The flying rubbish truck
The rubbish collection service at Bettmeralp – a car-free village in the mountains of upper canton Valais – must be unique in the world. In the absence of any road connection to the village, a 7.5-tonne lorry is carried up and down the mountain by cable-car.
Riffelsee to Riffelalp, Zermatt
Before the proper snow arrived at the start of this year’s winter season, we visited Zermatt and visited the famous, much-photographed view of the Matterhorn from Riffelsee.
Breithorn, Zermatt
The valley at Zermatt is surrounded by nearly three dozen peaks with summits higher than 4,000 metres above sea level. The Breithorn is well-known as the “easiest” to ascend: although easiness is, of course, a matter of reference. The number of tiny, ant-like climbers on the slopes leading from the Breithorn Plateau was quite amazing, when… (Read More)
The four seasons of St. Niklaus
Beautiful time lapse sequences from canton Wallis (Valais) by filmmaker Christian Mülhauser.
Die Bergretter – Air Zermatt
Fast anderthalb Stunden in Begleitung der «Rotbiene»: der Rettungsdienst von Air Zermatt rund ums Matterhorn. Wenn ich mit 28 mit mehr Geld im Konto in die Schweiz gekommen wäre, wäre ich Helikopterpilot geworden. Weil meine Geschichte diesen Weg nicht folgte, muss ich mich mit ein paar Touristenflüge pro Jahrzehnt und das Zuschauen von solchen Dokumentarfilmen zurecht finden.
Furka Pass, Switzerland
The Furka Pass, between Gletsch in canton Wallis and Realp in canton Uri, is one of the high alpine pass routes, only open between June and (approximately) October because of heavy winter snow falls in the region. The pass road is well known to James Bond fans, as it was featured in Goldfinger in 1964. (Watch out for… (Read More)
Aigle, Switzerland
The castle at Aigle, near the western end of the Valais, was originally two fortifications. It’s a picture-book scene, but harks back to serious use in the fifteenth century, when it was already over two hundred years old. Today, it sits peacefully amongst expansive vineyards and welcomes tourists from all over the world.
Gries Pass
Attempting to get away from baking temperatures, we headed for the mountains and a hike across summer snow fields to the Gries glacier.