Taka Yamanouchi AIS class of 1970 Tky_Yamanouchi@shi.co.jp

Grindelwald valley, where we rented the cottage. More photos

July 17, 2006

I got back last night after a long flight from Zurich, via Tokyo. It was one of those vactions, for which you need another vacation to recuperate. I've never done so much hiking in my life (not even during our trips to Kashmir). I found out what it's like to have high-altitude sickness during a trip to the 12,000 foot high shoulder of Jungfrau, where they have an observation deck. The reduced oxygen level makes you dizzy, resulting in a headache.

We first went to Geneva where we spent 2-1/2 days touring the UN, the old city and the Lake. We then took a train to Grindelwald, which is in the valley below Mt. Eiger. We had rented a cottage with a fine view of the notorious North Face - you can easily see that it is a challenge of every climber - several thousand feet of vertical rock!

The Swiss Air Force practices extensively over Grindelwald, although I'm sure they keep the hard deck at 15,000 feet to keep from hitting one of the peaks. One of the flyboys made a pass at the observation deck when we were there, low enough to instantly recognize it as an F-18.

The new digital camera sure got a shakedown - I haven't counted how many frames I shot, but it seems to come to at least 7GB. Its a good thing I wasn't using film! Unfortunately, I lost about 100 shots which mysteriously dissapeared from a card. I know the camera was recording, but when I tried to download into my computer, the card was empty. Ever had that happen? I wonder if the images can be recovered in some way (I haven't used the card since).

It was hard, there are so many shots, but I've selected just a few. I can't send too many since they're about 2.5MB each.

The first shot (at top of page) shows the Grindelwald valley, where we rented the cottage. You can see that the mountains tower over it, a tremendous sight. The cottage is located at the lower center of the photo.

View from the cottage. More photos

This is the view from the cottage. The mountains are so close that even with a 28mm lens, I can't get the whole panorama in. The mountain on the right side is the base of Eiger.

They actually bored a long tunnel up through Eiger to reach the shoulder, where there is a spectacular observation deck, complete with restaurant. There's even a restaurant called "Bollywood", which serves Indian food! We saw the elevator doors open, disgorging a horde of Indians, who all rushed into "Bollywood". What a scream!

Unfortunately, these shots fail to capture the true scale of the vista. You have to be there in person to appreciate the full glory of this unique area (and hope for good weather too!).

Kosei, Yoriko, and Chika. More photos

Here we are out on the snow, with Jungfrau in the back. The observation deck (called "Sphinx") sits on top of the rocky outcrop (you can just see it in the photo). The amazing thing is that the railway terminal inside the base of the rocky outcrop and the Sphinx and the other deck is reached through underground elevators and passageways.

Although we're only at 11,000ft, the thin air forced us to walk slowly. Jungfrau peak is around 13,800ft. Its not as cold as it looks, some people were walking around in shortsleaves and shorts (although you need a heavy dose of sunscreen!).

Staying in Grindelwald a whole week allowed us to pick the right day to go up here. Get it wrong and all you see is a fogbank.

Taka

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