The mountain forecast predicted a clear day after several days of snow. A perfect ski forecast, so I hooked up with Dave Miller, one of the guides from our Haute Route, to ski off the Jungfraujoch.
Mary and I met Dave at the Grindelwald train station and boarded for the first leg up to Kleine Scheidegg. The views from the train were magnificent.
At Kleine Scheidegg we switched trains. The line to the Jungfraujoch is mostly inside tunnels bored into the mountains, but makes two stops for viewing before reaching the top.
The first stop provides a look out of the north face of the Eiger.
The second stop is along the southeast face.
The Jungfraugoch is the highest train station in Europe and home to the "Top of Europe" tourist attraction - which we completely avoided. Once out of the station we found ourselves in this stunning alpine setting near the head of the Aletcsh Glacier, the largest in the Alps.
We skied down a bit in nice snow and then headed up this ice field.
The Jungfrau. The tallest peak in the vicinity.
Looking down the Aletsch with the Fiescher Gabelhorn and neighboring peaks center.
The new snow brought heightened danger with it. Winds had created shallow, yet dangerous slabs and drifts had masked crevasses in the glaciers. We took a conservative approach for sure!
Mary hiked over to the to the Monchjoch hut while Dave and I skied. The hut is in the gap to the right of the imposing Monch here.
Dave nears the top. For the first time during my trip to the Alps we were breaking trail!
Another view back towards the Monch and the glaciers. The Jungfraujoch, our starting point, is just out of view along the left shoulder of the Monch.
I mistakenly took this photo, but it turned out interesting.
The first few turns off the top were a bit wind affected, but below the skiing was terrific!
We finished our tour at the same time Mary finished her hike. All of us elated for spending a beautiful day in the alpine. Back on the train!
The train ride down from Kleine Scheidegg was again impressive.
The north face of the Eiger. The scale is difficult to comprehend. That's about 2,200 meters (~7,500 feet)!
The Wetterhorn (left) rises above Grindelwald.
Much of the commerce around Grindelwald is agrarian.
We enjoyed a fine dinner at our chalet.
While watching numerous avalanches thundering down the nearby slopes.
The barn behind our chalet at last light.
We stayed in the bottom of this chalet. Very comfortable with amazing views.
A simply amazing day!
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