Oberaletsch Glacier

Oberaletsch Glacier is a valley glacier on the south side of the Bernese Alps in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, about 9 kilometers long, under a kilometer wide on average, and covering roughly 22 square kilometers as of 1973. It has two arms of similar size, an eastern arm rising on the southwestern slope of the Aletschhorn near 3,700 meters and a western arm, the Beichgletscher, meeting near the Nesthorn, after which the combined glacier flows southeast toward the Aletsch Glacier without joining it, ending near 2,150 meters. During the mid 19th century peak of the Little Ice Age the two glaciers were connected, and the Oberaletschhütte refuge of the Swiss Alpine Club, at 2,640 meters above where the arms meet, has been reachable by trail from Belalp since 2005.