TO GRINDELWALD, AUG 25-31

GRINDELWALD

To get to Grindelwald from Zermatt, we used a day pass that AC got us for only 35 dollars. When we got to Spiez, we took a boat across the lake to Interlaken:

Dont take my picture now, Mike

Mike is enjoying his first trip to Europe

The Eiger peaks above the ridge from the Thunersee

Last shot of our boat trip

Grindelwald is one of my favorite places in Switzerland. The majestic Wetterhorn, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau rise above the town. While Im thinking about it, watch this ski-parasail nut fly down the west ridge of the eiger, the ridge my Dad and I climbed in 1975, then turn right onto the north face at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut1kGmOhzWQ. Anyway, I love this place. Our first few days we had wonderful weather, soon it would be raining and snowing.

We got a 6 day pass to all the lifts, and on a beautiful day, we went up the Mannlichen gondola and walked to Kleine Scheidegg. Here I am almost pointing to the Scheidegg Hotel, where I worked the winter of 1980-81 as a waiter.

Looking down at the beautiful Lauterbrennan valley

Cows, cows, cows everywhere

We met with Tony Wyss, who owns the gift shop at Kleine Scheidegg, he took us to dinner at his restaurant in Grindelwald. He is 61, and snowboards, runs marathons, mountain bikes, flies planes, parasails, paraglides, plays tennis and volleyball, and windsurfs in Egypt on his vacations. Stud!

Sitting in the salon of the hotel where I used to serve drinks

Clint Eastwood filmed the Eiger Sanction here, Frau von Almen, my boss, is the woman next to him.

I made another swiss friend!
Im not sure what this cow is doing, but there is the Eiger and Monch in the background. Dad and I stood on the summit of the Eiger in 1975.
Lauterbrennan Valley, sweet!!

The swiss army practising their drumming

Want to hear them drumming? Of course you do!:

We took the First Gondola, where Kim and I went tandem parasailing in 2004, and got these shots

stitched together 3 photos

We had a great hike to the Schreckhornhutte. It was a true alpine bliss experience, we were aware there was no place in the world we would rather be at that moment, surrounded by wildflowers and glaciers, little avalanches regularly falling from the slopes above. It was a 3500 foot climb to the hut, in 4 hours.

One of the many glaciers behind the Eiger
The first hour of the hike was below tree line
Kim and I hiked here in 2004
The Baregg restaurant reached in the first hour of the hike
There is no place Id rather be than right here, right now. Have you ever felt that?

Mike was feeling the alpine bliss
One of the many glaciers, they are receding due to global warming, we are at about 8000 feet
Mike, looking back down the valley to Grindelwald

I made a friend! Schweinschnitzel anyone?

Video of Mike and the glaciers during our hike

As the trail got higher there was fresh snow from the storm the night before
I saw this beautiful wild Steinbock with magnificent horns
The trail climbed fixed ladders to the left of this glacier, can you see the trail through the snow slanting upward to the right on the left of this picture?
Magnificent alpine paradise

You could hear and then see small avalanches and rockfalls

Fixed ladders helped get you up the steep parts
This was the scary river crossing where Kim and I had a tough time crossing in 2004
Dont travel on glaciers without ropes

After a 3500 foot climb here is the Shreckhornhutte, I had a bowl of soup for 7 dollars

View from the hut

HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR GRINDELWALD PHOTOS. The next 2 days it rained and rained and rained, leaving fresh snow as low as 5000 feet, in August. Mike left for Munich and Im on my own now. Hope to post a Kandersteg Klettersteig then the Austrian Alps in a week or two. If you are feeling friendly, post a comment!

Aug. 30, 2010