I mentioned a while ago that people from all over the world come to Wengen, but many of those who visit today are British and as a nation we were amongst the first tourists to come here.
This thought came up the other day when talking about place names on the mountain. From Wengen up to Scheidegg and beyond, along the line of the railway and above, many of the names are English. Plum Pudding Hill, Punch Bowl, DHO Gap and so on.
The cable car to Mannlichen did not open until 1954, so in the heyday of oppulent holidaying, the 1930s, tourists from Wengen took the train to Scheidegg. On their one run of the day back to the village, it seems the skiers named the landmarks they passed. So the next time you are near Telegraph Fields or somewhere similar, spare a thought for our privileged predecessors. They left their mark on the area for all time.
Things are always changing though and today the cable cars to Mannlichen, which closed for the season only yesterday, were sent packing quickly, to be replaced before the start of the summer season with brighter, shinier new toys. Does anyone need a used cable car? I know where a couple might be had.
In Wengen, there are just a few lifts open now, but the sun shone for most of the day and the wind which threatened early on died away. What was a pleasant day brought 10,663 vertical metres in 24 lift rides.
Idle thoughts from a mountain 