©  (c) Crans Montana Tourisme & Congrès
©  (c) Crans Montana Tourisme & Congrès
©  (c) Crans Montana Tourisme & Congrès
©  (c) Chételat Dylan / Crans Montana Tourisme & Congrès
©  (c) Olivier Maire / Olivier Maire
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Trail of An Other Time

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Will the Plaine Morte glacier turn into a lake? In how many years' time? If we’re feeling poetic, we could call it the "Maybe Lake". It would be the first lake in history to be named before it appears...

Where did this mad idea come from? The Plaine Morte glacier is unique in the Alps because of its shape - a plateau - and its surface area, which is around the same as Zurich airport. But it is melting, and fast. Given its current configuration, the high Plaine Morte valley, hidden under millions of cubic metres of ice today, could one day be home to a new mountain lake. Maybe.

  • Difficulty moderate
  • Duration 15 min
  • Distance 513 m
  • 38 m
  • 92 m
Tags
  • Family-friendly
  • Summit route
  • Scenic

Morgane Chételat
Update: 14.09.2025

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This summer, explore part of the Plaine Morte summit: follow a path marked by cairns (structures of stacked stones), add your own stone to the forest of cairns at the end of the route, and immerse yourself in another time. A whole other geological and glaciological time, as well as another time in history, awaits you.

  • Approach

    To reach Crans-Montana by car, take the exit of the A9 motorway (Rhône motorway) called "Sierre ouest". At the motorway exit, turn left and follow the signs for "Sierre". At the roundabout, turn right. Continue for 500 metres, then at the entrance to Sierre, turn left following the signs for "Crans-Montana". The journey takes about 20 minutes. Once you arrive in Crans-Montana, follow the signs for Violettes car park, belonging to the Cablecar company.

  • The resort of Crans-Montana is easily accessible from Sierre station with the SMC bus company or the funicular and from Sion station with the bus company CarPostal.

    The free shuttle buses of the SMC bus company serve the whole resort of Crans-Montana.

    The nearest stop to the start of this hike is "Télé Violettes", bus 431.

    This stop is also directly accessible on the SMC bus line 421 from Sierre via Chermignon.

    You then need to take the Barzettes-Violettes cablecar and the Plaine-Morte Funitel.

  • Barzettes-Violettes car park

    Address: Parking Barzettes-Violettes, Route des Barzettes, 3963 Crans-Montana

    Outdoor car park (paying): 110 spaces

    Indoor car park (paying) 411 spaces
  • Safety information

    Please follow the marked paths and respect nature (fauna and flora).

    You should check the weather conditions before you leave.

    Crans-Montana Tourisme & Congrès declines all responsibility in the event of an accident.

  • More information: www.crans-montana.ch/en/other_time

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Maximum altitude 2921 M
Minimum altitude 2829 M