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 •The
highest point in the Alps is Mont Blanc at 15,771
feet. Mont Blanc is located a few miles southwest
of the point where Italy, France, and Switzerland
come together. Happily, on a circuit of Mont
Blanc you will hike through all three of these
countries!
•The Alps generally act as a barrier to
winds flowing over them. However, once in a while
moist air will sneak up over a ridge and come
down on the other side as a dry warm wind - referred
to as the Föhn. It is said that the föhn
triggers a level of anxiety among the people
living north of the Alps - causing nervousness,
more car accidents, and hospital admissions.
For the hiker in the Alps though, the föhn
usually means a period of good weather!
•Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786 by
Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard, an event that gave
birth to the sport of mountaineering.
 •The
first woman to ascend Mont Blanc was 28-year-old
Maria Paradis from Chamonix, who set foot on
the summit in 1809. When asked what it was like
climb Mont Blanc she replied "If you want
to know what it is like, go and find out for
yourselves."
•Walter Martin Schirra (Wally Schirra),
the astronaut who completed the third US space
mission around the orbit of the earth on Sigma
7, is originally from the small village of Loco
in Valle Onsernone, Ticino. In 1965 he completed
16 orbits around the earth on Gemini 6 and in
1968 he completed 173 orbits on Apollo 7. He
currently lives in California. In 1977, Walter
paid his first visit to Loco and was received
with the warmest welcome and a great party. (So,
more great things than chocolate, cheeses, and
watches come from Switzerland!)
 •Ötzi
the Ice Man was found on an alpine ridge along
the border between Austria and Italy in September
1991. At the time of his death (about 5,200 years
ago), he was between 40 and 50 years old and
suffered from a number of medical conditions.
Scientists believe that Ötzi was caught
in a heavy snowfall, fell asleep, and froze to
death. There were no signs of predator attacks,
and scientists believe that the body was covered
with snow almost immediately.
•The first skis used in Switzerland were
built in the town of Airolo in 1879, commissioned
by a local carpenter, Giocondo Dotta, who learned
how to use skis in the US, when he had to cover
great distances to herd his cattle.
•Meringues originated in Meiringen, in the
Bernese Oberland. At some unknown time in the
pre-Revolutionary eighteenth century, an Italian
baker by the name of Gasparini invented a baked
concoction of egg whites, sugar, and cream, and
named it after Meiringen, the scene of his inspiration.
Louis XV took a liking to Gasparini’s creation,
whereupon the French name “meringue” took
over.
•Lake Como in the Italian Lake District
reaches a depth of 1,345 feet making it the deepest
lake in Europe.
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For more information and reservations,
please contact:
Mountain Travel Sobek
1266 66th Street, Suite 4
Emeryville, CA 94608
1-510-594-6000 or
Toll Free 1-888-831-7526 (USA & Canada)
Additional International Toll Free Numbers
Fax: 1-510-594-6001
Email: info@mtsobek.com |
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