chapter 10
Swiss Alps
1/4/2011
it's all downhill
It was a simple twist of fate, a chance meeting at a ski slope bar at Brodie Mt, Mass that changed the course of my life in 1971. Unlike ships that pass in the night, our life courses intersected in the cold midnight darkness of those Berkshire Mountains. For the next several years we'd be skiing in the Swiss Alps. This is a magnificent part of the world that anyone should be so lucky to experience. It was pure peace, majesty, beauty, and enchantment.
There are many skiing, mountain scenes, and more personal pictures than usual which may not interest you, but they are an important chapter in my journey. I had logged hundreds of ski trips here in the North East but undocumented never wanting to lug around a camera. Those areas are all beautiful in their own right.
1973 Mürren (Feb)
Swiss Air offered these all inclusive low cost week package deals to airline employees for a couple hundred dollars. Unbelievable. There were a dozen different sites to choose from. We picked this village at random, but loved it so much it was difficult to go anywhere else afterward. It is remote, not accessible by road, only via cog wheel train, the funicular. No motor vehicle were allowed in town, just sleds, carts, and a few electric golf carts.There would be about 50 in our group, half couples, half singles from around the world; Frankfurt, London, Sydney, Scotland, Africa, Rio de Janeiro, Miami, LA, Dallas, and NY just looking to have a good time.
Our first schedulled landing at Zurich was diverted to Basel,France due to 3 feet of snow. Bus picked us up no problem and onto Murren where we floundered in the deep powder. Lodging at Alpine Palace Hotel, welcome wine party, fondue, racklette (cheeze melted over open fire), dinner with band, ratskeller disco, breakfast buffet, toboggan race. Magical. This village video illustrates the ville in winter.
From this village we took lifts up to ski one of the longest runs in Europe, from 10,000 ft elev to 5,000ft. The Inferno race video illustrates this course from the top of Schilthorn to Winteregg. I did this 9 mile Inferno run run non-stop on one of our 3 trips to Murren.
We had lunch at the top of the Schilthorn's Piz Gloria revolving restaurant where James Bond's On Her Majesty's Secret Service was filmed. We took the trains and funiculars just across the valley and up thru Wengen where this Lauberhorn race scene for Robert Redford's Downhill Racer was filmed. Had lunch at Kleine Scheidegg where George Kennedy watched thru the telescope as Clint Eastwood climbed the beautiful Eiger Mt in the Eiger Sanction.
1975 Les Diablerets Adequately covered in chapter 195 with video. Participated in moonlight ski torch parade with flares.
1977 Villars sur Ollon I only used a movie camera there, no good shots of this beautiful area. Took a day train side trip.