hiking trails and was leader of the Four instrumental, for example, in forming Headwaters Trail routes like the “Swiss Path” around Lake Lucerne and the “Railway Trails” of the Gotthard region. In 2009 Dubacher got to work once and highlights the central role that wa- again. That same year the Four Head- ter has played for man, animals and waters Trail Foundation was founded plants. with well-known people from the four cantons that make up the Gotthard re- Things to know about the Gotthard gion (see page 78). The inauguration The hiking guidebook to the Four followed in 2012. Headwaters Trail includes trail descrip- For more information please visit tions as well as fascinating background www.four-headwaters-trail.ch. information on the region’s cultural his- tory, flora and fauna, geological phe- Mountain hiking in five stages nomena, climate change and the har- The Four Headwaters Trail is a family- nessing of water for hydropower. friendly trek of about 85 km through In this way a hiker can make sense the alpine country where the Rhine, of and learn more about the area. The Reuss, Ticino and Rhone rivers begin. It best bits of background information is broken up into five segments, each of will become apparent: How have hu- which with starting and end points that mans throughout the ages impacted the are serviced by public transport. Gotthard region; why mountains are Hiking through portions of cantons never at ease; which plants are worth a Uri, Graubünden, Ticino and Valais closer look; and how important is it to takes you through unique landscapes turn the region’s water into power. 4 5 Off to the headwaters! Water and springs have a magical pow- Hiking lends wings to thoughts er of attraction. Springing discretely Glaciers have held stores of water for from the depths and flowing eventually millennia and have become a symbol into the sea, water lends itself to a for security, hope and confidence.