Dwight Peck's personal website

Tour de Mayen

near Leysin, Switzerland


The lovely village of Leysin, in the Swiss Alps, sprawls at 1250m-1450m on the flank of a range of six small limestone peaks. These little peaks are wonderful in all seasons.

The Leysin Six, from left, La Riondaz, La Berneuse (behind the tree), the Tour d'Aï and Tour de Mayen in the center, the long hump of the Truex, and the Tour de Famelon on the right.

The very most fabulous collection of local mountains anywhere, 7km across from left to right. The Tour de Mayen is at the centre on the horizon.

The Tours d'Aï and Mayen from La Forclaz to their southeast

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The Tour de Mayen (2326m) in summer, 1979, with the yellow-trail road contouring across the bottom and the red trail from the Berneuse snaking down from the upper left. The Diamond is the lower, rightward cliff off the Plan de Mayen.

The Diamond and the top of Tour de Mayen, 1980. Indifferent success on cross-country skis, up at the top, but we got back down okay.

Summity parts of Tour de Mayen, 1980. Cross-country skis are still to be dissuaded.

The last bits to the top of Tour de Mayen, 2326m high

Our then-dentist John and fellow ACS librarian Cathy dashing up the chain near the top of Tour de Mayen, 1980.

The Tour de Mayen from the top of the Combe de Bryon, with Plan de Mayen on the left and the Truex on the right.

Mr Peck, in the days before he could afford proper mountain clothing or a haircut, reposing on Truex in front of the Tour de Mayen, 1980

The Tour de Mayen in autumn, gone all brown. (Mr Peck and Mr Ware went up there on crosscountry skis one blustery day in 1985 and had more fun going up than coming down. In the absence of a real rope, Mr Peck belayed Mr Ware on an avalanche cord.)

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A similar shot a few years later, in a different season

The route up to the Tour de Mayen by the Lac de Segray, in about 1980

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And the same mountain, from Dessus Corbex above the Combe de Bryon, a stormy early evening in 1980; the Lac de Segray in the notch on the right.

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The Tour de Mayen looking pretty inhospitable, on another rather stormy early evening, 1984. Didn't make it to the top this time but had fun anyway.

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And the Tour de Mayen in better weather, from behind the Tour d'Aļ.

Tour de Mayen from the top of the Tour d'Aï, ca. 1980. The normal hiking path can be seen winding up from under the cliffs on the lower right up through the obvious cleft left of center in the top rockband. The one with the chain laid on.

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The farm and buvette near Lac de Mayen, 1979

Lac de Mayen and the buvette, farm, and top of the skilifts, Leysin down to the right, 1980 or so

The Tour de Mayen and Tour d'Aï from the valley of the Hongrin on the far side of the mountains, to the north. July 2006.

From part way up the path from Ayerne in the Hongrin valley military ground to the Pointe d'Aveneyre.

The Leysin range from the far side: Famelon on the left, Truex across the middle, Mayen, and Aï. July 2006.

The Tour de Mayen (left) and Plan de Mayen, the Diamond (right), from downtown Leysin, 2005

The Leysin Tours from the village of Vers l'Eglise, August 2005

Index of Leysin local mountain photos

from SwitzerlandMobility (http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en)


Feedback and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, . All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 23 September 2005, revised 18 January 2008, 14 March 2014.


Leysin mountains

Leysin scenery


Leysin village

American College of Switzerland