Grand Cunay (and the search for angels)

Dwight Peck's personal website

Winter 2001-2002

Grand Cunay (though short) can be interesting, and sometimes not without epiphanies.

You may not find this terribly rewarding unless you're included here, so this is a good time for casual and random browsers to turn back before they get too caught up in the sweep and majesty of the proceedings and can't let go.

The Grand Cunay is a small double peak on the Chemin des Crêtes transjurassien hiking trail between the Col du Marchairuz and Mont Tendre, 1567 meters altitude at the first summit (with the farmhouse on top, above) and 1603m on the unnamed second summit 500m to the northeast towards Mont Tendre. (View 21 December 2003)

And here's Mr Peck on a bright and cold New Year's Day 2002, trying to decide whether to visit Grand Cunay from the northwest side in what looks to be a fairly windy day up on top.

And here's hiking companion Mr Pirri eating snow whilst trying to get over a stone wall from the downhill side, also bound for Grand Cunay, 1 January 2002.

Dr Pirri braves head-rattling strong winds towards the top of the first part of Grand Cunay, perhaps beginning to become delirious, because . . .

. . . an angel appears and calls to him, to give him pause and to remind him of his misspent life and . . .

and to make him hungry. So off comes the backpack, whilst the angel hovers idly, and out come the tomato and mozzarella sandwiches.

"Search in vain for your sandwiches, Joe".

Dr Pirri, in his 1960s-vintage backpack, has got the map and compass and spare headlamp batteries, but WE'VE got the tomato and mozzarella sandwiches.

And, Monsieur, if you want mozzarella, you'll have to catch us.

Finally, on the chilliest day of the second warmest Swiss winter on record, Dr Pirri overtakes the photographer just below the second summit of Grand Cunay, and discovers to his chagrin that there are no more tomato and mozzarella sandwiches left, worse luck. (But . . . in the distracting chase for the mozzarella, the Angel has been forgotten!)

Angel addiction disorder: Both of them feeling a strange listlessness and vague sense of loss since 1 January 2002, on 23 February Drs Pirri and Peck went back to Grand Cunay to try and find the angel again, and this time to ask some pointed questions about life. In the weather, as it turned out, they couldn't even find themselves, but one could sense the angel hovering about still.

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