In a glimpse:
- Start: col de la Forclaz
- Duration of climb: 1 hour to Chalet du Glacier, but the trail continues and a much longer hike is possible
- Difficulty: T1 - Valley Hikes
- Last done: June 1999
- Bibliographic references: 5, 8, 10, 12 (with a paragraph explaining the bisses), 14, 16, 17, 23, 33, 35
- Local weather forecast: Grand St-Bernard, #0900-57306x 292
- KMZ for Google Earth
- Profile:
Links:
Les Bisses - Sentiers Valaisans, bilingual brochure (PDF file) edited by the Association Valaisanne de la Randonnée Pédestre (Valrando). Beware: big download (2000Kb)!- Description of the hike along the bisse, with some historical background. Found on the Trient website. See also this other page, which contains a map.
The "Bisses": rivers Between Sky and Land.- Gallery and impressions of this same hike (and in the same mediocre weather conditions) on montagne.ch - Le portail des Préalpes suisses.
Bisse du Trient
The detailed report of this hike has not yet been translated. Here you can find some information and all the pictures. The full text is available in the french pages.
In the dry and barren Valais region, water used to be precious. Since it was abundantly flowing from the glaciers, it just had to be carried at the right place. This is what those water conducts called "bisse" are for. Some were like wooden aqueducts hanging against the cliff, some others were just digged in the ground.
The bisse du Trient is of the latter type, it takes the water flowing out of the glacier du Trient. This is a pleasant and easy hike on a wide trail. We did it because in June 1999, the snow was still covering most of the other trails.
