Trift Bridge, Pedestrian suspension bridge in Gadmen, Switzerland.
The Trift Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge over the Triftsee at the lake's outflow in the Gadmertal, canton Bern. Its walkway of wooden planks is edged with side planks and hung from steel cables: two carrying cables at walking height on each side, two forming the handrails, joined by vertical steel fittings that also guide horizontal railing ropes. The eastern bridgehead sits about 16 m higher than the western one.
An earlier footbridge was built in 2004, but shifting glaciers in the region made it unsafe for continued use. The current structure was completed in 2009 and has since served as the main crossing for mountain travelers in this area.
The bridge is modelled on Nepalese three-rope bridges, and its steel cables are held by 24 rock anchors, each 2.5 m deep and tested to 18 tonnes. Since the KWO opened its works cable car to the public, the crossing has drawn up to 20,000 visitors a year, many of them hikers heading for the Trift Hut.
Reaching the bridge means a cable car from Meiringen, then a roughly 1.5-hour uphill hike. The eastern bridgehead sits about 16 m higher than the western one, so the crossing is not level. The Trift Hut is closed for rebuilding until at least 2026, and one route to the Windegg Hut passes the west end without crossing.
From the bridge, visitors can observe visible signs of glacier movement in the surrounding landscape, including newly formed waterfalls and shifting ice formations. This direct view of active geological change makes crossing it more than simply a hiking experience.
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