In Switzerland, everywhere you turn, the scenery is of picture postcard quality. Each region has its distinctive features. With such diversity visitors cannot say that one scene is more captivating than another.
Among the emblematic features of Switzerland is the Bernese Oberland (highlands), especially the Lauterbrunnen (many falls) Valley, the waters of which drain into the Aare River near Interlaken. The Bernese Oberland is the southern part of canton Bern, consisting of Alpine slopes and valleys around Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. These include the valleys and streams draining from the Jungfrau peak in the area southwest of Lake Thun and the area around Gstaad.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley is a narrow valley between gigantic rock faces and mountain peaks. It features 72 thundering waterfalls, including the Staubbach Falls, plunging 1,000 feet from an overhanging cliff face, one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe. The valley is one of the deepest in the Alpine chain when compared with the height of the mountains that rise on either side, rarely more than one kilometer in width, sometimes almost perpendicular. This feature enables the many waterfalls from which the valley derives its name.
We board our bus at our hotel on the shore of Lake Brienz. The rain of the previous day has stopped, but the weather remains cloudy. We arrive at the Village of Lauterbrunnen at the base of the valley and board a rack railway that takes us up the steep grade to the Village of Wengen. The cloudy weather does not dampen the majesty of the trees and waterfalls on one side and the floor of the valley below on the other.
We stop at Wengen and stroll through the nearly deserted streets - it's a chilly, cloudy Sunday morning and there isn't much activity except for a few tourists, and some hikers grabbing breakfast before hitting the trail. In addition to a popular tourist destination - the high-end, pricey shops attest to this - the valley features popular hiking trails including a UNESCO world heritage themed trail in the depth of the valley.
We board the rack railway again and ascend the steep grade to Kleine Scheidegg, a pass that separates the Lauterbrunnen Valley from the Grindelwald Valley. We debark and many of us take the opportunity to stretch our legs and go for a hike on the scenic trail that leads across the pass. The previous night's light snow is melting but there remains a scattering of snow on the scenic hills.
On a sunny day, this area affords a spectacular view of one of Switzerland's iconic scenes, the mountain peaks of the Eiger, the Moench and the Jungfrau, along the Alpine spine of Europe. Historic lore asserts that the Moench (monk) is situated between the Jungfrau (young maiden) and the Eiger (ogre) to protect her from the ill-intentioned Eiger.
After an invigorating short hike, some of us grab hot soup at a restaurant. Does a proprietor's name, "Wyss," sound familiar to local readers? Even though we know that so many residents of Green County and surrounding area are direct descendants of Swiss immigrants, it is nevertheless striking how many familiar names we encounter on our travels through Switzerland.
We board a train that takes us across the pass to the Grindelwald Valley and village of the same name. On one side are mountain meadows dotted by small sheds and contentedly grazing cows. On the other side is the famous - or infamous - north face of the Eiger, one of the world's most challenging climbs for mountaineers.
Early attempts at the north face ended in tragedy such that, for a time, Bernese authorities banned climbing it and threatened to fine any party attempting it.
In 1935 two German climbers attempted to climb the north face. They were later found, frozen to death.
In 1936 a team of two Bavarians and two Austrians attempted a climb that ended in tragedy. They could easily be watched through telescopes from the Kleine Scheidegg. After the first day, cloudy weather hid the group from observers on the ground. The next day, one of the climbers was injured from falling rock, and they had to retreat. The party became stuck on a face of a rock from which they had taken the rope they had first used to climb it. The weather deteriorated and the four were swept away by an avalanche. Only one, Toni Kurz, survived, seen hanging on a rope.
Three guides attempted a perilous rescue. They failed to reach him, but learned what had happened - one climber had fallen to his death, another was frozen, and the third had fractured his skull and was hanging dead on a rope.
The contrast between comfort of the observers and the agonies of a young climber slowly dying a short but inaccessible distance away led to international media coverage. A heroic attempt to rescue Kurz failed and he died on the Mountain.
The incident was filmed in the movie, "North Face."
In 1937 two other climbers made the attempt. Although unsuccessful, they were the first to return alive from a serious attempt.
The first successful attempt was on July 24, 1938 by a German-Austrian party. They had started as independent teams. The Austrian team was joined by the German team that started a day later. The more experienced German climber led the joint team to the first successful climb of the north face.
In late 2015, Ueli Steck from Monroe's friendship city, Langnau, set a new record for climbing the north face of the Eiger, making it alone in two hours, twenty-two minutes, and 50 seconds. Steck died last April at age 40 when he fell an estimated 1000 meters near Mt. Everest.
Readers may recall the 1975 film, "The Eiger Sanction," starring Clint Eastwood. Many scenes were shot on the north face, and around the hotel at Kleine Scheidegg where the cast and crew stayed during filming.
Next week: to the Emmental.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His
column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
Among the emblematic features of Switzerland is the Bernese Oberland (highlands), especially the Lauterbrunnen (many falls) Valley, the waters of which drain into the Aare River near Interlaken. The Bernese Oberland is the southern part of canton Bern, consisting of Alpine slopes and valleys around Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. These include the valleys and streams draining from the Jungfrau peak in the area southwest of Lake Thun and the area around Gstaad.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley is a narrow valley between gigantic rock faces and mountain peaks. It features 72 thundering waterfalls, including the Staubbach Falls, plunging 1,000 feet from an overhanging cliff face, one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe. The valley is one of the deepest in the Alpine chain when compared with the height of the mountains that rise on either side, rarely more than one kilometer in width, sometimes almost perpendicular. This feature enables the many waterfalls from which the valley derives its name.
We board our bus at our hotel on the shore of Lake Brienz. The rain of the previous day has stopped, but the weather remains cloudy. We arrive at the Village of Lauterbrunnen at the base of the valley and board a rack railway that takes us up the steep grade to the Village of Wengen. The cloudy weather does not dampen the majesty of the trees and waterfalls on one side and the floor of the valley below on the other.
We stop at Wengen and stroll through the nearly deserted streets - it's a chilly, cloudy Sunday morning and there isn't much activity except for a few tourists, and some hikers grabbing breakfast before hitting the trail. In addition to a popular tourist destination - the high-end, pricey shops attest to this - the valley features popular hiking trails including a UNESCO world heritage themed trail in the depth of the valley.
We board the rack railway again and ascend the steep grade to Kleine Scheidegg, a pass that separates the Lauterbrunnen Valley from the Grindelwald Valley. We debark and many of us take the opportunity to stretch our legs and go for a hike on the scenic trail that leads across the pass. The previous night's light snow is melting but there remains a scattering of snow on the scenic hills.
On a sunny day, this area affords a spectacular view of one of Switzerland's iconic scenes, the mountain peaks of the Eiger, the Moench and the Jungfrau, along the Alpine spine of Europe. Historic lore asserts that the Moench (monk) is situated between the Jungfrau (young maiden) and the Eiger (ogre) to protect her from the ill-intentioned Eiger.
After an invigorating short hike, some of us grab hot soup at a restaurant. Does a proprietor's name, "Wyss," sound familiar to local readers? Even though we know that so many residents of Green County and surrounding area are direct descendants of Swiss immigrants, it is nevertheless striking how many familiar names we encounter on our travels through Switzerland.
We board a train that takes us across the pass to the Grindelwald Valley and village of the same name. On one side are mountain meadows dotted by small sheds and contentedly grazing cows. On the other side is the famous - or infamous - north face of the Eiger, one of the world's most challenging climbs for mountaineers.
Early attempts at the north face ended in tragedy such that, for a time, Bernese authorities banned climbing it and threatened to fine any party attempting it.
In 1935 two German climbers attempted to climb the north face. They were later found, frozen to death.
In 1936 a team of two Bavarians and two Austrians attempted a climb that ended in tragedy. They could easily be watched through telescopes from the Kleine Scheidegg. After the first day, cloudy weather hid the group from observers on the ground. The next day, one of the climbers was injured from falling rock, and they had to retreat. The party became stuck on a face of a rock from which they had taken the rope they had first used to climb it. The weather deteriorated and the four were swept away by an avalanche. Only one, Toni Kurz, survived, seen hanging on a rope.
Three guides attempted a perilous rescue. They failed to reach him, but learned what had happened - one climber had fallen to his death, another was frozen, and the third had fractured his skull and was hanging dead on a rope.
The contrast between comfort of the observers and the agonies of a young climber slowly dying a short but inaccessible distance away led to international media coverage. A heroic attempt to rescue Kurz failed and he died on the Mountain.
The incident was filmed in the movie, "North Face."
In 1937 two other climbers made the attempt. Although unsuccessful, they were the first to return alive from a serious attempt.
The first successful attempt was on July 24, 1938 by a German-Austrian party. They had started as independent teams. The Austrian team was joined by the German team that started a day later. The more experienced German climber led the joint team to the first successful climb of the north face.
In late 2015, Ueli Steck from Monroe's friendship city, Langnau, set a new record for climbing the north face of the Eiger, making it alone in two hours, twenty-two minutes, and 50 seconds. Steck died last April at age 40 when he fell an estimated 1000 meters near Mt. Everest.
Readers may recall the 1975 film, "The Eiger Sanction," starring Clint Eastwood. Many scenes were shot on the north face, and around the hotel at Kleine Scheidegg where the cast and crew stayed during filming.
Next week: to the Emmental.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His
column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
