Plaine Morte glacier - Switzerland's largest plateau glacier, wine at Cry d'Er

How to Complete

3 steps to experience this fully

1. ⛰️ 1

   Walk the Largest Plateau Glacier in the Alps

   adventure $$

   The Plaine Morte is the LARGEST plateau glacier in the European Alps — 7.88 sq km of flat ice at 2,750-2,927m altitude, up to 200 meters thick. Unlike most glaciers (which flow downhill), this one sits on a high plateau, creating a surreal moonscape of ice and rock. Take the gondola from Crans-Montana to the top station (near 3,000m), then follow marked paths onto the Plaine Morte glacier plateau. Step onto the ice (safe in summer/fall, marked paths) and walk at least 100 meters to feel the scale — it's disorienting because there's no downhill flow, just flat ice to the horizon. This ice will melt and become wine irrigation. Look for crevasses (stay on marked paths).

   🔄 BACKUP: If weather is bad or gondola closed, just ride to the top station and view the glacier from the platform. The scale is still impressive.

   🍷 Log Memory
2. 📜 2

   Find Where Shepherds Grazed Before Ice Arrived

   history Free

   Local herders used these slopes as SUMMER PASTURE for livestock — before ice covered them. The glacier advanced and covered grazing land that had been used for centuries. Now it's retreating again (fastest in the Alps), and those old pastures are reappearing. On the Plaine Morte plateau, look for rocky areas at the glacier's edge (usually marked on maps as 'former pasture' or similar) — patches of exposed rock or soil at the glacier's edges (especially the southern side). These are recently uncovered areas. Ask any mountain guide or info center staff: 'Where did the ice used to extend?' They'll point out the retreat. You're watching climate change in real-time on land that was once farmable.

   🔄 BACKUP: Visit the info center at the top gondola station — they usually have photos showing glacier extent in 1900, 1950, 2000, 2020. The shrinkage is dramatic.

   🍷 Log Memory
3. 🍷 3

   Descend to Cry d'Er for Wine with the View

   wine $$

   Cry d'Er was built in 1944 — the FIRST high-altitude restaurant in Crans-Montana (80 years old). Since 2016 it's been rebranded as 'Club d'Altitude' with bistronomic cuisine (Valaisan + Italian food). On your descent from the glacier, stop at Cry d'Er mountain restaurant (2,200m altitude, accessible via gondola or hiking). The view from the terrace stretches from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc to the entire Rhône Valley. Order by the glass: Petite Arvine (white, saline, citrus) or Humagne Rouge (red, velvety) and ask for a terrace table. Point at the glacier behind you, then point at the vineyards below. Say: 'That ice becomes this wine.' Watch the bartender nod — the glacier you just walked on feeds the vineyards you're looking at.

   🔄 BACKUP: If Cry d'Er is closed or too busy, bring a bottle from Sierre and drink it at a scenic spot on the descent. The view is public.

   🍷 Log Memory