Zinal Glacier, Glacier in Valais, Switzerland.

The Zinal Glacier is a valley glacier at the head of the Val d'Anniviers in the Pennine Alps, in the municipality of Anniviers, Valais. It forms where the Mountet, Obergabelhorn and Durand glaciers meet below the Grand Mountet, then flows about 3 km north between the Grand Cornier and the Besso, its surface largely covered by moraine debris. It descends from 4160 m to just above 2000 m, with an average slope of 23.3°.

Since the Little Ice Age maximum in the mid-19th century the glacier has retreated strongly; from 1891 its tongue shrank by more than 1.6 km. In August 1834, after heavy rain, large water pockets inside the ice burst through the lateral moraines, causing damage down the valley and temporarily forming a lake between Chippis, Chalais and Grône. A busy mule track once crossed the Col Durand (3443 m) beside the glacier, carrying goods and cattle between the central Valais and upper Italy.

The glacier fed a busy mule track: goods and cattle crossed the Col Durand (3,443 m) between the central Valais and upper Italy, and the route over the ice was long used by traders. Today that crossing is reserved for well-equipped alpinists. The Navisence, which drains the tongue, flows out through a cave.

The glacier is reached on foot from Zinal; the Cabane du Petit Mountet (2,142 m) stands on the glacier's left lateral moraine and the Cabane du Grand Mountet (2,886 m) of the Swiss Alpine Club lies five walking hours higher. The ice tongue is largely covered with debris of the medial and lateral moraines. The Col Durand crossing (3,443 m) is reserved for fully equipped alpinists.

The Navisence, the river born from the glacier, runs out through a cave at the glacier front. In August 1834, after heavy rain, large water pockets inside the ice burst through the lateral moraines, causing damage down the valley and temporarily forming a lake between Chippis, Chalais and Grône.