Plateau Rosa

Geschichte

The Theodul Glacier is a glacier of the Alps, located south of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies on the Swiss side of the Pennine Alps, although its upper basin touches the Italian region of the Aosta Valley. The glacier descends from the west side of the Breithorn and splits into two diverging branches above Gandegg: the Upper Theodul Glacier, spilling on a high plateau near Trockener Steg, together with the Furgg Glacier, and the Lower Theodul Glacier, reaching a height of about 2500m above the Gorner Glacier. Both branches are part of the Rhone basin, through the rivers Gornera, Mattervispa, and Vispa. Slightly above the glacier splitting is the Theodul Pass, crossing the border between Switzerland and Italy, and connecting Zermatt to Breuil-Cervinia. On the west, the Theodul Glacier is overlooked by the Matterhorn.Until about 1980s the Lower Theodul Glacier was still connected to the Gorner Glacier and one of its tributaries.