Aletsch’s next challenge: modernising the gateway to a changing glacier

The journey to the Great Aletsch Glacier is set to change—not at the ice’s edge, but high above it, where visitors arrive for the view.

Aletsch Bahnen AG used its 75th general meeting on the Bettmeralp to look back on a strong financial year and present the status of its Eggishorn redevelopment. The company said passenger numbers rose in both summer and winter, and that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation exceeded CHF 16 million for the first time. Preparatory work is underway, the project has received planning approval, and major construction work is due to begin in spring.

The project is a substantial renewal of the Fiescheralp–Eggishorn link and its summit facilities. The current cable car is to be replaced with a reversible aerial tramway designed by Garaventa. Its two cabins will each carry 80 passengers, with a planned capacity of 800 people per hour—twice that of the existing installation. The system is also designed so that one cabin can continue operating while the other is taken out of service for maintenance.

At the top, the plans include an expanded mountain station, a new restaurant and an interactive experience focused on glaciers. The new facility is scheduled to open in December 2028, in time for the 2028/29 winter season. The current cable car is expected to operate through the 2026/27 and 2027/28 winters, although construction will bring some visitor restrictions at Eggishorn.

The location gives the project its appeal—and its engineering challenge. Eggishorn’s summit station sits on permafrost, ground whose ice-rich layers can shift as they freeze and thaw. The project’s foundations and buildings therefore require measures to accommodate ground movement. Aletsch Bahnen says its geotechnical concept is intended to reduce the need for intensive maintenance as permafrost conditions change.

The resort says the new station and restaurant will be more integrated into the landscape than the older structures, dating from the 1960s and 1980s. The buildings are planned just outside the boundary of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage property, and the station is designed without an outer casing to reduce its visual bulk. The project also plans to use the area’s solar energy.

That setting is more than a scenic backdrop. The Great Aletsch Glacier is the largest glacier in the Alps and a central feature of the World Heritage landscape. UNESCO identifies the region as an important record of mountain and glacier formation—and of the ecological changes unfolding as glaciers retreat. Research modelling the glacier’s future finds substantial retreat across the climate scenarios it examined, underscoring how a destination built around a glacier must plan for a landscape that will not remain static.

Aletsch Bahnen is positioning the new summit facilities as a year-round investment, not simply a lift replacement. The company says the project is intended to create more opportunities for visits in spring, summer and autumn, broadening the appeal of a place often associated with winter sports. That ambition fits a destination whose official figures list 104 kilometres of ski slopes, 72 kilometres of winter hiking trails and 317 kilometres of summer hiking trails.

The business results provide financial context for that investment, but not a full measure of its cost or future return. The reported EBITDA milestone indicates stronger operating performance; it does not, by itself, disclose how the Eggishorn project will be financed or what visitor growth it will need to justify the investment. The company has, however, described the project as a foundation for the destination’s further development.

The construction phase will require a balance between building for visitors and keeping the mountain accessible. Aletsch Arena’s current project information lists restrictions including a closed circular trail, limited access to the viewpoint for visitors with reduced mobility or strollers, and severely restricted toilet access. The operator advises visitors to follow on-site guidance, and says details can change during construction.

The long-term test will be whether the upgraded infrastructure makes Eggishorn more useful and welcoming without diminishing what draws people there: the extraordinary view across the glacier and the high-Alpine landscape around it. The new cable car promises more capacity and greater operational flexibility. Whether those improvements translate into a better visitor experience will depend just as much on careful construction, access and stewardship as on the machinery itself.