Endless kilometres of pistes, culinary treats and the biggest glacier in the Alps.

Have you been to the Aletsch Arena? We hadn’t. But that all changed when we (Martina and Luca) took part in a competition run by Valais/Wallis Promotion, without expecting anything – and then won. We both love Valais, so for us, spending a weekend discovering the Aletsch Arena was like hitting the jackpot. The sunny plateau in Valais is home to the car-free holiday destinations of Fiescheralp, Bettmeralp and Riederalp, which are perched at around 2,000 metres above sea level. But the Aletsch Arena isn’t just a place for rest and relaxation – it also has plenty to offer sports fans, nature lovers and families. We’d like to share our highlights with you, so that you too can get a taste of “the most liberating natural experience in the Alps”.

From the Rhone Valley to 2,926 m.a.s.l.

We’re lucky enough to be spending an entire long ski weekend in the Aletsch Arena, which means travelling to Valais on the Friday morning. We leave the car behind in Fiesch and take the gondola up to Fiescheralp at 2,212 metres above sea level, where there’s still heaps of snow even in mid-March. It only takes around ten seconds to walk from the mountain station to Hotel Alpina, where we receive a warm welcome. After checking in, we make our way to Eggishorn. A gust of icy wind greets us as we get off the cable car – but that’s hardly surprising at nearly 3,000 metres in altitude. As we approach the Eggishorn panoramic viewing platform, though, we quickly forget about the cold. Our first breathtaking glimpse of the biggest glacier in the Alps is truly heart-warming. The Aletsch Glacier is 20 kilometres long and 800 metres thick, and covers a surface area of 79 square kilometres. The glacier is the centrepiece of the UNESCO Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site. From our vantage point, we can see not only the Matterhorn, but also the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps.

Winter hike from Fiescheralp to Bettmeralp

After enjoying the impressive views on Eggishorn, we take the cable car back to Fiescheralp. From there we start the five-kilometre hike to Bettmeralp – one of 30 winter hikes on offer in the Aletsch Arena. The trail is extremely well maintained and mostly flat, which means we can focus on the fresh mountain air and snow-white Alpine panorama. At the half-way point, we stop off at the Bättmerhitta mountain hut to enjoy home-made cheese spaetzle and what might just be the best mille-feuille in the Alps. We’ve heard that lots of people tackle the Fiescheralp-Bettmeralp hiking trail just to have a taste of this delicacy. Once we’ve finished our food, we set off for Bettmeralp again, stopping to visit the idyllic chapel of Maria zum Schnee (Mary of the Snows) on our way through the charming Valais village. We make our way back to Fiescheralp via cable-car, train and gondola and look back on our day while enjoying a delicious four-course meal at the Hotel Alpina.

After an eventful day, we unwind with a sauna visit while looking forward to another dinner in the hotel’s restaurant.

To sum it all up

Aletsch Arena’s brand promise of being “the most liberating natural experience in the Alps” really hits the nail on the head. Skiing and snowboarding across the 100 kilometres of pistes in Fiescheralp, Bettmeralp and Riederalp truly makes you feel free as a bird. And then there are the views. Our hearts skipped a beat every time the greatest glacier in the Alps popped into view, or we caught another glimpse of the Matterhorn, the Dom, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, or yet another of the forty 4,000-metre peaks. That - along with the hospitality and culinary treats in store throughout the ski area - make the Aletsch Arena the perfect winter destination. Which means we’ll definitely be making a return visit. See you soon in the Aletsch Arena!