Simon Clark - Taking Liberties

We left Switzerland this morning, heading west via Basle.

Currently taking a pit stop in northern France en route to Calais where we will board a Eurotunnel train. After that it should take a couple of hours to drive home.

Normal service will be resumed shortly. (Lots to report, and announce.) In the meantime, and further to my previous post, I can reveal that:

Largely unknown by British skiers, Engelberg is one of Switzerland’s best kept secrets. At the end of an open sunny valley and dominated by the impressive 3,200m Mount Titlis, it is a large and friendly traditional village. The world’s first revolving cable car provides a unique way to view the varied terrain as you travel to the guaranteed snow on the glacier 2kms above the village. (Source: ski-direct.co.uk)

We didn't experience "the world's first revolving cable car", which was near the top of the mountain, but we did reach 6,000 feet via a more traditional cable car that appeared, during one stage, to be travelling almost vertically – at which point I shut my eyes, clung to the edge of the seat and swore quietly, much to the amusement of the woman sitting opposite.

That experience was followed by lunch on the sun terrace of an alpine lodge and a relaxing walk around a frozen lake that was just beginning to thaw. With thick snow on one side and acres of grass on the other, it offered a striking contrast.

The return journey down the mountainside was even more spectacular - and this time I kept my eyes open from start to finish.

Above: view from Mount Rigi which we visited on Thursday. We reached the summit via the mountain railway you can see in the picture.

Update on Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 22:17 by

Simon Clark

Congratulations to an old school friend who recently climbed ten unchartered peaks in Greenland. (The BBC has the story here.)

I have mentioned Bill's exploits before but they're worth repeating. Last year he climbed the Eiger. Before that it was Mt Blanc and he has also reached the summits of Mts Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Oh, and there was also the little matter of reaching the South Pole, on foot.

More recently I posted a picture of the pair of us, with two friends, taken in the Lake District in 1975. Clearly, that experience inspired his subsequent exploits.

Curiously, it had the opposite effect on me. After a week roughing it in the Lake District I developed an incurable addiction to hot water, soapy baths and comfortable beds. Funny, that.