The Diablerets (french: Les Diablerets; lit. "the abode of devils") are a huge ice-covered
mountain massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
of the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, culminating at the Sommet des Diablerets (VD, VS) at above sea level and straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of
Vaud (VD) and
Valais (VS). The northeastern part of the massif stretches also into the
canton of Bern (BE).
The Diablerets massif, which consists of several peaks, extends for about 10 kilometres near the western extremity of the
Bernese Alps
, topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
, photo=BerneseAlps.jpg
, photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau
, country= Switzerland
, subdivision1_type=Cantons
, subdivision1=
, parent= Western Alps
, borders_on=
, l ...
, between the two deep passes, the
Cheville Pass () right below the main summit to the south, and the
Sanetsch/Sénin Pass () to the east. The mountain is covered by two distinct glaciers, the largest being the
Tsanfleuron Glacier
The Tsanfleuron Glacier (french: Glacier de Tsanfleuron, german: Tsanfleurongletscher) is a long glacier (2005) situated in the western Bernese Alps in the cantons of Valais and Vaud in Switzerland. In 1973 it had an area of . It culminates at the ...
and the highest being the
Diablerets Glacier
The Diablerets Glacier (french: Glacier des Diablerets) is a glacier situated on the summit of Les Diablerets in the Bernese Alps
, topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
, photo=BerneseAlps.jpg
, photo_caption=The Eiger, Mön ...
.
The main summit (officially referred to as ''Sommet des Diablerets'') is the highest point in the canton of Vaud. In the latter canton, the mountain has given its name to the nearby village and resort of
Les Diablerets
Les Diablerets is a village and ski resort located in the municipality of Ormont-Dessus in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland.
The village lies at an altitude of on the north side of the massif of the Diablerets, , in the Swiss Alps. It can be a ...
, which lies on the north side of the massif. On the south side (Valais) the mountain overlooks the hamlet and valley of
Derborence
Derborence is a hamlet in the municipality of Conthey, in the canton of Valais, in Switzerland. It is located at 1,450 metres in an isolated valley on the south side of the Bernese Alps and is not permanently inhabited. Derborence is completely ...
.
Description
![Diablerets01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Diablerets01.jpg)
Along with the
Muverans, the
Wildhorn
The Wildhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Bern and Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest summit of the Bernese Alps west of the Gemmi Pass. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 10&nbs ...
and the
Wildstrubel
The Wildstrubel () is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Canton of Bern, Bern and Valais. It forms a large glaciated massif, about 15 km wide, extending between the Rawil Pass and the Gemmi Pass. Along w ...
, the Diablerets are one of the four distinct and glaciated massifs of the Bernese Alps that lie between the
Rhone elbow and the
Gemmi Pass
Gemmi Pass is a high mountain pass across the Bernese Alps connecting Leukerbad (on the south) in the canton of Valais with Kandersteg (on the north) in the canton of Bern. The pass itself lies within the canton of Valais, at a height of above ...
. The main section of the mountain, between the cantons of Vaud and Valais, is part of the Rhone basin, through the rivers Grande Eau (north) and Lizerne (south). The easternmost part of the massif, that lies in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
, is part of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
basin, through the river
Sarine (French, ''Saane'' in German). The Oldehore (
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
, Germanized: ''Oldenhorn'') is the tripoint of the three cantons of Vaud, Valais and Bern, and several of the peaks have a German as well as a French name.
The main peaks of the massif are, from west to east: the
Culan (VD, ) at the western end of the massif, the
Tête Ronde (VD, ) approximately 800 meters west of the main summit, the ''Sommet des Diablerets'' (main summit),
Le Dôme (VS, ) east of the main summit and between the two glaciers, the
Sex Rouge (also called Scex Rouge; VD, ) and the
Oldehorn/Becca d'Audon (VD, BE, VS; ) across the Tsanfleuron Glacier, and the
Sentschore/Mont Brun (BE, VS; ) further to the northeast. Also notable is the tower-like peak of the
Quille du Diable
The Quille du Diable (lit. "devil's skittle"; also known as Tour St-Martin) is a peak of the Diablerets massif, located on the border of the municipalities of Conthey and Savièse in the canton of Valais. It lies on the edge of the high Tsanfl ...
("devil's skittle," also known as Tour St-Martin; VS, ) that overlooks Derborence from the edge of the Tsanfleuron plateau.
The two largest glaciers on the massif (Tsanfleuron and Diablerets) are both on the Valais side. They form a single inclined plane towards the east, although they are separated by the rocky summit of Le Dôme (2,986 m), which lies just east of the main summit. They are not very steep, especially the Tsanfleuron Glacier, as the rock strata are close to horizontal. The smaller and higher Diablerets Glacier, however, is much wilder than the Tsanfleuron Glacier as it is steeper and more crevassed. The Tsanfleuron plateau, between Le Dôme and the
Sanetsch Pass
Sanetsch Pass (French: ''Col du Sanetsch'' or ''Col de Sénin'') (el. 2242 m) is a high mountain pass in Switzerland across the western Bernese Alps, connecting Gsteig in the canton of Berne and Sion in the canton of Valais. Although a road lead ...
is only partly glaciated. Below 2,600 m is a large
karst
Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
zone, called
Lapis de Tsanfleuron and covering an area of about .
Along with the Culan, the Tête Ronde, and the Scex Rouge, the main summit forms an amphitheatre of limestone cliffs with numerous water falls, surrounding the valley of Creux de Champ and overlooking the village of Les Diablerets from a height of over 2,000 metres. The height of the north wall is about 1,600 metres, its bottom (named ''Rochers de Champ'') lying at 1,600 metres.
As with other mountains on the crest of the Bernese Alps, the slopes of the Diablerets experience different types of climate depending on their location: the northern slopes are cooler and wetter while the southern slopes are drier and warmer. Forests are found up to 1,900 metres on the north side and up to 2,000 metres on the south side. Further south in Valais, on the slopes of
Mont Gond, vineyards are also very common below 1000 metres, but completely absent on the north side. There, alpine pastures dominate the landscape, as in many other areas of the northern Alpine foothills.
Tourism and climbing
Since 1964, an aerial tramway connects the
Scex Rouge
The Scex Rouge (also spelled ''Sex Rouge''; lit. "red rock"; ) is a mountain of the Alps, overlooking Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud. Along with the Oldenhorn to the east, it is one of the main peaks of the Diablerets, a huge ice-covered ...
from the
Col du Pillon
Col du Pillon (el. 1546 m) is a mountain pass in the western Swiss Alps, linking Aigle, Le Sépey and Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud with Gstaad in the canton of Berne. The pass itself is located within the canton of Vaud, approximately one ...
, 4 kilometres east of the village of Les Diablerets. The Tsanfleuron Glacier, easily accessible from the Scex Rouge mountain station, has then become part of a large ski area with several ski lifts on it, culminating at nearly 3,000 metres, that goes by the commercial name of
Glacier 3000
Glacier 3000 (officially Gstaad 3000 AG) is a company that operates several cable cars and ski lifts in the region of the Diablerets in western Switzerland. It was created in 2005 and took over the assets of the then bankrupt ''Glacier 3000 Régi ...
. The area is also popular in summer for the snow hikes on the glacier. The summits of Le Dôme and Oldenhorn can be reached in a few hours from the station. The
Peak Walk, a 107m suspension bridge to Scex Rouge from the peak at the top of the lift station, was constructed as a tourist attraction in 2014.
The main summit, although not very distant from the Scex Rouge station, can not be easily reached as it involves the crossing of the much-crevassed Diablerets Glacier, though it is accessible to more intrepid hikers.
Administratively, ''le Sommet des Diablerets'' is shared between the municipalities of
Conthey
Conthey is a municipality in the district of Conthey in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.
History
Conthey is first mentioned about 800 as ''curtis Contextis''. In 1146 it was mentioned as ''ecclesiam de Plano Contesio''.
Geography
Cont ...
(VS),
Ormont-Dessus
Ormont-Dessus is a municipality of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle.
History
Ormont-Dessus is first mentioned in 1200 as ''Ormont''. The German name of ''Ormund'' is no longer used.
Geography
Ormont-Dessu ...
and
Bex
Bex (; german: Beis; frp, Bés) is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle. It is a few kilometers south of its sister town municipality of Aigle.
History
Bex is first mentioned in 574 as ''in Bacci ...
(VD).
See also
*
List of mountains of Vaud
This is a list of mountains of the Swiss canton of Vaud. Vaud is partly mountainous and is one of the nine cantons having summits above 3,000 metres. It is also one of the two cantons (with Bern) extending over both the high Alps and the Jura. T ...
*
List of mountains of Valais
This is a list of mountains of the Swiss canton of Valais. Valais is a very mountainous canton and includes the highest mountains of Switzerland. The highest mountain ranges are the Pennine Alps, the Bernese Alps and the Mont Blanc massif. Topogr ...
*
List of mountains of Switzerland
This article contains a sortable table of many of the major mountains and hills of Switzerland. The table only includes those summits that have a topographic prominence of at least above other points, and ranks them by height and prominence. The ...
*
List of most isolated mountains of Switzerland
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
Diablerets on summitpostDiablerets on HikrOfficial web site of the ski resort(available in French, English and German)
Official web site of the Glacier 3000 ski region(available i
French English an
German)
{{Authority control
Mountains of Switzerland
Mountains of the Alps
Bernese Alps
Alpine three-thousanders
Geography of the canton of Vaud
Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland
Tourist attractions in Switzerland
Highest points of Swiss cantons
Mountains of the canton of Vaud
Valais–Vaud border
Mountains of Valais