Titlis!

On Wednesday, our group traveled to Engelberg, in the central region of Switzerland.  Our destination was Titlis Mountain, the highest summit in the Uri Alps, located on the border between the cantons of Bern and Oberland.  We were very fortunate to have a bright sunny day at the top of the summit, even though there were clouds closer to the ground, and all of us enjoyed the amazing sights and the experience of standing atop a mountain of 3,238 meters (10, 623 feet).

We took two trains to get to Engelberg, and our students did a fantastic job making the connection in Lucerne with less than 5 minutes time between our arrival on the train from Basel and the departure of our next train traveling to Engelberg!  Our group has gotten so much better at making these tough transitions!

 

After a 15-minute walk from the Engleberg train station (bahnhof), we got tickets and boarded cable cars to travel partway up the side of the mountain. 

  

Shortly after we started our journey, we saw a dramatic change from green, grassy slopes to the snow-covered mountainside, covered with fresh snow from a storm last weekend.  After about 10 minutes, we needed to hop out and get into a different cable car.  This one could fit our entire group and about 15 other travelers, some with skis and snowboards!  One truly special thing about this cable car is that it rotates 360 degrees during the journey to the top of Titlis, and it is the first rotating cable car ever built in the world!  We all enjoyed the view and were truly amazed by the beautiful scenery around us!

Our group was fortunate to spend over two-and-a-half hours at the top of Titlis, exploring the snow, enjoying stunning views of the Alps, and crossing the suspension bridge on the mountain's south side.  This bridge is called the Titlis Cliff Walk, and it is the highest suspension bridge in Europe, and it opened to the public in 2012, shortly before our first group from RMHS traveled to Switzerland.

Everyone did a great job traveling on the long and tiring journey, and so many students talked about how truly special this experience was for them!