In splendid weather, we went on a hike from Ferpècle to the foot of the Ferpècle glacier, accompanied by Amédée ZRYD, EPFL alumnus (PH'15), former member of the chapter VD-VS committee, and President of the Fondation des Alpes. Amédée is a physicist and glaciologist who has written several reference works on glaciology. He contributed to the creation of the exhibition at the Centre for Geology and Glaciology in Les Haudères. This year's main theme was the geology of the region. We were therefore fortunate to have a second expert guide in the person of Pierre KUNZ, Secretary of the Foundation and geologist at the University of Geneva. He is extremely knowledgeable about the geology of the Val d'Hérens and has been offering educational excursions on this subject in the valley for many years.

This is the third year in a row that we have had the privilege of going on this outing, each time with a different theme. There were nearly 45 participants, including Maeva, the youngest at 4.5 years old, and Willy Kueng (GC'60) at 87 years old! Everyone was delighted by the many explanations given during the walk, which began at 10 a.m. in Ferpècle, with a picnic at 12:45 p.m. on the plateau at the foot of the glacier and a return at around 4 p.m. A dozen participants then went to the Maison Ribaupierre to see the exhibition “Avec Erhard Loretan, tutoyons les limites” (With Erhard Loretan, let's push the limits).

Amédée has already won us over with a fourth edition in August 2026.

Jürg Furrer
President Chapter VD-VS

Quote from a participant: “Thank you very much for organizing this event. I can confirm that it was a great success, thanks in particular to the fascinating presentations and the magical location. I hope that another geology/glaciology outing will be organized. All the best for the future.” - T.H. SIE'16