Snow, snow and more snow.

My front door today 10th December 2012

A Wengen Winter Wedding Day!

Bride and Groom take the vicar skiing

Coffee with the Best Man and Bridesmaids

Marcus the Vicar is also allowed a coffee break from skiing

Thankfully everyone made it back to the village in one piece, with plenty of time to get dressed up.

Horse and carriage to the church

The Wengen Marching Band did a great job playing the music in the church.

We sang carols.

The deed is done

Ski School colleagues form an archway for the Bride and Groom

50% off Skipass

I've just heard that Jungfraubahn are offering good reductions on skipasses if booked 21 days in advance.

Here's the link  http://shop.jungfrau.ch/en/skipass/

It's still snowing!

Ski Fit?

After my two full days of skiing I have no muscle aches or pains, just the soft tissue damage from the boots. This is because of two major reasons: I do my best to keep fit and I use good technique for my skiing.

What's my fitness programme? I hike, bike and climb throughout the summer. I have a daily stretch and back strengthening routine, incorporating some yoga positions, and while at home in the UK in November I joined a gym and weight trained every other day for three weeks. 

But the real trick is to find an exercise routine that you enjoy.

It makes a big difference to your skiing holiday to be as physically prepared as possible. 

An older gentleman skied with me ten, fifteen years running til well into his seventies. He is a tall, heavy set man who 'admits' to being 17 stone. The first few years with him I found rather worrying. Every four or five turns he had to stop to wipe the sweat from his brow and catch his breath. I was convinced he'd have a heart attack. Technique wise he skied a reasonable parallel turn and had many years of experience on skis. His goal at this point was to be able to ski top to bottom of Wixi lift, without stopping. My advice, get a personal trainer at the local gym, and go at least weekly, throughout the year.

The following years, he'd lose two stones through regular gym visits between Christmas and his ski trip in March. 

The skiing goal was attained.

It's time to get fit for your skiing holiday!

The Ski Season has begun.

We skied this weekend.

 Lauberhorn, Arven and Eigernordwand lifts opened for the ski instructors CPD (Continual Professional Development) course. Truth be told, they probably wouldn't have opened were it not for us 200 instructors wishing to keep our licenses up to date. Saturday was clear blue skies, today cold and snowing. Even some powder. There were a few crazies off piste yesterday, despite lack of a decent base.

My shins and calves are sore and bruised, it was painful to put my boots on this morning. A relief to remove them this evening. How does anyone ever enjoy a weeks holiday on skis? I lathered on the arnica cream last night and this morning, and will continue to do so for a few days. Home made of course.

The English equivalent would be daisy, an old English name being Bruisewort, which has similar properties to arnica. According to Mrs M. Grieve (A Modern Herbal, 1982, pg 247) who quotes Gerard,  'Bruisewort' is an unfailing remedy in 'all kinds of paines and aches'.

Thankfully, I now have a week to recover before the area actually opens for real. A fantastic start to the season.

Wixi Lift Mountain Station Webcam!

It's snowing for real, setting up the season nicely. Take a look at the link on the left, Panomax Lauberhorn, for a snowstorm view.

I believe they are also starting to make snow now as the temperature has dropped enough.

Here's looking forward to a fantastic winter's skiing.

Snow falling!

Only a couple of days ago I was in a bikini on the balcony. Today it's snowing. Now there is roughly 15cm of snow there instead of me, a book and a glass of wine.

Just two weeks ago was the first snow fall in Wengen, about 5cm. Then four days later, Männlichen had temperatures up to 20 C, the 30cm of snow didn't last long.

Last year we also had snow in October. After which it was sunny and warm again til mid December. Meaning the ground wasn't prepared for the coming winter that arrived on 18th Dec. A warm ground can lead to more chance of avalanches.

At the beginning of this week I was climbing at Eigergletscher. Here are some views from there.

There was a fair bit of fog this week, also in the UK I hear. 

 However,

climb high enough and it is beautiful!

 Wengen lies at 1200m, just above the fog until...

Towards the end of my daily constitutional the fog had risen.

Winter prep in progress

Look closely and you can see the snow making equipment already in position.

There are also new snow making machines on the Lauberhorn piste, and pipe lines are being installed Allmend to the village.

Wengernalp yesterday....

Wixi update 23rd October

Especially for Joan, yesterday's photos of Wixi.

But first, the bridge on 1st October....

Tal Station 

Bridge from afar

Looking good eh?

Wixi Lift in September 2012

The Wixi Bridge is built.

The Tal-Station

Chästeilet

Sunday was the 'Cheese Festival'. 

This is where the owners of the cows receive their quota of mountain cheese.

I say owners rather than farmers because it is possible to have a share in a cow and therefore get that percentage in cheese.

As part of the deal the idea is to spend a little time helping out on the alp.

Following are some short videos of the folklore entertainment during the day.

Wengen Jodel Club

 Alphorn

Trychler Club

Alpabzug Wengen

Today the cows left their summer abode.

 They walked down from Wengernalp, through the village and on to Lauterbrunnen and home.

Here they are at Almend

Passing Kneu, the upper end of Wengen

This year due to road works the usual trip round the town via the Schwimmbadkehr wasn't possible. This caused a bit of a stir as the cows know their route and were quite put out to be led elsewhere. 

A couple of photos from 2009.

Passing by the Berghaus Hotel.

More Views of/from Wengen

Views from Ledi, Wengen.

Views from Hunnenfluh, Wengen.

Wixi, at the top!

I finally got to the top of Wixi today!

When I focus in to 'Wengernalp', it's actually Allmend!

In the background is the warning sound of a marmot, I wasn't able to spot him though.

The Männlichen Ski area in summer

From the top

At the Tschuggen cross over going towards Gummi.

Looking up Gummi Nord to the Gummi top station.

A Collection of Gentians

This is the same story as with the orchid collection, more to come and some will have to wait now til next year.

Gentiana purpurea

Gentiana asclepiadea

Gentiana campestris

Gentiana lutea

Gentiana nivalis

Gentiana punctata

Wengen Ski Area in Summer

Wengen Milk

Here in Wengen it is possible to wander along to the local dairy, Chas Gruebi, with your milk-can and have it filled with fresh raw milk. Hans, the owner, has three milking cows. All Wengen cows go to the Alp for summer, except these three. On average they produce about 50 litres of milk a day, which is distributed to local hotels and sold to customers on request.

It is advised to heat the milk to 70 degrees before use.

The taste differs daily. This is according to the weather and flora variations of the grazing. Have you seen the Swiss hay fields? They are awash with colour due to the diversity of wild flowers.

It would be so interesting to do an HPLC to discover the phyto constituents of this milk and make a comparison with supermarket milk. Lets not stop there, how about the amount and types of bacteria, and whether they are a  healthy addition to human micro flora, or disease causing?

Here are some happy cows.
On Männlichen

And on
 Mettlen Alp

Alpine Lady's Mantle

Alchemilla alpina

Pfarrer Künzle (there is more about him in July 2012 under Hypericum from alp to oil) writing about Lady's mantle in 1911, says the alpine version is of higher nobility than her sister, with the same properties but of a stronger grade. He interestingly also says of Alchemilla vulgaris that it is strongly radioactive. A hundred years ago this word had a very different meaning to today and refers to 'life energy' (Science of Being by Eugene Fersen, J. F. Tapley Co, New York 1923, pg 141).

A research comparing constituents of the two species would be an interesting project.

Alchemilla vulgaris

Alchemilla alpina

Schynige Platte to First

A few days ago I went for a wonderful hike from Schynige Platte to First. 

Fabulous weather, beautiful views, great company.

Here is the panorama after about an hours walk.

Here is the panorama we enjoyed at lunchtime.

Just in case you're not sure ...... I zoom in to the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Views on route to Männlichen

A Collection of Orchids

The idea here is to post videos of all the orchids found in this area. There are several still to come and some of those will be next year.

 

Nigritella nigra

Black Vanilla Orchid

I originally thought this was a Frog Orchid, but now I think it is a new one to me, the False Orchid.

Chamorchis alpina

Epipactis atrorubens

Dark Red Helleborine

I think this is one of the Fragrant Orchids, it certainly has a lovely scent.

Gymnadenia odoratissama

Listera ovata
Common Twayblade

Coeloglossum viride
Frog Orchid

 

Traunsteinera globosa

Round-Headed Orchid

Building Wixi 6 Man Skilift

Wixi and Fallboden Talstation July 2012

 Building the new Wixi Bridge that takes the skiers over the train line.

Looking back up the Wixi Piste.

Looking at the potential bridge from the blue ski track.

And two weeks later......

Hypericum from Alp to Oil!

Hypericum richeri

One hundred years ago a famous swiss priest-herbalist, Kräuterpfarrer Johann Künzle, wrote that the best Hypericum was to be found in the alps (Kräuteratlas zu Chrut und Uchrut, pg 11). The infused oil made from these flowers certainly has a fabulous colour, as we will see in a few weeks. This presumably means a high concentration of hypericin, but it would be rather interesting to do an HPLC to see if science bears out Pfarrer Künzle's experience.

 Having walked the harvested plant home, the flowers are plucked and placed into oil. 

 Stains on my fingers prove that I have the right plant.

 And not even an hour later the oil is already starting to change colour.

A few weeks later ...... August 11th, and thanks to some wonderful sunshine, the oil is ready to be strained, bottled and used.

The Jungfrau and Alpenrose

Rhododendron ferrugineum

Spring Flowers still to be found

Cardamine pratensis

One of the great pleasures of the Alps is that one can enjoy all seasons in the same day. The same also goes for the flora. Even in high summer it is possible to turn a corner and find yourself back in spring, as I discovered last week when I stumbled on Lady's Smock, at 2000m.

Introducing Arnica montana

Please remember Arnica is a protected plant for a very good reason, it is rare.

In the French Alps it is disappearing apparently because of the contamination from the flight paths above.                                                                               

Leopardsbane

Arnica montana

A video Blog!

Am I ready to move out of my comfort zone and into posting home grown videos of my favourite plants? Well, here goes!

Symphytum officinale var patens

For those who require the full reference mentioned, it is from a book called A Modern Herbal by Mrs M. Grieve, New York 1971, Dover Publications, originally published in 1931.
The white flowers in view while I'm mentioning the purple flowers of comfrey are actually feverfew, so don't get confused.

I'm Back!

My apologies for the rather long absence, life sort of took over for a while. However, I have been re-inspired by some wonderful people, who were on my Herb Walk this week, into reposting here on my blog. How does it get any better than that?

A couple of pictures of my recent trip to Schynige Platte.



The Eiger, Moench, and Jungfrau, with Maennlichen in front.



Dryas octopetala, mountain avens and the Brienzer See.








June 14th 1893 was the opening of the railway to Schynige Platte, and every year on that day they celebrate by selling cheap tickets!