A Winter Tour of Switzerland – Take Three: Mount Titlis

Hello again

This post is about my friend M.'s and my second excursion in Switzerland, a daytrip from Berne to Mount Titlis, high above Engelberg, which is high in the mountains south of Lake Lucerne. We took the train along the beautiful Entlebuch valley, superb-looking with lots of hoar-frosted trees and woods and cascades of ice. Not much water in the Emme.
We changed trains in Lucerne, to the little red train that goes up to Engelberg (1050 m asl). From the Obermatt hydropower station up to the plateau, the train locks into cogs set into the ground. It's a steep ride :)
The weather was great and looked even better higher up so we caught a series of cable cars to ride up to Mount Titlis, 3020 m asl (10,000 feet). I think the views from up there are way better than from Jungfraujoch, which is another 430 m higher.
You'll find mountain choughs in either place :)
Otherwise, it's hard to compare the two locations, though: one thing that's absolutely fantastic about Mount Titlis is that it is skiable all the way (excellent if demanding slopes for skiers and snowboarders). There's also a lot of space to take a leisurely walk in the snow, too. They even have an ice cave ...
... but that is not a patch on the Ice Palace at Jungfraujoch! And the climate and atmospheric research being carried out at Jungfraujoch is unique in Europe. Nor is the unique view of one of the biggest glaciers in the Alps, the Grosse Aletsch Gletscher. Both locations are very touristy, with boutiques, shops and restaurants to cater for the needs of thousands of visitors each day.
Well, here come some visual souvenirs of our excursion of December 29, 2007:
M.'s very first ride in a cable car. This is the third leg already and M. is visibly enjoying herself in the spacious, if crowded, revolving cable car from Stand to Titlis (the outer shell stays in place while the floor turns slowly round giving passengers a 360° view of the breathtaking scenery). Here it comes, or goes ... and this is the view:
A quick look back at the Truebsee mountain restaurant -- very busy and its lovely terrace bathed in the bright winter sun -- before we are awestruck by the sheer cliffs and snow:We've arrived -- you did it, M.!And yes, your kids need to know about your exploit right away: M. calling her daughter from this august place, shortly before I'm divebombed by a boisterous chough:One of the neat views from the terrace at the Titlis tourist complex. If you look carefully, you will see a Buddha-shaped outcropping in the shadowy area at the centre of the photo, well a little left of centre.
Above: one of the not-so-lovely views. As is common for mountain tops in Switzerland, there's a huge, ungainly, ugly communications tower. I suppose I shouldn't complain because I use mobile telephones and radio, telephone and TV... But do the towers really have to be this ugly?Mountain choughs are wheeling and diving just beyond the tourist terrace. They are a gregarious lot and always out for crumbs tossed to them. The sun is very bright, the slope at least 45°, very steep: You don't want to go over the railing here.
But look at the view:Mountain peaks stretch as far as the eye can see beyond the glacier and tourist facilities at Mount Titlis.Above: View due south of Mount Titlis. Below: View due west.
Tightly packed snow above the tourist centre.

Not everyone was having such a great day, though. We witnessed someone being wheeled past in a bright red-orange stretcher to be taken out to the helipad in the snow.
The REGA air ambulance was soon ready for take-off, kicking up a snowstorm …… and turning into a hair-raising descent. I love flying but I was glad it wasn't me in that chopper.

Time to go. On our way down, the sunny terrace of Truebsee is now bathed in the blue light of early evening.We make it down to the carpark at the foot of Mount Titlis just as the light fades at about 4:20 PM.
The proud Hahnen (The Rooster or Cockerel) bathed in pre-sunset light towers high above the car park.
A few minutes later the very last sunrays catch the Ruchstock (left in previous photo) and the Hahnen (above, left) and Spannort (above, centre) while the rest of the scenery is already bathed in the blue light of early evening.
Twenty minutes later, we're well on the way to Lucerne again.
It's a steep drop from the narrow-gauge railway track to the road below.A babbling brook or raging torrent in spring, summer and autumn, the Engelberger Aa (above) is just a band of ice right now. I missed taking a daytime snap of the cathedral-like hydropower station at Obermatt. But this is a lovely blue impression including the hoar-frosted trees and shrubs.
M. would have liked to have a really good photo of one of hundreds of massive ice falls that adorned the cliffs along our route, but in the fading light it was difficult to snap a decent photo.
Good job if you like the colour blue.

Next post: Meiringen and Grindelwald. Coming soon!

Engelberg, Switzerland -- ForumAlpinum 07, Part One

Hello again

As I mentioned before, I spent a few days in the Swiss Alps last week, updating myself on some of the subject matter I occasionally deal with in my translation work. On Wednesday, the sky was quite cloudy (see above, a view from my hotel room at Hotel Europe -- lovely place, warmly recommended).

I attended an international convention on alpine research, an annual event. In previous years it was held in faraway places and during times when I was gallivanting all over Scotland, but this year it was held in Engelberg, only a little over two hours by train from Berne. No excuse not to attend, then. It was well worth it, even though some of the presentations were a tad over my non-scientific head.

I met some lovely people, as you do... I hope some of you are happy to see my photo souvenirs. :)

On Thursday morning I woke at dawn, just in time to catch the rising sun tinting the peaks pink:
Fifteen minutes later, the shadows had slid almost half-way down the rocky flanks. I was surprised to find how little snow there already is. I mean, this is still only April -- global warming, climate change becoming sorely evident! Next picture: the valley bathed in sunlight, just before I went down to breakfast at seven.
Looking south from the hotel at midday on Thursday:
Looking south-east towards the Engelhörner beyond the footpath along the Engelberger Aa, the friendly little stream that -- in times of flood -- becomes a formidable adversary. More on that in my next post.
Next: approaching Titlis. On Thursday, we had the great privilege of a trip up to Titlis (3,020 m asl) for late-afternoon cocktails followed by dinner. Excellent evening, great views approaching by cable car and cable car and cable car and ...
... and some views from the top:
The crag centre right holds a huge boulder that seems to sit quite loosely atop it. One of the geologists along for the trip told me it might not be there a thousand years from now. Well, maybe we'll all be back to check, who knows?
Looking NNE from Titlis -- hazy horizon beyond the Lucerne/Obwalden peaks.
The setting sun and the incoming clouds created some soft contours as I looked once more out on the other side, SSW.