Thanksgiving in Switzerland - Celebrating Outside

The weather on Saturday was good - a high of around 40 degrees or more. The sun was out. Most of the snow had melted. It was a perfect day to go for a walk.

The only problem with walking in the Alps is that you have only two choices. You can walk "up" or you can walk "down". There ain't no such thing as flat. What ever you choose, you are going to have to do the opposite to get back to where you started. Most folks who walked chose to walk "up"....farther up the mountain.The chalet sits on the side of a mountain at about 1500 meters altitude. During the summer time, the mountain is segmented into pastures with barbed wire and electric fencing. The cows graze the mountain pastures during the summer. Then, in the fall, the farmers drive the cows down into the valleys. They also pull up all the fence posts and lay the barbed wire on the ground until spring. The mountain side then becomes a ski slope for the winter. A few tourists come, but not as many to Les Mosses as to the big ski resorts.

From the chalet, the absence of snow made it possible to walk up the ski run toward higher elevations. The first thing that happens as you walk is that you get a better appreciation for those cows of summer. There are absolutely no flat spots on which to stand. You are always leaning uphill or downhill and straining your lower legs to keep from falling. Those cows must have great calves. (bad ump bump). The second thing that happens is that the scenery just gets more and more stunning.The opening picture shows Chris and Jill and Tim silhouetted against he sky as they climb toward the peak of the mountain. The photo above shows them more closely, upon their return from the top. The rest of the photos just show some of the beautiful scenery that was to be seen on that day.This last picture shows a stone wall that someone built on the side of the mountain at 2000 meters altitude or so. I walked up this stretch and my thighs burned and my lungs ached and my sense of balance strained to fight gravity and the uneven footing. I have the upmost respect for any farmer that could drag and then pile these stones to make a wall. Must have been one tough dude.