Visiting Glacier 3000 from Gstaad

The cable car climbs from Col du Pillon (1,546 m) to the Cabane mid-station (2,525 m), where you change, and on to Scex Rouge (2,971 m). The ride takes about 15 minutes.

At the top, the Peak Walk by Tissot is a suspension bridge 107 m long and 80 cm wide that links the View Point to the main summit of Scex Rouge, 5 m higher. On a clear day you can pick out the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. It is open all year, weather permitting, and reaching it means about 100 steps.

The Ice Express chairlift takes you down onto the glacier. From its foot, the Glacier Walk is a marked route across the snow to Refuge l'Espace by the Quille du Diable, about an hour each way. There is also a Snow Fun Park on the glacier. In summer the Alpine Coaster, a 1 km rail toboggan, opens from early June; children ride alone from age 9 and 140 cm, and from age 3 with someone aged 9 or over. In winter, husky teams run dog-sled rides on the glacier, from a short 5-minute ride to a 6 km tour to the Quille du Diable.

The Scex Rouge building, designed by Mario Botta, has three restaurants: Restaurant Botta on the top floor, the self-service Le 3 and Le Carnotzet, plus a rooftop terrace reached by lift.

The return ticket from Col du Pillon to Scex Rouge costs CHF 95 for adults and CHF 48 for children aged 6 to 15 for the 2026/27 season. It includes the Peak Walk, the Ice Express chairlift, the Snow Fun Park and the Glacier Walk. Children under 6 travel free. Babies under 15 months are not taken up for medical reasons linked to the altitude, and Glacier 3000 advises waiting until a child is 2.

Not included: the Alpine Coaster (summer, paid on site), dog-sled rides and the Snow Bus, which is for booked groups only. A dog-sled ride is CHF 42, or CHF 110 with the return cable car (CHF 85 with a Half Fare card, GA or Swiss Travel Pass). The Peak Brunch at Le 3, served from 09:15 to 11:30, is CHF 35, or CHF 108 with the cable car.

One-way tickets and the partial routes to and from Cabane are sold only at the ticket office: CHF 67 one way to the top, CHF 38 for one section one way. Groups of 10 or more pay CHF 76 each.

You can buy the return ticket online at glacier3000.shop or at the ticket office at Col du Pillon, which opens at 08:45. Cabins leave every 20 minutes and you cannot book a set departure; buying online saves the ticket-office queue but costs the same.

Holders of a Swiss Travel Pass, an SBB GA travelcard or a Half Fare card pay the reduced price of CHF 48 for the return trip. Children with an SBB Junior card or Accompanied Child card travel free.

The Magic Pass covers Glacier 3000 for skiers and pedestrians from 1 November to 30 April only, so for the 2026/27 pass that means 7 November 2026 to 30 April 2027. It does not cover summer visits.

The Gstaad Card, which hotels in the Saanenland give their guests, makes the PostBus from Gstaad to Col du Pillon free, and Gstaad's tourist office says it also gives 20% off Glacier 3000: ask at the ticket office. In Les Diablerets, the Carte Bienvenue gives the free bus to Col du Pillon.

Glacier 3000 shuts every autumn for maintenance. In 2026 it is closed from 19 October to 6 November, and the winter season runs from 7 November 2026 to 30 April 2027.

The cable cars run daily from 09:00, every 20 minutes. In winter the last ascent is at 16:00 and the last descent at 16:20 (in summer, 16:20 and 16:50). The Peak Walk and Ice Express open at 09:15. Glacier 3000 suggests arriving by 15:00 to have time for the activities.

Wind gusts over 80 km/h can close the lifts, and conditions at 3,000 m change quickly. Check the live openings page and the webcams on glacier3000.ch on the morning you go, and if you have several days, pick the clearest and calmest. For summer 2027, Glacier 3000's summer season pass is valid from 1 May to 10 October 2027.

By car, Col du Pillon is about 20 minutes from Gstaad on the road through Gsteig, and about 8 minutes from Les Diablerets. There are large paid car parks at Col du Pillon and at Reusch, the Gsteig-side station, charged as a flat rate paid when you arrive.

By bus, PostBus line 180 runs from Gstaad station through Feutersoey and Gsteig to the stop Col-du-Pillon, Glacier 3000, and on to Les Diablerets. From Gstaad the ride is about 30 minutes, from Gsteig about 11 minutes and from Les Diablerets about 13 minutes. With a Gstaad Card the bus from Gstaad is free. From 1 November to 30 April the bus from Les Diablerets and Reusch is also free with a Glacier 3000 ticket, a Magic Pass, or an Alpes Vaudoises or Villars-Diablerets ski pass.

By train, come to Gstaad on the GoldenPass line from Montreux, Zweisimmen or Interlaken and take the bus, or come from Aigle on the train to Les Diablerets (about 50 minutes) and take the bus from there. Glacier 3000 runs a bus, the Glacier 3000 Express, timed to meet the GoldenPass Express in Gstaad; check the current bus timetable before relying on it.

Dress for winter at the top whatever the month in the valley. In winter Glacier 3000 advises warm boots, ski trousers, a warm jacket, gloves, a hat, sunglasses and sun cream; in summer, mountain boots, a windproof jacket, sunglasses and sun cream. In spring and autumn it can snow at any time. The souvenir shop rents mountain trousers, jackets and shoes, but not skis.

Glacier 3000 does not recommend the trip in pregnancy because of the very fast climb on the first section. The cable car and the Scex Rouge building, with lifts to the restaurants and the rooftop terrace, work for people with reduced mobility, and a companion rides free; the Peak Walk does not, because of the steps. Dogs ride free and must be on a lead in the restaurants and on the Glacier Walk.

If you are not driving, coach day trips run to Col du Pillon from Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva, usually with free time in Montreux on the way back. Most sell the cable car as an option on top of the coach seat, so check whether the ticket is included before you book. Staying in Gstaad or Les Diablerets, the cable car ticket and the PostBus are all you need.