Dwight Peck's nostalgia gallery

Leysin, Switzerland, and its wonderful mountains

La Tour de Famelon

A little winter camping way up there in February 1982.

(The campers have changed a lot, perhaps, but the mountain remains very much the same.)

Let's go!

The route from Mayen above Leysin towards the Tour de Famelon, 13 February 1982.

Tour de Mayen to the left, the Truex to the right, and a nice ski-line put in just as nighttime closes in. But who took this very nice photo, in any hope of getting home for martinis before night crashes down upon the whole continent of Europe?

This lady did, in the declining sunlight of a February afternoon in 1982.

Summoning reserves of energy to push on to the Col de Famelon

A last pause, in long winter shadows, starting to think about setting up a camp and making a cup of tea. We'll make camp right over there in the Col de Famelon.

We'll camp here.

Tent's up!

As a wintry storm starts to blow in over the mountain -- it's time to make a sunset ski dash up to the top of Famelon to watch the sun go into the tank . . .

And as the sun goes bye-bye on Tour de Famelon, the winter hikers do a self-photo and head for the tent before the storm gets really pissed off.

The tent, looking welcoming but lonely down in the Col de Famelon

Night comes on, hearty winds start to test the tent ski-anchors, and one begins to think about a nice stew of noodles and sausages with Gruyères cheese and herbes de Provence thrown in at just the right moment.

Here are two people who, once the self-photo clicker goes, will break this pose and dive into the tent, for a long night of Large Winds and scrambling out to drive the tent-anchors back in again about every half hour. But the sight of la Tour de Famelon in the moonlight is worth a little inconvenience (. . . tho' this time there wasn't any moonlight).

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