Pilatus and the Swiss Alps in the Mist

When we reached the top, we had it almost to ourselves. We walked out of the station through a gallery of snow - the snow had drifted about 10-15 feet deep and they had just cut tunnels through it rather than dig it all away.

We got our first real panoramic view of the snow-covered Swiss Alps. It was very nice even though there was quite a bit of cloud about. We walked all around, taking pictues and looking in all directions. They have a number of tunnels with windows or galleries through the side of the mountain so that you can look out. June 3, 1967

Pilatus Rack Railway Through the Snow

A close look shows two of the cars on the track to the top of Mt. Pilatus. One is going up and the other down. June 3, 1967

Pilatus Rack Railway Through the Snow

Black Birds on Top of Pilatus

We decided to climb to the summit (Esel) once more before returning to the bottom. The path was narrow and since I was carrying a rucksack I stepped to the side to let the descending people pass. The response as they passed was "Danke--Merci--Merci--Thank you--Danke---" At the top a large number of black birds came to beg for crumbs. They sailed beautifully on wings that looked like a raven's --and they were about that size-- but their beaks and eyes looked more like the thrush family. They were much bigger than the English "blackbird". June 3, 1967

Switch Point on the Rack Railway

On the way down Pilatus, we were intrigued by the simple and precise mechanism for switching the track. It was light enough to be operated by hand. We watch the ascending train take the track, then are switched onto the track to continue our journey down. June 3, 1967