The Scex Rouge (also spelled ''Sex Rouge''; lit. "red rock"; ) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, overlooking

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 ...

in the canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

. Along with the

Oldenhorn The Oldenhorn (Swiss German: ''Oldehore''; or ''Becca d'Audon'') is a mountain in the western Bernese Alps in Switzerland. The summit is the tripoint between the cantons of Vaud, Bern and Valais. The Oldenhorn is the second highest peak of the ...

to the east, it is one of the main peaks of the

Diablerets The Diablerets (; lit. "the abode of devils") are a huge ice-covered mountain massif of the Alps, culminating at the Sommet des Diablerets (VS) at above sea level and almost straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Vaud (VD) and V ...

, a huge ice-covered mountain near the western end of the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

, straddling the border between the cantons of Vaud,

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, and exceeding above sea level. On its west side, the Scex Rouge is part of a nearly amphitheatre of cliffs surrounding the Creux de Champ valley, south of Les Diablerets. On its southeast side, the Scex Rouge overlooks the

Tsanfleuron Glacier The Tsanfleuron Glacier (, ) 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 Dôme, at approximately 3,000 metres above sea level, w ...

, the largest in the massif. Administratively, the mountain is part of the municipality of

Ormont-Dessus Ormont-Dessus is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Aigle (district), Aigle. History Ormont-Dessus is first mentioned in 1200 as ''Ormont''. The ...

, which also includes Les Diablerets. The Scex Rouge is connected 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 o ...

(Vaud) by two aerial tramways and from

Reusch Reusch is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Christian Friedrich Reusch (1778–1848), East Prussian administrative lawyer * Franz Heinrich Reusch (1825–1900), German theologian * Friedrich Reusch (1843–1906), German sculpt ...

(Bern) by three, all operated by

Glacier 3000 Glacier 3000 (officially Gstaad 3000 AG) is a company that operates several cable cars. It was created in 2005 and took over the assets of the then bankrupt , founded in 1993. The company is now based in Gstaad (Switzerland). The main cable car ...

. The first leads to the summit of the

Tête aux Chamois The Tête aux Chamois (2,525 m) is a summit of the Diablerets massif, overlooking the Col du Pillon in the canton of Vaud. It is accessible by aerial tramway from the Col du Pillon and from Reusch via Oldenegg (canton of Bern). From the summit o ...

(), which can also be reached from Reusch and Oldenegg on the Bernese side. From the Tête aux Chamois, the highest aerial tramway leads to near the summit of the Scex Rouge, or more precisely, a subsidiary summit. The mountain station lies at an elevation of and consists of a large building, designed by

Mario Botta Mario Botta is a Swiss architect born in Mendrisio, Ticino on 1 April 1943. At age fifteen, Botta dropped out of secondary school and apprenticed with the architectural firm of Carloni and Camenisch in Lugano. After three years, he went to the Ar ...

, including a panoramic restaurant. The true summit of the Scex Rouge can only be reached by a bridge connecting it with the subsidiary peak, which is in turn connected to the station by stairs. The so-called "suspension bridge" (without towers), called '' Peak Walk'', is the world's first suspension bridge which connects two mountain peaks. Many of the highest Alpine summits can be seen from the top. The area is used for winter sports from October to May, with several ski lifts being located on the Tsanfleuron Glacier. In the summer season, several hiking trails cross the glacier between the Scex Rouge, the Quille du Diable and the Oldensattel, at the foot of the

. The Glacier 3000 company also operates a

snow coach A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger snowcat equipped with bus-style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of massive, low-pressure tires, o ...

on the glacier. Without the aerial tramways, the Scex Rouge itself can be reached by experienced hikers from Reusch via the Oldensattel or from

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 ...

and the

Sanetsch Pass Sanetsch Pass (French: ''Col du Sanetsch'' or ''Col de Sénin'') (el. 2242 m) is a high List of mountain passes in Switzerland, mountain pass in Switzerland across the western Bernese Alps, connecting Gsteig in the canton of Bern and Sion, Switze ...

via the Quille du Diable. Two other more difficult access are from Les Diablerets via the Col de Prapio and from the Col du Pillon via the Scex Rouge Glacier. The first connection to the Scex Rouge was inaugurated in July 1964, at the time of

Expo64 The Swiss national exposition of 1964 (French: ''Exposition nationale suisse de 1964''), usually shortened to Expo 64, was the 5th Swiss National Exhibition, swiss national exhibiton held in Lausanne, more specifically in Vidy and the neighbouring ...

, the fifth Swiss national exhibition. All the facilities were entirely renewed in 2001. The true summit, however, is accessible to tourists only since October 2014, when the suspension bridge was inaugurated. The Scex Rouge remains nowadays the highest mountain of the canton with public transport access.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
Scex Rouge on Hikr

Glacier 3000
Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of the canton of Vaud Cable cars in Switzerland

See also

References

External links