TL;DR: An audio guide for Glacier 3000 at Les Diablerets -- the highest accessible point in the Vaud Alps at 2,971 meters. This guide covers the cable car ascent from Col du Pillon, the Peak Walk by Tissot (the world's first suspension bridge connecting two mountain peaks), the glacier experience on the Tsanfleuron glacier, the Alpine Coaster, and the panorama stretching from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn across the full sweep of the western Swiss Alps.
Journey Overview
| Summit station | Scex Rouge, 2,971 m (9,747 ft) |
| Journey stages | Col du Pillon (1,546 m) -- Cabane (2,525 m) -- Scex Rouge (2,971 m) |
| Total cable car time | Approximately 15 minutes (two stages) |
| Operator | Glacier 3000 (glacier3000.ch) |
| Ticket price | CHF 75 return from Col du Pillon (2026 prices) |
| Swiss Travel Pass | 50% discount |
| Key attractions | Peak Walk suspension bridge, Tsanfleuron glacier, Alpine Coaster, dog sled rides, panoramic restaurant by Mario Botta |
| Audio guide duration | Approximately 35 minutes of narrated highlights |
| Getting there | Aigle or Gstaad by bus to Col du Pillon (approximately 45-60 min) |
Introduction -- the Diablerets and Their Glacier
[Duration: 4 minutes]
Welcome to this ch.tours audio guide for Glacier 3000 -- the highest accessible summit in the canton of Vaud and one of the most dramatic glacier experiences in western Switzerland.
The name "Les Diablerets" translates roughly as "the abodes of devils" -- and the mountain earned it. The Diablerets massif (3,210 m) is a limestone plateau with a dark history of catastrophic rockfalls. In 1714, a massive collapse from the Diablerets swept down the mountain, burying the village of Derborence and killing 15 people. A second collapse in 1749 killed another 15. The locals attributed these disasters to the work of devils living in the mountain, and the name stuck. The village of Derborence, which was rebuilt and survives today as one of the most isolated communities in the Vaud Alps, is surrounded by a primeval forest that grew up on the debris of the 1714 landslide -- one of the few truly wild forests remaining in the Swiss Alps.
Above the valley of legends, the Tsanfleuron glacier covers the high plateau between the Diablerets and the Scex Rouge peak. This glacier, approximately 3 km long, is one of the most accessible in Switzerland and a rare opportunity to walk on glacier ice without mountaineering equipment. In summer, guided glacier walks, dog sled rides, and snow activities take place on the Tsanfleuron, and the glacier's relatively flat surface makes it safe for visitors of all ages.
At the summit, the Peak Walk by Tissot connects the Scex Rouge peak to an adjacent summit via a suspension bridge 107 meters long, suspended over a gap of several hundred meters. It is the world's first suspension bridge linking two mountain peaks, and crossing it -- with the glacier below and the peaks of the western Alps all around -- is one of the most thrilling walkway experiences in Switzerland.
Stage 1: Col du Pillon to Cabane
[Duration: 5 minutes of narration]
Col du Pillon
Elevation: 1,546 m
The journey begins at the Col du Pillon, a pass between the resort of Les Diablerets (Vaud) and Gstaad (Bern). The pass sits at the linguistic boundary between French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland -- a transition you may notice in the signage and the language of the staff as you board the cable car.
The Col du Pillon area is a classic Swiss mountain pass landscape -- alpine meadows, scattered chalets, and coniferous forest. In winter, the pass is a ski area; in summer, it is hiking and mountain biking territory.
The Lower Cable Car
Elevation: climbing from 1,546 m to 2,525 m
The first cable car stage takes you from the pass to the mid-station at Cabane (2,525 m). As you ascend, the landscape transitions dramatically. The green meadows of the pass give way to rocky slopes, then to the edge of the glacier. The geology changes too: the lower slopes are composed of relatively soft flysch and limestone, but as you approach the glacier, the rock becomes the hard Urgonian limestone of the Helvetic nappe -- a massive sheet of rock pushed northward during the Alpine orogeny.
Look west during the ascent. The peaks of the Vaud Alps and the Fribourg Pre-Alps are visible -- a landscape of moderate mountains, deep valleys, and the occasional glacier. The Tour d'Ai (2,331 m) and Tour de Mayen (2,326 m) are distinctive twin peaks visible to the northwest.
Stage 2: Cabane to Scex Rouge Summit
[Duration: 5 minutes of narration]
The Upper Cable Car
Elevation: climbing from 2,525 m to 2,971 m
The second cable car stage crosses the Tsanfleuron glacier. Below you, the glacier surface stretches wide and relatively flat -- a rarity among Swiss glaciers, most of which are steeply inclined and heavily crevassed. The Tsanfleuron's gentleness is due to its geology: it sits in a broad limestone basin, the plateau of the Diablerets, which holds the ice like a shallow bowl.
The glacier has been retreating. Aerial photographs from the 1970s show the Tsanfleuron covering significantly more area than it does today, and the retreat has exposed bare limestone surfaces beneath -- ancient rock that was covered by ice for thousands of years. These newly exposed surfaces have revealed remarkably well-preserved karst formations (limestone dissolution features) that were frozen in time beneath the glacier, providing a unique window into the geological past.
Arrival at Scex Rouge
Elevation: 2,971 m
The summit station at Scex Rouge (2,971 m) sits on a rocky peak above the glacier. The name "Scex Rouge" (Red Rock) comes from the reddish tinge of some of the limestone formations on the peak.
The summit building was designed by the architect Mario Botta, one of Switzerland's most celebrated architects (also responsible for the Rigi Kaltbad spa and the Monte Generoso "Stone Flower"). Botta's design emphasizes geometric forms and dialogue with the mountain landscape -- the building is circular, echoing the panoramic views, and its materials (stone and glass) reference the rock and ice that surround it.
Stage 3: The Summit Experience
[Duration: 14 minutes of narration for approximately 1.5-2.5 hours of exploring]
The Peak Walk by Tissot
Elevation: approximately 2,970 m
The Peak Walk is a suspension bridge spanning 107 meters between the Scex Rouge and an adjacent rocky peak. The bridge hangs approximately 500 meters above the glacier below and sways gently in the wind. The walkway is approximately one meter wide, with wire mesh sides that allow you to see through to the abyss.
Inaugurated in October 2014, the Peak Walk was the world's first pedestrian suspension bridge connecting two mountain summits. It is free to cross with your cable car ticket. The crossing takes about five minutes, but most people linger at the midpoint, where the exposure is greatest and the panorama most dramatic.
From the bridge, look down. The Tsanfleuron glacier is directly below, its surface scarred with crevasses at the edges and smooth in the center. The drop is genuine and the sensation memorable.
The Panorama
The panorama from the Scex Rouge summit and the Peak Walk is oriented toward the highest peaks of the western Alps.
South and Southwest -- Mont Blanc and the Valais Alps: On clear days, Mont Blanc (4,808 m) -- the highest peak in the Alps -- is visible to the southwest, approximately 100 km away. Closer, the Grand Combin (4,314 m) and the peaks of the Valais fill the southern horizon. The Matterhorn (4,478 m) may be visible to the southeast on the clearest days, though it is often obscured by intervening peaks.
East -- the Bernese Alps: The Wildhorn (3,248 m), the Wildstrubel (3,244 m), and the chain of the Bernese Alps extend to the east. Further east, the Jungfrau (4,158 m) and its neighbors are occasionally visible.
North and West -- the Pre-Alps and Jura: The Pre-Alps of Vaud and Fribourg roll northward, and the Jura Mountains are visible on the far northern horizon. Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) may be visible as a silver-grey line on the clearest days.
The Tsanfleuron Glacier
Descend from the summit station to the glacier. In summer, a prepared area on the glacier surface is open to visitors for snow activities including dog sled rides (available most of the year, using Greenland sled dogs that live and train on the glacier), snow tubing, and guided glacier walks.
The Tsanfleuron glacier is approximately 3 km long and covers roughly 3.5 square kilometers. Its relatively gentle gradient and stable surface make it one of the safest glaciers for visitors in Switzerland. The ice beneath your feet is compacted snow that fell over centuries, compressed by its own weight into dense glacier ice.
The glacier has a special geological significance. In 2022, the retreat of the ice exposed a pass that had been covered by ice for at least 2,000 years, connecting the cantons of Vaud and Valais. Archaeological finds in the newly exposed terrain -- including artifacts dating to the Roman period -- suggest that the pass was used as a travel route in antiquity before the glacier expanded during the Little Ice Age (approximately 1300-1850).
The Alpine Coaster
The Alpine Coaster at Glacier 3000 is a toboggan run on rails that descends from near the summit station. The track winds through the rocky terrain with banked curves, drops, and tunnels, reaching speeds of up to 40 km/h. The ride takes approximately 5 minutes and is accessible in both summer and winter. Each sled accommodates one adult or one adult with a child, and the speed is individually controllable.
The Botta Restaurant
The panoramic restaurant designed by Mario Botta occupies the summit building and offers 360-degree views through floor-to-ceiling windows. The menu features Swiss mountain cuisine with a French-Swiss accent -- fondue, raclette, and local Vaud wines. The restaurant's circular design means every seat has a view, and the slow rotation of the light across the peaks during a meal is part of the experience.
Geology and the Diablerets Rockfalls
The Diablerets massif has a geological significance that goes beyond its dramatic scenery. The mountain is composed of Urgonian limestone -- a particularly thick and resistant limestone formation of the Helvetic nappe system, dating to the Early Cretaceous period (approximately 125 million years ago). This limestone forms the high plateau on which the Tsanfleuron glacier sits, and its resistance to erosion is what gives the Diablerets its distinctive flat-topped profile.
However, the limestone plateau is underlain by softer layers of marl and shale, which erode more easily. When the softer layers are undercut by water seepage and frost action, the harder limestone above loses support and collapses -- which is precisely what happened in the catastrophic rockfalls of 1714 and 1749. The geology of the Diablerets is a textbook example of how layered sedimentary rocks can produce sudden, massive landslides, and the site is studied by geologists specializing in gravitational hazards.
The village of Derborence, buried by the 1714 rockfall and rebuilt afterward, sits in a valley that was dammed by the debris to form a lake -- the Lac de Derborence, one of the most remote and atmospheric lakes in the Vaud Alps. The primeval forest that grew up on the landslide debris is a protected nature reserve and one of the few virgin forests in Switzerland.
The Dog Sled Experience
The dog sled rides on the Tsanfleuron glacier are one of Glacier 3000's signature experiences. A team of Greenland sled dogs -- bred for cold conditions and endurance -- lives year-round at the summit station, training and working on the glacier. The dogs are cared for by professional mushers, and the sled rides (approximately 10 to 15 minutes) cross the glacier surface, providing a unique perspective on the ice landscape.
The use of sled dogs at this altitude is unusual in Switzerland and gives the Glacier 3000 experience a distinctly Arctic character. The dogs are well adapted to the conditions, with thick double coats that insulate them against the cold and snowfall. The sled teams operate in both summer and winter, though the experience differs -- in summer, the dogs run on compacted snow surfaces; in winter, on fresh powder.
Wildlife and Flora
Despite the extreme conditions, the Glacier 3000 area supports a small but hardy community of alpine plants and animals. The rock surfaces exposed by the retreating glacier are being colonized by pioneer plants -- lichens, mosses, and the first flowering plants (typically glacier buttercup, Ranunculus glacialis) that appear within years of the ice retreating. This process of ecological succession on newly deglaciated terrain is studied by botanists from the universities of Lausanne and Bern, who maintain monitoring plots on the Tsanfleuron.
Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) are occasionally seen on the rocky slopes around the summit, and Alpine choughs (Pyrrhocorax graculus) are permanent residents, their acrobatic flight and yellow beaks a constant presence at the summit station.
The Col du Pillon and Gstaad Region
The Glacier 3000 excursion sits at the boundary of two of Switzerland's most distinctive resort regions. To the west lies Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud -- a French-speaking mountain village with a relaxed, family-oriented character. To the east lies Gstaad in the canton of Bern -- a German-speaking resort that has become synonymous with Alpine luxury and celebrity culture. The Col du Pillon pass connects these two worlds, and visitors to Glacier 3000 come from both directions.
Gstaad, despite its glamorous reputation, has maintained a traditional village character at its core. The main street (Promenade) is lined with wooden chalets, and a local building code requires that all new construction incorporate traditional Bernese Oberland architectural elements. The result is a village that manages to be both exclusive and authentically Alpine -- a balance that few Swiss resorts achieve.
The surrounding Saanenland region, of which Gstaad is the center, is one of the most culturally distinctive areas of the Bernese Oberland. The local dialect, the traditional festivals (including the elaborate cattle descent celebrations in autumn), and the agricultural traditions of the valley create a cultural richness that complements the landscape.
Closing
[Duration: 3 minutes]
Your ch.tours Glacier 3000 audio guide ends here. You have ascended to nearly 3,000 meters in the Vaud Alps, crossed the world's first summit-to-summit suspension bridge, and walked on a glacier that has been retreating to reveal ancient landscapes beneath.
Glacier 3000 sits at the intersection of spectacle and science. The Peak Walk is pure drama -- a suspension bridge over the void that puts you in the sky between two peaks. The glacier below is a climate laboratory, its retreat exposing Roman-era passes and transforming the landscape in real time. And the panorama, stretching from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn across the full breadth of the western Alps, is a reminder of the scale of the mountain world that surrounds this summit.
For more western Swiss mountain experiences, the ch.tours guides for Montreux, Gstaad, and the Rochers-de-Naye cover the broader region, while the Zermatt and Jungfrau guides explore the high peaks visible from this summit.
Thank you for traveling with ch.tours today.
Source: ch.tours | Audio Guide Script | Last updated: March 2026 | Data from Glacier 3000 (glacier3000.ch), MySwitzerland.com, SBB (sbb.ch), Swisstopo, Vaud Tourism