The Surrounding Beauty, Switzerland
As I am writing this it is 5:04am. I have been at the airport since 9am yesterday and I wont be leaving for another 5 hours. Since there is free internet at a booth for Flyaboo Airlines I am using it...standing. It has been a whirlwind of train, car and climbing through the last week and spending infinite hours in an airport is something I have found the need to become accustomed to. Here are some pictures from Switzerland where I spent a wonderful 4 days in Lauterbrunnen. I hope I can make it entertaining and that my exhaustion mixed with lack of sleep dosent make me dull!
I arrived in Laturbrunnen on a train from Sargans near the Austrian border. I had just spent some wonderful time with a family from Austria and they were kind enough to drop me off at a closer train station. It was very wet in Lauterbrunnen as I stepped off the train and the late time of day made me know it was going to be tuff to get a room. I walked around the town for a while asking places to stay before making my way to Camp Jungfrau. It was a bit expensive to stay in a room so I decided to sleep in my tent that night at 17$ per night. Still a bit expensive! The town itself is situated between magnificent towering walls with an impressive amount of waterfalls (72 in all).
Staubbach Falls is claimed as the tallest waterfall in Switzerland and I had a good view of it from my tent window. Behind the waterfall you can see the walkway.
I wondered on if I would like to be buried here. I think this would be a good place to be. Certainly if you could still sense your surroundings after death I would love to be in such a beautiful place. Staubbach falls is in the background.
I had been in Lauterbrunnen for a few days and it had been raining each day. There were several times when the sun peeked out but not for long and I was not able to see the towering summits of the peaks around. I met up with a guy named Patrick as we had talked online about doing some climbing in the area. Instead we took a trip into Trümmelbach Falls. The Trümmelbach is a series of waterfalls coming through a mountain that you can pay $11 Swiss Franks to walk through the tunnel and bridge systems they have built. It is a worth while trip and I do recommend it if you go to Lauterbrunnen.
We walked through the caverns and tunnels as waterfalls peaked through cracks in the rocks. The natural lights combined with artificial to light up another world.
Meandering through the caves was a wonderful experience. It is impressive to think of the amount of rock that has been widdled away by the water. We also made note of the anchors throughout the waterfall which meant canyoneering. In pictures of the falls you will most likely see a picture of the fall below Patrick in this photo.
More pictures of inside.
While staying in the dorms at Schuetzenbach Backpacker hostel ($16 franks per night) I met a nice girl named Jee.She is from South Korea and had been all over Europe by herself for two months and had seen 90% rain days. She took it really well though and we hung about for a few days cooking and visiting different places.
After 3 days Jee had hopped on a train for Czech slightly angry at the fact that it was beautiful blue sky surrounding the entire valley. The first day in 7 that she had been there. Patrick and I decided not to waste this incredible day and headed up to the Kletterstieg Rotstock at the base of the Eiger. We still wanted to conserve as much money as possible so we took a one way ticket up to Kleine Scheidegg and walked to the base of the route from there. The train up led to some fantastic views and I still remember Patrick saying "Oh, thats what its supposed to look like." Jungfrau Peak, the highest in the region, can be seen on the left. Lauterbrunnen is nestled within the valley below.
Jungfrau (or Virgin if translated) is mass imposing over the valley of beautiful green. We could hear snow crashing down the peak the entire time we were in the upper valley and while we were on our trip several Swiss Army recruits lost their lives on its massive wall.
After arriving in Kleine Scheidegg we got a short glimpse of the Eiger. This peak had been in my dreams for the last few days as one of the most imposing and well known walls in the entire area. One of the greatest mountaineering movies from Hollywood is often said to be The Eiger Sanction. The Eiger Nordwand wall was the last of the great faces to be climbed in the area and it killed the first 9 people to try it. Since then over 50 have died climbing its crumbly and inconsistent face.
Here is another shot of this 6000ft. face where route features are given names that do not give confidence to the route, the Difficult Crack,the Death Bivouac. Owning up to its reputation (Eiger translates to Ogre) the Eiger itself never saw much sunlight. We had lots of views of the both Monk and Jungfrau.
The Eiger Nordwand is on the left and the subpeak on the right is called The Rotstock (2663 meters). We would be climbing directly between the two and once again into the clouds.
The beginning of the route actually has a few ladders to help climb the super crumbly rock sections. We donned our harness's and climbed up through the mess. I had a helmet this time although Patrick did not.
Patrick follows climbing over a small section with a large drop below. The clouds surrounding help us to forget that we are surrounded by beautiful and immense peaks. Eventually we fall into the grind of up motions and crawling across trying not to allow the rocks to fall on those climbing below us.
We route an area that comes into a large cavern of rock between the two peaks. The snow was creeping down on us, or had we crawled up to meet it?
After continuing upward for about 30 minutes the snow started to grow in sections. At times it was soft and other times a vertical ice rink. The two climbing below us had gore-tex pants, mountain boots, several layers, and ropes. Once again I found myself crawling through an alpine area in my tennis shoes, Patrick was similarly dressed.
We opened into the chasm and found a great site in front of us. The rocks were warming and soon could come crashing down around us more frequently. We had started on green grass and this seemed a different universe. Encases in ice and rock we were organic life forms where they didn't belong.
The snow became deep in some areas and small waterfall crossings added sweat to our shoes. A fall here would certainly mean death. The Eiger Nordwand has disappeared around the corner but the ferocity of the face still lingers in my mind. I get a strong urge to attempt it and have began a dangerous transition in my mind. Need I climb the wall that has claimed so many?
On the summit of the Rotstock we saw only clouds. Lots of clouds. We sat down and waited for an hour and a half as the heat was very comfortable. We got inconsistent views of the peaks. In one such clearing Jungfrau had a curious cloud over its summit. The colors of this cloud were amazing and lasted only a few minutes before disappearing back into the blue.
Below you can see a section of the Kletterstiegg Rotstock. If you look very closely you may also see the climber in blue ascending the route. We had brought our harnesses but had not used them.
A large overhanging glacier sits on the side of The Eiger. We sat for a bit looking at the side in this clearing and both wanted to give an attempt at the peak itself. We knew we were not equipped for it however and opted to live a bit longer. The route looked very appetizing and did not appear to difficult.
I can't quite remember what the name of this phenomenon is but it is a curious happening when climbing. Surrounding your shadow in the clouds is a beautiful set of rainbows.
The Monk on the right and Eiger on left. The summit of the Rotstock is visible on the left, it is the higher rock summit still partially in the clouds. Wengernalp is at the base. Here you can ride the train through the Eiger mountain and up to Jungfraujoch. The highest tram point in Europe and I do mean through the Eiger. It tunnels through the mountain under the glacier and up to Jungfrau.
We climbed down from the peak and enjoyed a very nice walk back down the valley to Wengen where we payed 6CHF to take a train back to Lauterbrunnen. It had been an incredible day with amazing views.
The town of Wengen does not look like a bad place to live. I asked around about jobs while I was there...I think it would be a heck of a place to spend a few months!
This is the view from my Hostel window. The bed itself was in high demand but I was able to get it on the last night of my stay. Staubbach falls is in the background.
Patrick and I decided to leave and do some climbing with ropes somewhere so we hopped a train to Bern. The idea was to get a rental car and drive to Ceuse in France. That didn't turn out quite as expected but I cant say it was a dissapointment! Next time on Channel Prez.
I arrived in Laturbrunnen on a train from Sargans near the Austrian border. I had just spent some wonderful time with a family from Austria and they were kind enough to drop me off at a closer train station. It was very wet in Lauterbrunnen as I stepped off the train and the late time of day made me know it was going to be tuff to get a room. I walked around the town for a while asking places to stay before making my way to Camp Jungfrau. It was a bit expensive to stay in a room so I decided to sleep in my tent that night at 17$ per night. Still a bit expensive! The town itself is situated between magnificent towering walls with an impressive amount of waterfalls (72 in all).
Staubbach Falls is claimed as the tallest waterfall in Switzerland and I had a good view of it from my tent window. Behind the waterfall you can see the walkway.
I wondered on if I would like to be buried here. I think this would be a good place to be. Certainly if you could still sense your surroundings after death I would love to be in such a beautiful place. Staubbach falls is in the background.
I had been in Lauterbrunnen for a few days and it had been raining each day. There were several times when the sun peeked out but not for long and I was not able to see the towering summits of the peaks around. I met up with a guy named Patrick as we had talked online about doing some climbing in the area. Instead we took a trip into Trümmelbach Falls. The Trümmelbach is a series of waterfalls coming through a mountain that you can pay $11 Swiss Franks to walk through the tunnel and bridge systems they have built. It is a worth while trip and I do recommend it if you go to Lauterbrunnen.
We walked through the caverns and tunnels as waterfalls peaked through cracks in the rocks. The natural lights combined with artificial to light up another world.
Meandering through the caves was a wonderful experience. It is impressive to think of the amount of rock that has been widdled away by the water. We also made note of the anchors throughout the waterfall which meant canyoneering. In pictures of the falls you will most likely see a picture of the fall below Patrick in this photo.
More pictures of inside.
While staying in the dorms at Schuetzenbach Backpacker hostel ($16 franks per night) I met a nice girl named Jee.She is from South Korea and had been all over Europe by herself for two months and had seen 90% rain days. She took it really well though and we hung about for a few days cooking and visiting different places.
After 3 days Jee had hopped on a train for Czech slightly angry at the fact that it was beautiful blue sky surrounding the entire valley. The first day in 7 that she had been there. Patrick and I decided not to waste this incredible day and headed up to the Kletterstieg Rotstock at the base of the Eiger. We still wanted to conserve as much money as possible so we took a one way ticket up to Kleine Scheidegg and walked to the base of the route from there. The train up led to some fantastic views and I still remember Patrick saying "Oh, thats what its supposed to look like." Jungfrau Peak, the highest in the region, can be seen on the left. Lauterbrunnen is nestled within the valley below.
Jungfrau (or Virgin if translated) is mass imposing over the valley of beautiful green. We could hear snow crashing down the peak the entire time we were in the upper valley and while we were on our trip several Swiss Army recruits lost their lives on its massive wall.
After arriving in Kleine Scheidegg we got a short glimpse of the Eiger. This peak had been in my dreams for the last few days as one of the most imposing and well known walls in the entire area. One of the greatest mountaineering movies from Hollywood is often said to be The Eiger Sanction. The Eiger Nordwand wall was the last of the great faces to be climbed in the area and it killed the first 9 people to try it. Since then over 50 have died climbing its crumbly and inconsistent face.
Here is another shot of this 6000ft. face where route features are given names that do not give confidence to the route, the Difficult Crack,the Death Bivouac. Owning up to its reputation (Eiger translates to Ogre) the Eiger itself never saw much sunlight. We had lots of views of the both Monk and Jungfrau.
The Eiger Nordwand is on the left and the subpeak on the right is called The Rotstock (2663 meters). We would be climbing directly between the two and once again into the clouds.
The beginning of the route actually has a few ladders to help climb the super crumbly rock sections. We donned our harness's and climbed up through the mess. I had a helmet this time although Patrick did not.
Patrick follows climbing over a small section with a large drop below. The clouds surrounding help us to forget that we are surrounded by beautiful and immense peaks. Eventually we fall into the grind of up motions and crawling across trying not to allow the rocks to fall on those climbing below us.
We route an area that comes into a large cavern of rock between the two peaks. The snow was creeping down on us, or had we crawled up to meet it?
After continuing upward for about 30 minutes the snow started to grow in sections. At times it was soft and other times a vertical ice rink. The two climbing below us had gore-tex pants, mountain boots, several layers, and ropes. Once again I found myself crawling through an alpine area in my tennis shoes, Patrick was similarly dressed.
We opened into the chasm and found a great site in front of us. The rocks were warming and soon could come crashing down around us more frequently. We had started on green grass and this seemed a different universe. Encases in ice and rock we were organic life forms where they didn't belong.
The snow became deep in some areas and small waterfall crossings added sweat to our shoes. A fall here would certainly mean death. The Eiger Nordwand has disappeared around the corner but the ferocity of the face still lingers in my mind. I get a strong urge to attempt it and have began a dangerous transition in my mind. Need I climb the wall that has claimed so many?
On the summit of the Rotstock we saw only clouds. Lots of clouds. We sat down and waited for an hour and a half as the heat was very comfortable. We got inconsistent views of the peaks. In one such clearing Jungfrau had a curious cloud over its summit. The colors of this cloud were amazing and lasted only a few minutes before disappearing back into the blue.
Below you can see a section of the Kletterstiegg Rotstock. If you look very closely you may also see the climber in blue ascending the route. We had brought our harnesses but had not used them.
A large overhanging glacier sits on the side of The Eiger. We sat for a bit looking at the side in this clearing and both wanted to give an attempt at the peak itself. We knew we were not equipped for it however and opted to live a bit longer. The route looked very appetizing and did not appear to difficult.
I can't quite remember what the name of this phenomenon is but it is a curious happening when climbing. Surrounding your shadow in the clouds is a beautiful set of rainbows.
The Monk on the right and Eiger on left. The summit of the Rotstock is visible on the left, it is the higher rock summit still partially in the clouds. Wengernalp is at the base. Here you can ride the train through the Eiger mountain and up to Jungfraujoch. The highest tram point in Europe and I do mean through the Eiger. It tunnels through the mountain under the glacier and up to Jungfrau.
We climbed down from the peak and enjoyed a very nice walk back down the valley to Wengen where we payed 6CHF to take a train back to Lauterbrunnen. It had been an incredible day with amazing views.
The town of Wengen does not look like a bad place to live. I asked around about jobs while I was there...I think it would be a heck of a place to spend a few months!
This is the view from my Hostel window. The bed itself was in high demand but I was able to get it on the last night of my stay. Staubbach falls is in the background.
Patrick and I decided to leave and do some climbing with ropes somewhere so we hopped a train to Bern. The idea was to get a rental car and drive to Ceuse in France. That didn't turn out quite as expected but I cant say it was a dissapointment! Next time on Channel Prez.
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Comments
Beautiful!
Wow
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
Wonderful photos, the one of the colors on the cloud is amazing, but all the photos are great.
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Thanks for all your comments everyone!
I Live at http://www.alaskamountainforum.com
Headed for Snezka?? Their tallest peak or just partying in Prgaue?
Nothing like nature to remind one where they are in the grand scheme of things.
Thanks for your journal!
Thanks Seamus and ChrisJ that sight really was amazing to me as well. I was really hoping the photo would give an idea of how it looked.
leaforte I am glad I could bring you back to Swizterland I am sure ill have great memories everytime someone shows pictures of it from now on as well!
Thanks everyone for the compliments.
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Have you considered climbing some of the Slovenian Alps?
Oh and btw, that phenomenon with the fog and rainbows is called a glory (if you're interested, read more about it here).
Ana
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My website: anapogacar.smugmug.com
The Slovenian Alps look really nice.
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Since they have done that all my pictures will no longer be viewable. I apologize for any inconvience and hope I can get them back up someday...
Kelsey
I Live at http://www.alaskamountainforum.com
Man that sucks big time........
well do not let that get you down...head for a climb to work out the frustrations......the Kkronose mountains are really nice and pec pod snezkou is a nice village....Snezka is only 1602 m above sea level.......I have heard that the slovakian alps are nice also......Sorry to hear that your trip is coming to an end.....but it sounds like it was a truly great adventure......just hard to believe you are getting such great pics with a Fuji S700 or are you shooting something else??
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Art : I upgraded my camera right before I left to a 20d
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