Switzerland 2008

[Tony Lee]

Hello all,I am enjoying your chat about Switzerland thanks for that.may I offer my contribution,We were in Grindelwald the last 10 days of June,Soldanella pusilla can be seen on the walk from First to Backalpsee.

[Paddy Tobin]

Tony,

Really, I hope we will hear and see more of your stay in Grindelwald. While we were there we didn't venture to that side of the hill at all but would  have loved to do so - as I said previously, that's a good reason to plan another holiday in the area.

Tony Goode will shortly post photographs of a walk from Kleine Scheiddegg across under the Eiger and over in the direction of Grindelwald which promises to be very interesting.

Looking forward to more posts from you, Tony. You will have photographs of another area which would be of interest.


Paddy

[ian mcenery]

Tony and Paddy Nice to see plants from different times. Pam and I went to Wengen at the end of June but haven't had much time to resize etc till now. Here a few pictures below the Eigergletcher (glacier)


I have posted I think 2 different Ranunculus one seems to be alpestris but the other looks like crenatus. Any views please as the book suggests that crenatus is not  from here 

[ian mcenery]

Searching for the elusive Cyps with friends Ron and Joan Beeston and Eureka 

[ian mcenery]

Here a couple from the eiger trail. Unfortunately for most of that day the Eiger north wall was shrouded in cloud - otherwise we may have gone for the top  . The plants here were plentiful and varied though the scenic photos don't always show this

[Paddy Tobin]

Hi Ian,

Great to see you photographs from your visit. I had done a recce for the Cypridpediums but they were no longer in flower. Lucky you.

Paddy

[David Nicholson]

Speaking as one who gets very dizzy on a low step ladder the Eiger trail looks very scary

[tonyg]

Its not as bad as it looks.  I met two mountain bikers coming down as I approached the top at 7pm ... they were wearing full body armour but I don't think they expected to need it.
I'll try and sort my pics out tonight.

[hadacekf]

Ian,
Both pictures show Ranunculus alpestris.

[tonyg]

Ian that alpine meadow shot is superb.  Looks like you were there at just the right time to see some of the best flowers.   Did you notice any hybrids between the Primula auricula and Primula hirsuta pictured? 

My walk up the Eiger trail was just that, a walk up!  I started at Alpiglen and walked up to Eigergletscher .... then back down to Kleine Scheidegg for my evening meal.  Having set off at 9am for Biglenalp and spent around five and a half hours on the go in the first half of the day it was a difficult decision.  I could only fit in the trail in the uphill direction unless I wanted to walk back from Alpiglen which was out of the question.  I set off at around 4pm in increasingly overcast conditions.  This was OK as the first hour is a long steep uphill drag, switch-backing across meadow and rocky places until the first, albeit grassy screes are reached. Better cooler conditions for such a climb.  The greatest variety of flowers was in this section as there was also a variety of habitats.  However the higher parts have an interesting mix of flowers although I was too late for the flush of spring flowers that Ian saw.  There was still one short stretch over snow at the top end even at the end of July.

I've started with a couple of shots taken in 2001 from the Mannlichen ridge which show you where the walk is situated.  The obvious line of grey is the railway, a long way BELOW the path!

Campanula cochlearifolia was seen almost throughout.
Saxifraga azoides mostly in the lower reaches although it was in bud at the top of this steep climb
Pyrola rotundifolia (I think - will look it up when at home later) was seen in some surprisingly open places for a plant I have seen in woodland in the Pyrenees.
Parnassia palustris always takes the eye with its almost transluscent white flowers.
Looking up into the clouds to finish this batch.  More later covering the 'easier' bit of the stroll

[ian mcenery]

Tony that is  what I call a tough day. No wonder ypou only went for 31/2 days you needed to stop and have a rest. When we did it we went down to Alpiglen and then in the afternoon went over to First but didn't do much walking then just trying to get value out of our 6 day pass
I didn't see any hybrids with Hirsuta but I must confess I thought it's colour deserved centre stage in the photograph

Here is our walk for the Mannlichen

Could anyone identify the fern and the plant captioned Whats this please

[Diane Clement]

Whats this please

Is it an Ajuga?

Fabulous pictures, all the Wengen travellers!  I'm almost jealous, but we had our own super holiday in Austria, pictures to follow when I've resized them.

[ruweiss]

Thanks to all Switzerland freaks for all these fine pictures.
I think the first pic shows Ajuga pyramidalis and the other one the Holly fern,Polystichum lonchitis.
Rudi

[Maggi Young]

Ah, good, a trip to Austria to look forward to.... I'll pack the sandwiches....

[Armin]

Don't miss the chocolate