Ice cold in Grindelwald.

The title is my little plot device, referring to the beer I was looking forward to at the end of this particular hike.

It was "only" a seven or eight kilometer route but it went up seventeen miles about 500m and down about 800m or so. My knees know all about it and parts I was struggling, but if you don't push yourself......

All of it was done in the shadow of the Eiger (North Face natch - the place that has claimed the most lives of any European peak) and the five fabled 4000m peaks of Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn, Fiescherhorner, Monch and Jungfrau. It's a battle not to exhaust one's stock of superlatives about the views because they are, of course, just amazing.

The blip is myself and my sister looking out over a bollock-tingling drop near the top of the Rotihorn. Wetterhorn is in the distance on the left and Finsteraarhorn and Fiescherhorner the same on the right. The ridiculous headgear is to stop me getting sunstroke after yesterday's cock-up.

Off out now for wine....