Our time is nearing an end as we are still staying in the most beautiful little village of Grindelwald...so Swiss! This is the Jungfrau region, one of the most scenic in Europe. The actual peak, The Jungfrau (pronounced Young Frow), is 13,642 ft. in elevation, and is one of the main peaks in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. The Jungfrau and two other peaks, the Eiger and Monch, form this massive wall that overlooks the Bernese Oberland....it is one of the most impressive sights in the Swiss Alps. The three mountains also have common names: Jungfrau is German for "virgin" or "maiden." Monch means "monk," and Eiger refers to the "ogre."
We are only six days into this trip and each new destination seems to outdo the one previous to it! Today would be no exception! We walked a mile to the train station and took the Swiss rail from Grindewald to the Jungfrau. On this beautiful sunny morning the ride was one of the most scenic parts of our trip...enjoy the next few photos...
At the Kleine Scheidegg train station, what could be more Swiss than Coca Cola and a teepee?
The best rail system in the world...Swiss Rail.
The train winds its way up through the belly of this huge mountain to the Jungfraujoch (joch mean "yoke"), the saddle between the Monch and the Jungfrau, or that "U"-shaped dip at the top of the mountain just right of center.
As we near the destination, we actually ride through a long tunnel into the Eiger (13,025 ft.). Adolf Guer-Zeller first thought of the idea of a tunnel way back in 1893. It took 16 years to complete, but was a significant achievement in engineering and construction...and still holds the title for the highest railway in Europe connected to the highest station...the Jungfraujoch, at 11,333 feet.
The Top of Europe building sits on a rocky peak known as The Sphinx. There is an elevator to the summit with an observation deck, shop, restrooms, and an observatory...oh, and half of Japan...:)
Here's a cross-section of this unbelievable tourist center at the top of Europe...
We had a little under two hours to enjoy this venue, so we picked a few things to do. You follow a tour through the building and then take the elevator to the top of the Sphinx--from the top there is a viewing platform. Here we are looking down on an area called "Snow Fun," a playground that includes sledding, hiking, and a zipline!
The view from the top allows you to see the Aletsch Glacier, which is the largest glacier in the Alps. It is 14 miles long and covers 36 square miles! It is actually made up of three smaller glaciers that converge into one large one. It's thickness (all the way to the glacial valley underneath it) is 3,300 feet! It continues towards the Rhone valley before "giving birth" to the Massa River.
This whole area, including other glaciers is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
From up here on the platform these cracks don't look that big, but these massive fissures are so big that you cannot imagine even crossing them without ropes.
This deck is just metal grating so you can see down hundreds of feet underneath you...was a little unsettling for some of the members of our group.
Those people are hiking on a snow path to the saddle on your left,
we decided to hike it a little while later.
we decided to hike it a little while later.
The Top of Europe observation deck...cool, but not too cold for 13,000 feet. We had no trouble with the elevation on our trip, as we live at 4,600 feet in Utah, and have spent time climbing up high in the mountains the past few months. Some of the members of our tour group were from lower elevations in the states and had to take a day or so to adjust their lungs to the thinner air.
When in the Sphinx, you can also take an elevator ride to the bottom and you come out through this tunnel into a winter wonderland of fun, all included in the price, except for the zipline ride here.
The Sphinx as seen from the walking path we were hiking.
Pieces of a glacier that broke off and slid down the hill. Stopped not too far from us.
A glacier was to our left and they fenced it off from tourists, due to safety issues.
We walked this snow path, but because our train was about to arrive,
we didn't make it to the saddle, a great one-hour uphill workout.
You could also go sledding...they provided the sleds, the hill, and even a covered moving track that brought you back up the top of the hill. We need these in Utah!
Sign warning people about crevasses.
After we rode the train back down off the mountain,
we stopped at the base of this glacier to have a picnic.
We were just hoping a big chunk would break off.....:)
Another glacier...
There were three glaciers surrounding us...the water was gushing off of them in numerous waterfalls.
A view in the other direction from our picnic.
Our tour guides pack in our lunch for us and it is always a nice spread of Swiss breads, cheeses, meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots of Swiss cookies, chocolate and candy. We just spread it out and everyone eats as much as they want. After re-fueling...we start hiking.
We usually put the chocolate in the shade until we are ready to eat it...this is just for display purposes. You guys need to try the Femina and get in touch with your feminine side.
Yellow buttercups were blooming all over the Alps....
Learning how to use my new camera...wish I had gotten
it sooner so these pictures could have been better.
The edge of the glacier and the many waterfalls (hard to see) pouring off of it.
See that tunnel up there? That is the entrance into the
Eiger and Monch before reaching the Top of Europe.
We began hiking down the top of the medial glacial moraine of this ancient glacial valley.
So "what is a moraine?"you might ask. As a glacier advances down a valley, the edges of this massive river of ice scrape against the valley floor and bring up debris (from the size of sand to large boulders), similar to a farmer's plow creating ridges on each side as he plows. As the glacier melts and retreats, the moraine stays put, forming beautiful ridge lines, like the one below. The trail goes along the top of it!
Geology is so fascinating to me and I had considered majoring in it in college. To be able to walk down this glacial moraine was awe-inspiring. As I thought about how powerful a glacier has to be to grind out a valley like this, I could feel God's majesty...:)
The hills were "certainly alive" with buttercups on this gloriously beautiful day.
I just wanted to sit and quietly enjoy all this beauty.
However, this was a "hiking" trip, and that we did...
Small huts, or "refuges," are places of refuge when hiking. They are every few miles along the trails. Some are small shelters from the wind and snow, and others are as large as hotels with some basic accomodations. Very little tent camping, if any, is allowed in the Swiss Alps.
Mark is getting to be an expert with his trekking poles.
Love their signs...I think most people don't really want to fall and try to be careful.
This moth landed on a flower just as I began to snap the shutter...how do I know it is a moth? Moths have furry bodies, butterflies have smooth ones.
Julie Andrews...move over. :)
The wildflowers were not very apparent...until you got up close.
How could I ever leave this place? It was heaven...
The Jungfraubahn (bahn means "train").
As we were hiking, we came to the Eiger Memorial Pond,
a man-made pond to honor the 64 who lost their lives climbing the Eiger.
The ominous north face of the Eiger...
The famous Eiger is a 13,020 ft. mountain in the Bernese Alps...it is the easternmost peak in a line of three famous peaks that make up the Jungfrau (Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau). Here you are viewing the north face, which rises 9,800 feet above our little village of Grindelwald. The other side, faces the glacier we were walking on earlier.
Even though many have climbed up the western side of this mountain, before 1938, no one had climbed this steep north face. Since that year, 64 climbers have died attempting the north face. The German nickname, "Mordwand," literally means "murderous wall," which is a play on words because the German word for north wall is "Nordwand."
The north face of the Eiger was first climbed in 1938 by a four-man German-Austrian group via the Heckmair route. Up until that time so many people had died trying to climb it, that the Bernese authorities banned climbing and threatened to fine anyone who tried.
A part of the upper face is called "The White Spider", because snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field resemble the legs of a spider. During this first successful ascent, these four men were caught in an avalanche as they climber the Spider, but they all had enough strength to hold on and survive as it went over them!
Here is a traditional route up the north face of the Eiger.
In 1936, ten young climbers from Austria and Germany came to climb the north face of the Eiger. One was killed during a preliminary training climb. Some gave up because the weather was so bad while waiting for a chance to climb. Of the four that remained, there were two Bavarians, Hinterstoisser and Kurz. The other two were Austrians, Angerer and Rainer.
When the weather improved, they began their climb. Hinterstoisser did a preliminary climb to scout things out and fell 121 feet but was not injured. A few days later they began the real ascent. They got to their first bivouac (where they hook in and sleep on the face of the rock at night) and a storm hit them. They waited a day, and then descended. People from the Klein Scheidigg train station were watching them through telescopes and ready to offer assistance through rescue teams.
One climber suffered serious injuries while climbing so they had to turn around and come down. They got stuck, and couldn't make the Hinterstoisser Traverse when the weather began to deteriorate. They were swept away and killed in an avalanche, which only Kurz survived, hanging on a rope.
Three men from down in the valley started up the mountain to come and rescue him. They failed to reach him but came within shouting distance. They tried again the next day but Kurz, still hanging from a rope, was helpless with one hand and one arm completely frozen. The men managed to get a rope up him that was long enough to reach them by tying two ropes together.
As he descended on this rescue line, he could not get the knot to pass through his carabiner. He tried for hours while his rescuers were only a few feet below him. He began to lose consciousness. One of the rescuers climbed on another's shoulders and was able to touch the tip of Kurz's crampons with his ice-axe, but could not reach any higher. Kurz died a slow death from hypothermia. There are 64 rocks lining the pond, each with the name of a climber who died in the attempt.
On the way down from the pond, we hiked to the train station.
The scenery was stunning in every direction.
Steve and Mark were hiking companions for much of this trip.
(In other words, they couldn't keep up with their wives...:) jk
Buttercup heaven...
The Eiger from the Klein Scheidigg.
Our menu for dinner tonight....grilled fish.
The family that owns the Gletschergarten Hotel have had it in the family for years. This cuckoo clock has been on this exact spot on their wall for over 100 years.
Annie and Arti...
Steve and Prashant...
Kathy and Nikki
Mark...all showered and dressed after a long hike.
Josh Smith, our tour guide for Alpenwild.
Some free advertising for a fantastic Swiss Alps tour!
A plaque outside the hotel...German translation, please...:)
Thanks again, to Dave Kenison, for sending in a translation of this plaque:
"Joy to all who come; Peace to all who linger; Blessing to all who move on."
And the more people that "move on", the more money this hotel makes...:)
Thanks again, to Dave Kenison, for sending in a translation of this plaque:
"Joy to all who come; Peace to all who linger; Blessing to all who move on."
And the more people that "move on", the more money this hotel makes...:)
The view from our hotel.
Another view..
This church would ring its bells on the hour and half-hour.
We ate dinner at the hotel each night...superb service and food. Very elegant.
The German plaque says something like this:
ReplyDeleteJoy to all who come;
Peace to all who linger;
Blessings to all who move on.
We have certainly felt joy and peace on this trip....and hopefully more blessings to come! Thank you, David!
ReplyDelete