La Glacière de Saint George, deep
in the forest a few kilometres and 350 vertical meters uphill from the village
of St George above Rolle.
February 2002
With
fencing thoughtfully built round some of it, and ladders leading downward about
15 meters to a broad ledge, then another 15 meters or so to a floor with permanent
ice and passages leading off in several directions, the "Gouffre",
or "abyss", is a protected natural monument and accessible only by a
path through the forest.
Despite
the Forest Service's best efforts to warn passersby off, footprints in the snow
can be clearly seen leading down to the ladders. On a dark day in February 2002,
we know whose footprints they were not.
(The
single-track road that passes to the northeast, at 1250m, leads down to the village
of St.-George; the road to the south, at 1320m, leads down to Longirod.)
from SwitzerlandMobility (http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en)
It's
still here two years later, 29 February 2004.
The Glacière de St-George, so-called because it's got permanent ice in the lower passages and because it's above the village of St-George (of dragon fame)
Ladders are thoughtfully placed at intervals down to the bottom, where passages lead off in several directions.
From the bottom I once tried to squeeze off though a few of them, lucklessly, as they were clearly intended for skinny people.
The sign hanging from the gateway tries to dissuade people from descending in winter. No worries.
Joe
and Marlowe visiting the Gouffre on 30 December 2004
Kristin at the Glacière, 12 October 2013
Dwight Peck's personal website
Feedback
and suggestions are welcome if positive, resented if negative, 
.
All rights reserved, all wrongs avenged. Posted 19 February 2002, revised 28 January 2014.
