Snow-covered trees and a mountain breeze (Day 7)

It was the most expensive optional adventure on our tour, but the saying goes that you haven’t done Switzerland if you haven’t gone to the top of one of its many mountains. The mountain we had in mind was Pilatus, so named because here is where Pontius Pilate landed when God threw him from heaven.

When we arrived, we got a good lecture on how important it was to keep our ticket, that we would need it every stop of the way up and down the mountain. As we waited, we could see the small gondolas passing overhead, passing to or from their journey up the mountain.

The weather wasn’t clear this morning, and Neil cautioned us about that before we started up. As we started to rise above the city, we were surrounded by gray, though the views were pretty sweet anyway.

Quickly we were above civilization, and the tall, snow-covered trees began to pass. The thing is, you can’t have enough pictures of snow covered trees, so fortunately I had a big memory card.

We rose into the mist, still surrounded by snow-covered trees. There were snowmobile tracks around us and the occasional house. Maybe it was a way-station for those climbing the mountain. And then the mass of a mountain appeared in the distance, and the clouds began to clear. And the sun shone showed us this:



We stopped at another station and left our four-person gondola. Here there was a lodge and it looked like some people were sledding. We were headed to the large gondola – about 40 people – that would take us the rest of the way to the top. Once we disembarked from that vehicle and made our way out into the open, there was really only one word for it.

Wow.

To look into the distance and peak after peak of glacier-carved rock, to look into the valleys and realize that the lakes were clouds, to look down and realize the rock you were standing on was 7,000 feet in the air, it was simply amazing. It brought a whole new level to amazing, a grandeur that only simplicity can create.

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From the “main level” there were a few excursions up and around the peak. Several of us chose to go up (left) on a path that zigged through snow and zagged through ice. From the top, we saw a mountain sheep or goat on a sun-drenched plateau below. The air up there was clean, fresh, and exhilarating. There’s nothing like a mountain breeze.

Coming down from the summit was a little slippery; I only landed on my butt once. But in the car going down, I got to stand at the front as we were launched back down the mountain. Very cool, in a mild thrill-seeker sort of way.

Back on the ground, walking just didn’t seem the same, and having to find your ticket to leave the sky-ride station was more than a little difficult. One of those realities that you’re not ready to have creep back in after visiting such a wonderland. But we found our cards, and loaded back on the bus, to find our tour guide had rediscovered his inner child and sledded down the mountain. There were a few of us that were jealous, but, all the same, not dressed to go sledding.

Back into the town of Lucerne, we stopped off at the hotel with much of the day left free. I had the walking tour from my guidebook, but walking just didn’t seem the same.