Fafleralp
Cut off from the World
Words: Isabella Rabensteiner;
Photography: Mike Rabensteiner (Montamont)
13. March 2026
At the very end of the Lötschental, where the road disappears into forest and glacier, lies the Fafleralp. For generations this small cluster of houses and its historic hotel have marked the final outpost of civilisation before the Langgletscher and the high mountains beyond. For months now, the place has been silent. A landslide in the valley cut the area off from the outside world. No guests, no staff, no traffic. Only snow, wind and the long alpine winter. On a bright March morning we fly in by helicopter – the only way to reach the Fafleralp at the moment – to see the hotel that has been waiting for its return.
March 06, 2026
The long winter of Fafleralp
Wiler, 10:00 in the morning. We step into the helicopter. For now, it is still the only way to reach the Fafleralp, here at the very end of the Lötschental. Minutes later we are almost 1,800 metres above sea level. While spring has already begun elsewhere, we fly over the debris cone and the last rooftops of Blatten. The helicopter lands in a small clearing in the woods, right in the middle of white.
We pull our hats down over our ears and look up into the sky, squinting into the sun while glittering crystals swirl around us, thrown into the air by the rotor blades. Then silence. We sink into the deep snow, into this image of untouched nature.
No one has been here since the last time we set foot on this ground – in late summer. Just a few weeks after the devastating landslide of 28 May 2025 that buried a village in the valley below. Since then this place up here has been waiting. Spared by the catastrophe, yet cut off from the rest of the world.
We strap snowshoes to our feet and start walking through the snow-covered landscape. An idyllic picture. We are where fox and hare say good night. The snow crunches beneath our boots. Apart from our own tracks there is no sign of people. The Fafleralp is still a restricted area. Snow lies piled high in front of the chalets. Soon the friendly façade of the hotel appears among the larches. And our hearts beat a little faster. Anticipation.
Fafleralp
High at 1,789 metres, embraced by the magic of a larch forest, we find a place that reconnects us – with nature, and with the slower rhythm of life found in the mountains.
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Fafleralp
A place that waits
We are here alongside the team from SRF, who are filming the first scenes of a four-part documentary about the reopening of the Fafleralp. Also with us are head chef Laurent Hubert and Barbara Achrainer, the hotel manager – the one who keeps the key. The mood is good. Barbara smiles.
One or two green shutters open for us, quietly creaking. Sunlight falls across the dark wood of the parlour. Over the chairs that still rest upside down on the heavy tables. Over the books, the binoculars, the old cap of the porter who once welcomed guests to the Fafleralp. The house still dreams of Charlie Chaplin and of long summers gone by. We do not wake the sleeping beauty just yet. But we can already see: everything is there, in good shape, waiting. Soon the time will come.
The very end of Lötschental
Fafleralp
Return to paradise
In July 2026 the doors of the hotel and the surrounding houses will open again. Much is planned. A Fafleralp Session in the small chapel will mark the beginning of the season.
Up at the Sommerhaus Langgletscher we already choose the room where we would like to stay. A bunk bed for the children. A door opening onto the terrace. We take the chair leaning against the wall and sit down in front of the view. That view. Paradise.
“There’s nothing better than this.”
You were so right, Charlie.
Fafleralp
High at 1,789 metres, embraced by the magic of a larch forest, we find a place that reconnects us – with nature, and with the slower rhythm of life found in the mountains.
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