Jen and Dave: Adventuring

July 8, 2022

Jen was scheduled to have two days of meetings in Zurich, but it turned out everything fit on the Thursday. Taking the advice of a Swiss colleague, we decided to take the train to Luzern and then the cog train to the Pilatus mountain massif. This turned out to be an amazing plan. Jen got her Swiss Alps after all!

The cog train is the steepest in the world, with a grade of 48%, and it climbs over 1600 metres to the plateau.

Upon arrival we were greeted with cloud, but the forecast said it would clear up. We climbed the staircases to two of the close peeks, peering at the scenery through breaks in the cloud cover.

We then heard the sound of horns. Alpine horn players were on the plaza. They were very talented.

Lunch on the plaza then followed, consisting of local cheese, meats, butter and buns. Delicious.

After lunch we went through the “dragon walk” and then onwards to Tomlishorn peak. The wildflowers were fantastic! We also saw a curious young ibex along the route.

After our walk, we found a family of ibex just off the plateau, and were lucky enough to be able to observe them for some time.

Our last quest was up the third plateau peak, which was clouding over again.

Hearts full of mountains, fresh air and wildflowers, we took the cog train down, the train back to the hotel, and packed our bags. Heading home tomorrow.