COVID-19 My Coronavirus Mount Everest Climbing and Fundraising Challenge

Tonight I am putting my feet up on the highest pass in Switzerland, the Umbrail Pass at 2501 m (8205 ft). Like the Bernina Pass which is a little further to the West, the Umbrail connects the Engadin with the Italian Valtellina/Veltlin Valley to the South. The Veltlin was for some time a domain ruled by the canton of Grishuns/Graubünden, so there have been close ties that go back a long while.

As one of the minor passes, the Umbrail is fully tarmacked only since 2015 and has been visited by the Giro d'Italian road cycling tour in 2017.

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Tonight I am stopping at the Schilthorn (2980 m/9788 ft), a mountain that overlooks the Lauterbrunnen valley and has a famous revolving restaurant on top. It is reached by a whole series of cable cars via the resort of Mürren.
It famously features in a Bond film (In Her Majesty's Service) and has stunning views across to the Eiger/Mönch-Jungfrau massif across the valley (the three peaks straight ahead in the first picture) but also northward to the Jura and even the Black Forest on clear days.

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The 360 degrees panorama from the top of the Schilthorn
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Lovely views! I think I went up the Schilthorn on one of my ski-ing trips to Lauterbrunnen - in my sadly distant youth! I probably couldn't afford to go in the revolving restaurant though :))

Well done on your continuing progress up the mountains of the world!
 
Lovely views! I think I went up the Schilthorn on one of my ski-ing trips to Lauterbrunnen - in my sadly distant youth! I probably couldn't afford to go in the revolving restaurant though :))

Well done on your continuing progress up the mountains of the world!

Neither could I! I've been skiing in Mürren once or twice as a teenager but never went up the Schilthorn.
 
Just a quick update to say that I've stopped climbing the stairs for the duration of the heatwave! I've just come home from my daily walk, as it was too hot to be out before.

I'll be making my way to Northern India when it cools down a bit!

I haven't been able to run much up the stairs either as I am struggling in the humid heat, too. :(
 
..
'running' up the stairs .... even not much is impressive in this heat.

I haven't been well today and too busy on Wednesday morning to fit in all errands (including picking up an other fortnightly prepaid supply of hay from my local pet shop) to get at least one session in.
But we should be thankfully back to normal by tomorrow!
 
I hope you’ll be feeling better soon Wiebke. I’m glad for this thread because I couldn’t go up in those cable cars 😭
 
It's much cooler here today, so I've made it to Srinagar, Kashmir, Northern India at 1,585m. It is overlooked by the Pir Panjal mountain range.

Here you can see the mountains from Lake Dal, famous for its house boats.

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It was ruled by the Moghuls before the British flocked here in the Summer to escape the heat further South. Here's one of their temples

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and its famous for its Moghul gardens and tulipsnishat_bagh2_large.webp2018112460-1-olwdmvt9soli3dk1bls8413ve8xwb7xr2foyd9feyy.webp

There is quite a big city too, but isn't that photogenic!

Next stop is back to the Canadian Rockies.
 
I have been struggling with the hot weather - rushing around while it is still bearable enough to cool the house down as much as possible before it warms up again quickly and to get any necessary chores done before lethargy/being unwell hits.

But even though I haven't quite always been able to get at least one daily session in, during last week
I have passed my first third of my climb up Mount Everest!

I am celebrating this with bagging my first Swiss glacier, Basodino, in the South of Switzerland at 3273 m. The Basodino peak is the second highest mountain in the only Italian speaking canton in Switzerland, Ticino/Tessin.
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I have been struggling with the hot weather - rushing around while it is still cool enough to cool the house down as much as possible and to get any necessary chores done before lethargy hits.

But even though I haven't quite always been able to get at least one daily session on, during last week
I have passed my first third of my climb up Mount Everest!

I am celebrating this with bagging my first Swiss glacier, Basodino, in the South of Switzerland at 3273 m. The Basodino peak is the second highest mountain in the only Italian speaking canton in Switzerland, Ticino/Tessin.
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:clap: :clap: :clap:

Well done @Wiebke, that's amazing progress

My back is really bad at the moment so I've had to do fewer steps than usual.
 
I've made it to another Lake, this time in Alberta Canada. Lake Louise is 1,600m above sea level and not far from Banff, which I visited a little while ago.

The pictures are amazing - it's famous for its turquoise water and is fringed by mountains. LakeLouiseCanoe.webpbest-things-to-see-do-lake-louise-alberta-canada-01-720x464.webp

Here's one from above
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But what I can't understand is who on earth granted planning permission for THIS :rant::no::doh:
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It's not photoshopped - someone actually thought this was a good idea!

Next stop Australia - I'm certainly clocking up some miles!
 
I've made it to another Lake, this time in Alberta Canada. Lake Louise is 1,600m above sea level and not far from Banff, which I visited a little while ago.

The pictures are amazing - it's famous for its turquoise water and is fringed by mountains. View attachment 147052View attachment 147053

Here's one from above
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But what I can't understand is who on earth granted planning permission for THIS :rant::no::doh:
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It's not photoshopped - someone actually thought this was a good idea!

Next stop Australia - I'm certainly clocking up some miles!

Love this - except for the monstrosity!
 
I am laying up my feet on the Gornergrat (3135 m), a rocky ridge above Zermatt, to enjoy the best view of the Matterhorn - which I am of course going to tackle some weeks down the line when I get to about halfway up to Mount Everest and seriously run out of Swiss mountains to climb!

As you can imagine, the Gornergrat is very popular with tourists, skiers and hikers all year round. By now yu would likely be surprised if it couldn't be comfortably reached by a local train from Zermatt. Most people that have booked a place on the Glacier Express have included a trip up to the Gornergrat either at the start or the end of their journey.

Anyway, I've never been as it takes a day to get from the Basel area to Zermatt...
So allow me to indulge myself - and you - a bit over this first taste of one of the most iconic of mountains!

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During lockdown, the Matterhorn has been illuminated by night with various messages and cantonal and international flags, amongst them the UK and the USA:
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I am laying up my feet on the Gornergrat (3135 m), a rocky ridge above Zermatt, to enjoy the best view of the Matterhorn - which I am of course going to tackle some weeks down the line when I get to about halfway up to Mount Everest and seriously run out of Swiss mountains to climb!

As you can imagine, the Gornergrat is very popular with tourists, skiers and hikers all year round. By now yu would likely be surprised if it couldn't be comfortably reached by a local train from Zermatt. Most people that have booked a place on the Glacier Express have included a trip up to the Gornergrat either at the start or the end of their journey.

Anyway, I've never been as it takes a day to get from the Basel area to Zermatt...
So allow me to indulge myself - and you - a bit over this first taste of one of the most iconic of mountains!

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During lockdown, the Matterhorn has been illuminated by night with various messages and cantonal and international flags, amongst them the UK and the USA:
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Stunning photos - well done @Wiebke
 
Tonight I am putting up on top of the Les Diablerets massif (3210 m) (i.e. the Devil's mountains), which lies at the eastern end of Lake Geneva and is a very popular ski resort due to its easy access via the East-West main motorway.

The latest attraction is the Tissot Glacier 3000 Peak Walk suspension bridge between two of the tops in the massif - for those that unlike me have a head for heights. Personally, I prefer the virtual experience!



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Tonight I am putting up on top of the Les Diablerets massif (3210 m) (i.e. the Devil's mountains), which lies at the eastern end of Lake Geneva and is a very popular ski resort due to its easy access via the East-West main motorway.

The latest attraction is the Tissot Glacier 3000 Peak Walk suspension bridge between two of the tops in the massif - for those that unlike me have a head for heights. Personally, I prefer the virtual experience!



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Stunning pictures again!

I think I'd give that walk over the bridge a miss too!
 
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