Climb every mountain…..tra la la !!!!! - walking Europe

For someone who first wet her boots in the *Tararuas a considerable number of years ago, climbing in Switzerland is a completely different ball game.

On Sundays in summer, the “Prealps” a few minutes drive from Fribourg, are riddled with family groups- ranging from Grandma and Grandpa down to barely walking toddlers and the family dog. On peaks over 2000 metres high you can even run into Sunday joggers and mountain bikers (except when there is a vertical scramble to the top, then the bikes are usually left behind!) and at midday, all the peaks around you are dotted with specks of people.

Last Sunday, we climbed the Dents du Broc – fairly steep, rugged peaks overlooking Gruyère (where the cheese comes from). From where we left the car to the top of the mountain, it took two hours. The very pleasant climbing, on a path all the way to the top, started through a shady forest with chamois, then high cow pastures with cows and bells jangling, flowers and chalets and then an easy, vertical rock scramble just below the top. The only unpleasantness in the cow pastures was due to the clouds of noisy black flies that whooshed up around you if you accidently put your foot too close (or in) to the rich, pungent-smelling, black, giant cow pats dotted along the mountain streams.

After the climb, you can relax in the outdoor cafés in the village of Broc, sipping a long, cool drink and admiring the peaks that you have just scrambled down from.

If you are considering spending your summer holidays in the Swiss mountains, this area of Switzerland is very pleasant. More information on the climbs can be found here -external link:

http://www.noth.ch/en/randos/dent-de-broc.html

Happy Holidays!

Flying Kiwi

Fribourg Switzerland 2008

*New Zealand