Weaving itself through and tying together the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jungfrau-Aletsch is the ice river of Great Aletsch Glacier. The winding mass of alternating strips of brown and white runs down a length of 23km, over an elevation of 2500m. The ice it carries amounts to the equivalent of 72.5million jumbo jets, dating back to the solid blocks that once connected the peaks of Bettmerhorn and Reiderhorn. It would be difficult, if not entirely impossible to grasp the full magnitude of this natural monument at a glance.

This doesn’t go without trying though. Daily, cable cars wind up the peaks from Riederalp to the Moosfluh view point where the glacier appears to be an undulating snake with no head or tail, cutting through the point tips of the surrounding peaks. The Eggishorn frames the glacier as a curving ring instead, wrapping the summits of the Jungfrau region and occasionally accentuated by the vague silhouette of Mont Blanc in the far distance. Scattered boulders and the deepening gray of the terrain mark out the glacier’s moraine trails which spell a geological history best read by the experts. It’s no wonder that without fail, one might spot a small cluster of human figures traversing the glacier’s surface accompanied by a guide at the head. With their feet on the ground and eyes in the sky, these experienced hikers are as close as one can get to the tremendous giant Aletsch. As your hands stall at the shutter button, you’ll come to realize the very task of committing the Aletsch’s sheer majesty to a single frame is a hurdle.