a vertical drop of 1,000 m or more and 33 km of ski runs. The Lauchernalp ski area has FIS homologated race courses in all disciplines of Alpine skiing and was the venue for the Swiss National Championships in 1974. Tschäggättä The Lötschental is known for its unique local custom involving the so-called Tschäggättä: frightening figures wearing furs and carved wooden masks that walk the streets during carnival tossing soot at onlookers. The custom developed during the valley’s history of relative isolation, though its exact origins are a matter of debate. The first official mention of the Tschäggättä occurs in a church chronicle of Kippel dating from 1860, and witnesses the local Prior lamenting the difficulties of enforcing a ban on "the terrible misuse of the so-called Tschäggättä". References External links Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn-Gebiet Lötschental Tourism Municipality Kippel Lauchernalp Webcam Tschäggättä masks Tschäggättä a Swiss Carnival in the Lötschental Valleys of the Alps Valleys of Switzerland Ski areas and resorts in Switzerland Landforms of Valais