The Theodul Glacier (also spelled ''Theodule Glacier''; , , ) is a

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

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. ...

, located south of

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

in the canton of

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 ...

. It lies on the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

side of the

Pennine Alps The Pennine Alps (, , , ), sometimes referred to as the Valais Alps (which are just the Northern Swiss part of the Pennine Alps), are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps. They are located in Italy (the Aosta Valley and Piedmont) an ...

, although its upper basin touches the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

. The glacier descends from the west side of the

Breithorn The Breithorn ( German for literally "broad horn"; 13,661 ft. or 4,160 m) is a mountain range of the Pennine Alps with its highest peak of the same name (but also called ''Breithorn (Western Summit)''), located on the border between Switze ...

() and splits into two diverging branches above Gandegg: the Upper Theodul Glacier (''Oberer Theodulgletscher''), spilling on a high plateau near

Trockener Steg Trockener Steg is a minor prominence in the area between the Matterhorn and the Breithorn, south of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies at a height of above sea level, near the front of the Upper Theodul Glacier. A cable car station lies o ...

, together with the Furgg Glacier, and the Lower Theodul Glacier (''Unterer Theodulgletscher''), reaching a height of about above the

Gorner Glacier The Gorner Glacier () is a valley glacier found on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif close to Zermatt in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is about long (2014) and wide. The entire glacial area of the glacier related to Gorner Glacier ...

Geography

Both branches of the Theodul Glacier are part of the Rhone basin, through the rivers Gornera, Mattervispa, and

Vispa The Vispa is a river in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, located in the Visp area. It is essentially composed of two large branches: the Matter Vispa and the Saaser Vispa, converging at Stalden, then forming the Vispa proper, flowing for less ...

. Slightly above the glacier splitting is the

Theodul Pass Theodul Pass, elevation , (German: ''Theodulpass'', Italian: ''Colle del Teodulo'', French: ''Col de Saint-Théodule'', Walser German: ''Theoduljoch'') is a high mountain pass across the eastern Pennine Alps, connecting Zermatt in the Swiss cant ...

, crossing the border between Switzerland and Italy, and connecting Zermatt to

Breuil-Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (; ; Valdôtain: ), officially Le Breuil from September 2023, is a of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, Italy. It is a winter and summer tourist resort. Etymology The name ''Breuil-Cervinia'' is a fusion of two terms. On the one ...

. On the west, the Theodul Glacier is overlooked by the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

. Until about 1980s the Lower Theodul Glacier was still connected to the

and one of its tributaries. The upper section of the Theodul Glacier consists of a flat plateau at around , named ''Breithorn Plateau''. The plateau lies between the Breithorn, the

Gobba di Rollin Gobba di Rollin (Italian, French: ''Dos de Rollin''; 3,898 m) is a mountain of the Pennine Alps, straddling the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is located south of the Breithorn and it is largely covered by ice, the summit area being pa ...

and the

Klein Matterhorn The Klein Matterhorn (sometimes translated as ''Little Matterhorn'') is a peak of the Pennine Alps, overlooking Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. At above sea level, it is the highest place in Europe that can be reached by aerial tramway o ...

. The Breithorn Pass () separates the Breithorn from the Gobba di Rollin (). A high saddle lies between the Gobba di Rollin and the Klein Matterhorn. Between the Klein Matterhorn and the Breithorn is a distinct glacier, named ''Klein Matterhorn Gletscher'', which joins the Lower Theodul Glacier at about . The Breithorn Plateau area can be easily accessed by several cable cars connecting Zermatt to the Klein Matterhorn and since July 2023 from the Italian Testa Grigia valley station. At around is the ''Plateau Rosa'', whose name derives from the Valdôtain

patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

term ''Rouése'', meaning "ice" (as for the nearby

Monte Rosa Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

). This area lies between

Testa Grigia Testa Grigia (French : ''Tête grise'', lit. "grey head") (3,479 m) is a rocky prominence above the Theodul Pass, located on the border between Italy (Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). It overlooks the Plateau Rosa section of the Theodul ...

() () and the Klein Matterhorn, south of and slightly above the

. Southeast of Testa Grigia is a saddle named ''Passo di Ventina Nord'' (). This area can also be easily accessed by several cable cars connecting Breuil-Cervinia to Testa Grigia. Several lakes formed in the 1980s at the bottom of the Upper Theodul Glacier, west of Trockener Steg. The largest, named ''Theodulgletschersee'' is 7.76 ha wide and lies at an elevation of above sea level. It is the highest lake over 4 ha in Switzerland and the largest lake in the

Matter Valley The Matter Valley (German: Mattertal, or sometimes ''Nikolaital'') is located in southwestern Switzerland, south of the Rhone valley in the canton of Valais. The village of Zermatt is the most important settlement of the valley, which is surroun ...

(the valley of Zermatt). The second-largest, named ''Furggsee'' is 2.57 ha wide and lies at .

Skiing

Most of the glacier is part of the year-round ski area marketed as ''Matterhorn Glacier Paradise''. It is the highest in Europe and largest summer ski area in the world, with 21 kilometres of prepared pistes. The culminating point is on the summit of Gobba di Rollin and the lowest is above Trockener Steg. The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise links the ski areas of Zermatt and Breuil-Cervina. Ski lifts connect Trockener Steg, Theodul Pass, Testa Grigia, Klein Matterhorn and Gobba di Rollin. A chair lift also connects Trockener Steg to the Furggsattel (3,349 m), north of the Theodul Pass. The highest cable car was built in 1979.

Climate

The Theodul Glacier has an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical climate for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of alpine cli ...

(Koppen: ET)

References

Swisstopo Swisstopo is the official name for the Swiss Federal Office of Topography, Switzerland's national mapping agency. The current name was made official in 2002. It had been used as the domain name for the homepage of the instituteswisstopo.admi ...

topographic maps (1:25,000)

External links

* {{Matter Valley Glaciers of Valais Glaciers of the Alps Skiing in the Alps Skiing in Switzerland