Fujifilm X-A5 - voigtlander 27 - classic chrome

With a Thypoch Eureka 50mm f2.

General nature

Vital interaction

Efficacious source

quote

“She realized what a gate was: it was an indication that you had left one pace and were entering another.”

Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

~

Gabrielle Zevin is an American author and screenwriter.

~

AI & digital drawing and manipulation

A great indication that summer is in the works is to see the Black SKimmers fishing in style across the surface of local lagoons or bays.

Schweiz / Berner Oberland - Eiger, Mönch und Jungfrau

 

seen on the way from Allmendhubel to Grütschalp

 

gesehen auf dem Weg vom Allmendhubel zur Grütschalp

 

The Eiger (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪ̯ɡɐ]) is a 3,967-metre (13,015 ft) mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m (13,642 ft), constituting one of the most emblematic sights of the Swiss Alps. While the northern side of the mountain rises more than 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above the two valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, the southern side faces the large glaciers of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, the most glaciated region in the Alps. The most notable feature of the Eiger is its nearly 1,800-metre-high (5,900 ft) north face of rock and ice, named Eiger-Nordwand, Eigerwand or just Nordwand, which is the biggest north face in the Alps.] This huge face towers over the resort of Kleine Scheidegg at its base, on the eponymous pass connecting the two valleys.

 

The first ascent of the Eiger was made by Swiss guides Christian Almer and Peter Bohren and Irishman Charles Barrington, who climbed the west flank on August 11, 1858. The north face, the "last problem" of the Alps, considered amongst the most challenging and dangerous ascents, was first climbed in 1938 by an Austrian-German expedition.The Eiger has been highly publicized for the many tragedies involving climbing expeditions. Since 1935, at least 64 climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname Mordwand, literally "murder(ous) wall"—a pun on its correct title of Nordwand (North Wall).

 

Although the summit of the Eiger can be reached by experienced climbers only, a railway tunnel runs inside the mountain, and two internal stations provide easy access to viewing-windows carved into the rock face. They are both part of the Jungfrau Railway line, running from Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, at the highest railway station in Europe. The two stations within the Eiger are Eigerwand (behind the north face) and Eismeer (behind the south face), at around 3,000 metres. The Eigerwand station has not been regularly served since 2016.

 

Etymology

 

The first mention of Eiger, appearing as "mons Egere", was found in a property sale document of 1252, but there is no clear indication of how exactly the peak gained its name. The three mountains of the ridge are commonly referred to as the Virgin (German: Jungfrau – translates to "virgin" or "maiden"), the Monk (Mönch), and the Ogre (Eiger; the standard German word for ogre is Oger). The name has been linked to the Latin term acer, meaning "sharp" or "pointed".

 

Geographic setting and description

 

The Eiger is located above the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the west and Grindelwald to the north in the Bernese Oberland region of the canton of Bern. It forms a renowned mountain range of the Bernese Alps together with its two companions: the Jungfrau (4,158 m (13,642 ft)) about 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) southwest of it and the Mönch (4,107 m (13,474 ft)) about in the middle of them. The nearest settlements are Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen (795 m (2,608 ft)) and Wengen (1,274 m (4,180 ft)). The Eiger has three faces: north (or more precisely NNW), east (or more precisely ESE), and west (or more precisely WSW). The northeastern ridge from the summit to the Ostegg (lit.: eastern corner, 2,709 m (8,888 ft)), called Mittellegi, is the longest on the Eiger. The north face overlooks the gently rising Alpine meadow between Grindelwald (943 m (3,094 ft)) and Kleine Scheidegg (2,061 m (6,762 ft)), a mountain railways junction and a pass, which can be reached from both sides, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen/Wengen – by foot or train.

 

Politically, the Eiger (and its summit) belongs to the Bernese municipalities of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. The Kleine Scheidegg (literally, the small parting corner) connects the Männlichen-Tschuggen range with the western ridge of the Eiger. The Eiger does not properly form part of the main chain of the Bernese Alps, which borders the canton of Valais and forms the watershed between the Rhine and the Rhône, but constitutes a huge limestone buttress, projecting from the crystalline basement of the Mönch across the Eigerjoch. Consequently, all sides of the Eiger feed finally the same river, namely the Lütschine.

 

Eiger's water is connected through the Weisse Lütschine (the white one) in the Lauterbrunnen Valley on the west side (southwestern face of the Eiger), and through the Schwarze Lütschine (the black one) running through Grindelwald (northwestern face), which meet each other in Zweilütschinen (lit.: the two Lütschinen) where they form the proper Lütschine. The east face is covered by the glacier called Ischmeer, (Bernese German for Ice Sea), which forms one upper part of the fast-retreating Lower Grindelwald Glacier. These glaciers' water forms a short creek, which is also confusingly called the Weisse Lütschine, but enters the black one already in Grindelwald together with the water from the Upper Grindelwald Glacier. Therefore, all the water running down the Eiger converges at the northern foot of the Männlichen (2,342 m (7,684 ft)) in Zweilütschinen (654 m (2,146 ft)), about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of the summit, where the Lütschine begins its northern course to Lake Brienz and the Aare (564 m (1,850 ft)).

 

Although the north face of the Eiger is almost free of ice, significant glaciers lie at the other sides of the mountain. The Eiger Glacier flows on the southwestern side of the Eiger, from the crest connecting it to the Mönch down to 2,400 m (7,900 ft), south of Eigergletscher railway station, and feeds the Weisse Lütschine through the Trümmelbach. On the east side, the Ischmeer–well visible from the windows of Eismeer railway station–flows eastwards from the same crest then turns to the north below the impressive wide Fiescherwand, the north face of the Fiescherhörner triple summit (4,049 m (13,284 ft)) down to about 1,600 m (5,200 ft) of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier system.

 

The massive composition of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau constitutes an emblematic sight of the Swiss Alps and is visible from many places on the Swiss Plateau and the Jura Mountains in the northwest. The higher Finsteraarhorn (4,270 m (14,010 ft)) and Aletschhorn (4,190 m (13,750 ft)), which are located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the south, are generally less visible and situated in the middle of glaciers in less accessible areas. As opposed to the north side, the south and east sides of the range consist of large valley glaciers extending for up to 22 kilometres (14 mi), the largest (beyond the Eiger drainage basin) being those of Grand Aletsch, Fiesch, and Aar Glaciers, and is thus uninhabited. The whole area, the Jungfrau-Aletsch protected area, comprising the highest summits and largest glaciers of the Bernese Alps, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

 

In July 2006, a piece of the Eiger, amounting to approximately 700,000 cubic metres of rock, fell from the east face. As it had been noticeably cleaving for several weeks and fell into an uninhabited area, there were no injuries and no buildings were hit.

 

Climbing history

 

While the summit was reached without much difficulty in 1858 by a complex route on the west flank, the battle to climb the north face has captivated the interest of climbers and non-climbers alike. Before it was successfully climbed, most of the attempts on the face ended tragically and the Bernese authorities even banned climbing it and threatened to fine any party that should attempt it again. But the enthusiasm which animated the young talented climbers from Austria and Germany finally vanquished its reputation of unclimbability when a party of four climbers successfully reached the summit in 1938 by what is known as the "1938" or "Heckmair" route.

 

The climbers that attempted the north face could be easily watched through the telescopes from the Kleine Scheidegg, a pass between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, connected by rail. The contrast between the comfort and civilization of the railway station and the agonies of the young men slowly dying a short yet uncrossable distance away led to intensive coverage by the international media.

 

After World War II, the north face was climbed twice in 1947, first by a party of two French guides, Louis Lachenal and Lionel Terray, then by a Swiss party consisting of H. Germann, with Hans and Karl Schlunegger.

 

First ascent

 

In 1857, a first recorded attempt was made by Christian Almer, Christian Kaufmann, Ulrich Kaufmann guiding the Austrian alpinist Sigismund Porges. They did manage the first ascent of neighboring Mönch instead. Porges, however, successfully made the second ascent of the Eiger in July 1861 with the guides Christian Michel, Hans and Peter Baumann.

 

The first ascent was made by the western flank on August 11, 1858 by Charles Barrington with guides Christian Almer and Peter Bohren. On the previous afternoon, the party walked up to the Wengernalp hotel. From there they started the ascent of the Eiger at 3:30 a.m. Barrington describes the route much as it is followed today, staying close to the edge of the north face much of the way. They reached the summit at about noon, planted a flag, stayed for some 10 minutes and descended in about four hours. Barrington describes the reaching of the top, saying, "the two guides kindly gave me the place of first man up." After the descent, the party was escorted to the Kleine Scheidegg hotel, where their ascent was confirmed by observation of the flag left on the summit. The owner of the hotel then fired a cannon to celebrate the first ascent. According to Harrer's The White Spider, Barrington was originally planning to make the first ascent of the Matterhorn, but his finances did not allow him to travel there as he was already staying in the Eiger region.

 

Mittellegi ridge

 

Although the Mittellegi ridge had already been descended by climbers (since 1885) with the use of ropes in the difficult sections, it remained unclimbed until 1921. On the 10th of September of that year, Japanese climber Yuko Maki, along with Swiss guides Fritz Amatter, Samuel Brawand and Fritz Steuri made the first successful ascent of the ridge. The previous day, the party approached the ridge from the Eismeer railway station of the Jungfrau Railway and bivouacked for the night. They started the climb at about 6:00 a.m. and reached the summit of the Eiger at about 7:15 p.m., after an over 13 hours gruelling ascent. Shortly after, they descended the west flank. They finally reached Eigergletscher railway station at about 3:00 a.m. the next day.

 

Attempts on the north face

 

1935

 

In 1935, two young German climbers from Bavaria, Karl Mehringer and Max Sedlmeyer, arrived at Grindelwald to attempt the ascent of the north face. After waiting some time for the weather to improve, they set off, reaching the height of the Eigerwand station before stopping for their first bivouac. The following day, facing greater difficulties, they gained little height. On the third day, they made hardly any vertical gain. That night, the weather deteriorated, bringing snow and low cloud that shrouded the mountain from the observers below. Avalanches began to sweep the face. Two days later, the weather briefly cleared, and the two men were glimpsed a little higher and about to bivouac for the fifth night, before clouds descended again. A few days later, the weather finally cleared, revealing a completely white north face.: 225  Weeks later, the German World War I ace Ernst Udet went searching for the missing men with his aircraft, eventually spotting one of them frozen to death in what became known as the "Death Bivouac". Sedlmeyer's body was found at the foot of the face the following year by his brothers Heinrich and Martin Meier, who were part of a group looking for the victims of the 1936 climbing disaster. Mehringer's remains were found in 1962 by Swiss climbers below the "Flat Iron" (Bügeleisen) at the lefthand end of the second ice field. 

 

1936

 

The next year ten young climbers from Austria and Germany came to Grindelwald and camped at the foot of the mountain. Before their attempts started one of them was killed during a training climb, and the weather was so bad during that summer that, after waiting for a change and seeing none on the way, several members of the party gave up. Of the four that remained, two were Bavarians, Andreas Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz, and two were Austrians, Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer. When the weather improved they made a preliminary exploration of the lowest part of the face. Hinterstoisser fell 37 metres (121 ft) but was not injured. A few days later the four men finally began the ascent of the face. They climbed quickly, but on the next day, after their first bivouac, the weather changed; clouds came down and hid the group to the observers. They did not resume the climb until the following day, when, during a break, the party was seen descending, but the climbers could be seen only intermittently from the ground. The group had no choice but to retreat, since Angerer had suffered serious injuries from falling rock. The party became stuck on the face when they could not recross the difficult Hinterstoisser Traverse, from which they had taken the rope they had first used to climb it. The weather then deteriorated for two days. They were ultimately swept away by an avalanche, which only Kurz survived, hanging on a rope. Three guides started on an extremely perilous rescue attempt. They failed to reach him but came within shouting distance and learned what had happened. Kurz explained the fate of his companions: one had fallen down the face, another was frozen above him, and the third had fractured his skull in falling and was hanging dead on the rope.

 

In the morning the three guides came back, traversing the face from a hole near the Eigerwand station and risking their lives under incessant avalanches. Toni Kurz was still alive but almost helpless, with one hand and one arm completely frozen. Kurz hauled himself off the cliff after cutting loose the rope that bound him to his dead teammate below and climbed back onto the face. The guides were not able to pass an unclimbable overhang that separated them from Kurz. They managed to give him a rope long enough to reach them by tying two ropes together. While descending, Kurz could not get the knot to pass through his carabiner. He tried for hours to reach his rescuers who were only a few metres below him. Then he began to lose consciousness. One of the guides, climbing on another's shoulders, was able to touch the tip of Kurz's crampons with his ice-axe but could not reach higher. Kurz was unable to descend further and, completely exhausted, died slowly.

 

1937

 

An attempt was made in 1937 by Mathias Rebitsch and Ludwig Vörg. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, they were nonetheless the first climbers who returned alive from a serious attempt on the face. They started the climb on 11 August and reached a high point of a few rope lengths above Death Bivouac. A storm then broke and after three days on the wall they had to retreat. This was the first successful withdrawal from a significant height on the wall.

 

First ascent of the north face

 

The north face was first climbed on July 24, 1938 by Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek in a German–Austrian party. The party had originally consisted of two independent teams: Harrer (who did not have a pair of crampons on the climb) and Kasparek were joined on the face by Heckmair and Vörg, who had started their ascent a day later and had been helped by the fixed rope that the lead team had left across the Hinterstoisser Traverse. The two groups, led by the experienced Heckmair, decided to join their forces and roped together as a single group of four. Heckmair later wrote: "We, the sons of the older Reich, united with our companions from the Eastern Border to march together to victory."

 

The expedition was constantly threatened by snow avalanches and climbed as quickly as possible between the falls. On the third day a storm broke and the cold was intense. The four men were caught in an avalanche as they climbed "the Spider," the snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field on the upper face, but all possessed sufficient strength to resist being swept off the face. The members successfully reached the summit at four o'clock in the afternoon. They were so exhausted that they only just had the strength to descend by the normal route through a raging blizzard.

 

Other notable events

 

1864 (Jul 27): Fourth ascent, and first ascent by a woman, Lucy Walker, who was part of a group of six guides (including Christian Almer and Melchior Anderegg) and five clients, including her brother Horace Walker[

1871: First ascent by the southwest ridge, 14 July (Christian Almer, Christian Bohren, and Ulrich Almer guiding W. A. B. Coolidge and Meta Brevoort).

1890: First ascent in winter, Ulrich Kaufmann and Christian Jossi guiding C. W. Mead and G. F. Woodroffe.

1924: First ski ascent and descent via the Eiger glacier by Englishman Arnold Lunn and the Swiss Fritz Amacher, Walter Amstutz and Willy Richardet.

1932: First ascent of the northeast face ("Lauper route") by Hans Lauper, Alfred Zürcher, Alexander Graven and Josef Knubel

1970: First ski descent over the west flank, by Sylvain Saudan.

1986: Welshman Eric Jones becomes the first person to BASE jump from the Eiger.

1988: Original Route (ED2), north face, Eiger (3970m), Alps, Switzerland, first American solo (nine and a half hours) by Mark Wilford.

1991: First ascent, Metanoia Route, North Face, solo, winter, without bolts, Jeff Lowe.

1992 (18 July): Three BMG/UIAGM/IFMGA clients died in a fall down the West Flank: Willie Dunnachie; Douglas Gaines; and Phillip Davies. They had ascended the mountain via the Mittellegi Ridge.

2006 (14 June): François Bon and Antoine Montant make the first speedflying descent of the Eiger.

2006 (15 July): Approximately 700,000 cubic metres (20 million cubic feet) of rock from the east side collapses. No injuries or damage were reported.

2015 (23 July): A team of British Para-Climbers reached the summit via the West Flank Route. The team included John Churcher, the world's first blind climber to summit the Eiger, sight guided by the team leader Mark McGowan. Colin Gourlay enabled the ascent of other team members, including Al Taylor who has multiple sclerosis, and the young autistic climber Jamie Owen from North Wales. The ascent was filmed by the adventure filmmakers Euan Ryan & Willis Morris of Finalcrux Films.

 

Books and films

 

The 1959 book The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer describes the first successful ascent of the Eiger north face.

The Climb Up To Hell, 1962, by Jack Olson, an account of the ill-fated 1957 attempted climb of the north face by an Italian four-man team and the dramatic rescue of the sole survivor mounted by an international all-volunteer group of rescuers.

Eiger Direct, 1966, by Dougal Haston and Peter Gillman, London: Collins, also known as Direttissima; the Eiger Assault

The 1971 novel The Ice Mirror by Charles MacHardy describes the second attempted ascent of the Eiger north face by the main character.

The 1972 novel The Eiger Sanction is an action/thriller novel by Rodney William Whitaker (writing under the pseudonym Trevanian), based around the climbing of the Eiger. This was then made into the 1975 film The Eiger Sanction starring Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy. The Eiger Sanction film crew included very experienced mountaineers (e.g., Mike Hoover, Dougal Haston, and Hamish MacInnes, see Summit, 52, Spring 2010) as consultants, to ensure accuracy in the climbing footage, equipment and techniques.

The Eiger, 1974, by Dougal Haston, London: Cassell

The 1982 book Eiger, Wall of Death by Arthur Roth is an historical account of first ascents of the north face.

The 1982 book Traverse of The Gods by Bob Langley is a World War II spy thriller where a group escaping from Nazi Germany is trapped and the only possible exit route is via the Nordwand.

Eiger, 1983, a documentary film by Leo Dickinson of Eric Jones' 1981 solo ascent of the north face.

Eiger Dreams, 1990, a collection of essays by Jon Krakauer, begins with an account of Krakauer's own attempt to climb the north face.

Eiger: The Vertical Arena (German edition, 1998; English edition, 2000), edited by Daniel Anker, a comprehensive climbing history of the north face authored by 17 climbers, with numerous photographs and illustrations.

The IMAX film The Alps features John Harlin III's climb up the north face in September 2005. Harlin's father, John Harlin II, set out 40 years earlier to attempt a direct route (the direttissima) up the 6,000-foot (1,800 m) face, the so-called "John Harlin route". At 1300 m, his rope broke, and he fell to his death. Composer James Swearingen created a piece named Eiger: Journey to the Summit in his memory.

The 2007 docu/drama film The Beckoning Silence featuring mountaineer Joe Simpson, recounting—with filmed reconstructions—the ill-fated 1936 expedition up the north face of the Eiger and how Heinrich Harrer's book The White Spider inspired him to take up climbing. The film followed Simpson's eponymous 2003 book. Those playing the parts of the original climbing team were Swiss mountain guides Roger Schäli (Toni Kurz), Simon Anthamatten (Andreas Hinterstoisser), Dres Abegglen (Willy Angerer) and Cyrille Berthod (Edi Rainer). The documentary won an Emmy Award the subsequent year.

The 2008 German historical fiction film Nordwand is based on the 1936 attempt to climb the Eiger north face. The film is about the two German climbers, Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser, involved in a competition with an Austrian duo to be the first to scale the north face of Eiger.

The 2010 documentary Eiger: Wall of Death by Steve Robinson.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Mönch (German pronunciation: [ˈmœnç] German: "monk") at 4,110 metres (13,480 ft) is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away.

 

The Mönch lies on the border between the cantons of Valais and Bern, and forms part of a mountain ridge between the Jungfrau and Jungfraujoch to the west, and the Eiger to the east. It is west of Mönchsjoch, a pass at 3,650 metres (11,980 ft), Mönchsjoch Hut, and north of the Jungfraufirn and Ewigschneefäld, two affluents of the Great Aletsch Glacier. The north side of the Mönch forms a step wall above the Lauterbrunnen valley.

 

The Jungfrau railway tunnel runs right under the summit, at an elevation of approximately 3,300 metres (10,830 ft).

 

The summit was first climbed on record on 15 August 1857 by Christian Almer, Christian Kaufmann (1831-1861), Ulrich Kaufmann and Sigismund Porges.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

The Jungfrau (YOONG-frow, German pronunciation: [ˈjʊŋˌfʁaʊ̯], transl. "maiden, virgin"), at 4,158 meters (13,642 ft) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall of mountains overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau, one of the most distinctive sights of the Swiss Alps.

 

The summit was first reached on August 3, 1811, by the Meyer brothers of Aarau and two chamois hunters from Valais. The ascent followed a long expedition over the glaciers and high passes of the Bernese Alps. It was not until 1865 that a more direct route on the northern side was opened.

 

The construction of the Jungfrau Railway in the early 20th century, which connects Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, made the area one of the most-visited places in the Alps. Along with the Aletsch Glacier to the south, the Jungfrau is part of the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001.

 

Etymology

 

The name Jungfrau ("maiden, virgin"), which refers to the highest of the three prominent mountains overlooking the Interlaken region, along with the Mönch ("monk") and the Eiger ("ogre"), is most likely derived from the name Jungfrauenberg given to Wengernalp, the alpine meadow directly facing the huge northern side of the Jungfrau, across the Trummelbach gorge. Wengernalp was so named for the nuns of Interlaken Monastery, its historical owner. Contrary to popular belief, the name did not originate from the appearance of the snow-covered mountain, the latter looking like a veiled woman.

 

The "virgin" peak was heavily romanticized as "goddess" or "priestess" in late 18th to 19th century Romanticism. Its summit, considered inaccessible, remained untouched until the 19th century. After the first ascent in 1811 by Swiss alpinist Johann Rudolf Meyer, the peak was jokingly referred to as "Mme Meyer" (Mrs. Meyer).

 

Geographic setting

 

Politically, the Jungfrau (and its massif) is split between the municipalities of Lauterbrunnen (Bern) and Fieschertal (Valais). It is the third-highest mountain of the Bernese Alps after the nearby Finsteraarhorn and Aletschhorn, respectively 12 and 8 km (7.5 and 5 mi) away. But from Lake Thun, and the greater part of the canton of Bern, it is the most conspicuous and the nearest of the Bernese Oberland peaks; with a height difference of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) between the summit and the town of Interlaken. This, and the extreme steepness of the north face, secured for it an early reputation for inaccessibility.

 

The Jungfrau is the westernmost and highest point of a gigantic 10 km (6.2 mi) wall dominating the valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. The wall is formed by the alignment of some of the biggest north faces in the Alps, with the Mönch (4,107 m or 13,474 ft) and Eiger (3,967 m or 13,015 ft) to the east of the Jungfrau, and overlooks the valleys to its north by a height of up to 3 km (1.9 mi). The Jungfrau is approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) from the Eiger; with the summit of the Mönch between the two mountains, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the Jungfrau. The Jungfraujoch is the saddle between the Jungfrau and the Mönch and the Eigerjoch is the saddle between the Mönch and the Eiger. The wall is extended to the east by the Fiescherwand and to the west by the Lauterbrunnen Wall, although it follows different directions from the Jungfrau and the Eiger.

 

The difference of altitude between the deep valley of Lauterbrunnen (800 m or 2,600 ft) and the summit is particularly visible from the area of Mürren. From the valley floor, west of the massif, the altitude gain is more than 3 km (1.9 mi) for a horizontal distance of 4 km (2.5 mi).

 

The landscapes around the Jungfrau are extremely contrasted. In contrast to the vertiginous precipices of its northwest, the mountain's southeastern side emerges from the upper snows of the Jungfraufirn, one of the main feeders of the Aletsch Glacier, at around 3,500 meters (11,500 ft). The 20-kilometer-long (12 mi) valley of Aletsch on the southeast is completely uninhabited, and is surrounded by neighboring valleys with similar landscapes. The area as a whole constitutes the largest glaciated area not just in the Alps, but in Europe as well.

 

Climbing history

 

In 1811, the brothers Johann Rudolf (1768–1825) and Hieronymus Meyer, sons of Johann Rudolf Meyer (1739–1813), the head of a rich merchant family of Aarau, along with several servants and a porter picked up at Guttannen, first reached the Valais by way of the Grimsel, and crossed the Beich Pass, a glacier pass over the Oberaletsch Glacier, to the head of the Lötschen valley. There, they added two local chamois hunters, Alois Volken and Joseph Bortis, to their party and traversed the Lötschenlücke before reaching the Aletschfirn (the west branch of the Aletsch Glacier), where they established the base camp, north of the Aletschhorn. After the Guttannen porter was sent back alone over the Lötschenlücke, the party finally reached the summit of the Jungfrau by the Rottalsattel on August 3. They then recrossed the two passes named to their point of departure in Valais, and went home again over the Grimsel.

 

The journey was a most extraordinary one for the time, and some persons threw doubts at its complete success. To settle these, another expedition was undertaken in 1812. In this the two sons, Rudolf (1791–1833) and Gottlieb (1793–1829), of Johann Rudolf Meyer, played the chief parts. After an unsuccessful attempt, defeated by bad weather, in the course of which the Oberaarjoch was crossed twice (this route being much more direct than the long detour through the Lötschental), Rudolf, with the two Valais hunters (Alois Volker and Joseph Bortis), a Guttannen porter named Arnold Abbühl, and a Hasle man, bivouacked on a depression on the southeast ridge of the Finsteraarhorn. Next day (August 16) the whole party attempted the ascent of the Finsteraarhorn from the Studer névé on the east by way of the southeast ridge, but Meyer, exhausted, remained behind. The following day the party crossed the Grünhornlücke to the Aletsch Glacier, but bad weather then put an end to further projects. At a bivouac, probably just opposite the present Konkordia Hut, the rest of the party, having come over the Oberaarjoch and the Grünhornlücke, joined the Finsteraarhorn party. Gottlieb, Rudolf's younger brother, had more patience than the rest and remained longer at the huts near the Märjelensee, where the adventurers had taken refuge. He could make the second ascent (September 3) of the Jungfrau, the Rottalsattel being reached from the east side as is now usual, and his companions being the two Valais hunters.

 

The third ascent dates from 1828, when several men from Grindelwald, headed by Peter Baumann, planted their flag upon the summit. Next came the ascent by Louis Agassiz, James David Forbes, Heath, Desor, and Duchatelier in 1841, recounted by Desor in his Excursions et Séjours dans les Glaciers. Gottlieb Samuel Studer published an account of the next ascent made by himself and Bürki in 1842.

 

In 1863, a party consisting of three young Oxford University graduates and three Swiss guides successfully reached the summit and returned to the base camp of the Faulberg (located near the present position of the Konkordia Hut) in less than 11 hours (see the section below, The 1863 Ascent). In the same year Mrs Stephen Winkworth became the first woman to climb the Jungfrau. She also slept overnight in the Faulberg cave prior to the ascent as there was no hut at that time.

 

Before the construction of the Jungfraujoch railway tunnel, the approach from the glaciers on the south side was very long. The first direct route from the valley of Lauterbrunnen was opened in 1865 by Geoffrey Winthrop Young, H. Brooke George with the guide Christian Almer. They had to carry ladders with them in order to cross the many crevasses on the north flank. Having spent the night on the rocks of the Schneehorn (3,402 m or 11,161 ft) they gained next morning the Silberlücke, the depression between the Jungfrau and Silberhorn, and thence in little more than three hours reached the summit. Descending to the Aletsch Glacier they crossed the Mönchsjoch, and passed a second night on the rocks, reaching Grindelwald next day. This route became a usual until the opening of the Jungfraujoch.

 

The first winter ascent was made on 23 January 1874, by Meta Brevoort and W. A. B. Coolidge with guides Christian and Ulrich Almer. They used a sled to reach the upper Aletsch Glacier, and were accompanied by Miss Brevoort's favorite dog, Tschingel.

 

The Jungfrau was climbed via the west side for the first time in 1885 by Fritz and Heinrich von Allmen, Ulrich Brunner, Fritz Graf, Karl Schlunegger and Johann Stäger—all from Wengen. They ascended the Rottal ridge (Innere Rottalgrat) and reached the summit on 21 September. The more difficult and dangerous northeast ridge that connects the summit from the Jungfraujoch was first climbed on 30 July 1911 by Albert Weber and Hans Schlunegger.

 

In July 2007, six Swiss Army recruits, part of the Mountain Specialists Division 1, died in an accident on the normal route. Although the causes of the deaths was not immediately clear, a report by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research concluded that the avalanche risk was unusually high due to recent snowfall, and that there was "no other reasonable explanation" other than an avalanche for the incident.

 

The 1863 Ascent

 

The Führerbuch of the Alpine guide Peter Baumann records an ascent of the Jungfrau made by himself with three men from England in July 1863. The foreign climbers were long thought to have been John Tyndall, J.J. Hornby and T.H. Philpott, until in 1958 the records were checked by the Alpine Club and the following conclusion was reached:

 

On July 23, 1963, Phillpotts, with James Robertson and H.J. Chaytor, climbed the Jungfrau (the entry shown in A.J. 32. 227 was wrongly transcribed by Montagnier, who says ‘T.H. Philpott’ for J.S. Phillpotts). The entry in Peter Baumann’s Führerbuch (facsimile in A.C. archives) says that the trio crossed the Strahlegg Pass and the Oberaarjoch, and then climbed the Jungfrau from the Eggishorn.

 

Tyndall, Hornby and Philpott were well-known Alpinists, but there is no record of their having attempted the Jungfrau in 1863. Robertson, Chaytor and Phillpotts were novices; they had recently graduated from Oxford University where they had all been keen members of the Oxford University Boat Club.

 

William Robertson (1839–1892), the leader of the expedition (wrongly called ‘James’ in the Note quoted above), was an Australian by birth, and the first non-British national to take part in the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. He later became a barrister and member of parliament in Australia. He and H.J. Chaytor (possibly the father of the medievalist Henry John Chaytor) were both members of the victorious Oxford team in the 1861 Boat Race. James Surtees Phillpotts (1839–1930) was the third member of the team; he would later become headmaster of Bedford School. The trio had three Swiss guides, Peter Baumann, Peter Kaufmann ("Grabipeter", father of Peter Kaufmann the younger) and Rubi.

 

A description of the ascent of the Jungfrau is contained in a letter dated Sunday 26 July which Phillpotts wrote to his friend Alexander Potts (later to become the first headmaster of Fettes College). The letter is now in the possession of the Alpine Club. The following extracts are from that letter.

 

The Virgin certainly did not smile on the poor "fools who rushed in" on her sacred heights, i.e. in plain British, we had the treadmill slog, the biting wind, the half frost-bitten feet and the flayed faces that generally attend an Alpine ascent.

 

We got to the Faulberg hole about dark, and enjoyed the coffee the longman (Kauffmann) made, as one would in a hole in a rock in a cold evening. The "Faulberg Nachtlager" consists of two holes and a vestibule to the upper hole. The Upper Hole in which we lodged just contained Chay[tor], the Guv [Robertson] and myself, stretched at full length on a little hay over a hard rock mattress, convex instead of concave at the point where one likes to rest one's weight. Chaytor was in the middle, and as we were very close was warm and slept. The Guv and I courted Nature's soft nurse in vain. At two we got up and methodically put our feet into the stocks, i.e. our boots, breakfasted and shivered, then started (unwashed of course, as the cold gave us malignant hydrophobia) a little after 3:30.

 

The hole was about 150 feet [46 m] up one of the loose stone cliffs one now knows so well. So we groped our way down it and over the moraine – the stars still lingering, as day was just dawning. We could not start at 1:30, the proper time, as there was no moon and we wanted light as we had to tramp the glacier at once. Rubi led, and off we went, roped and in Indian file, in the old treadmill way over the slippery plowed-field-like snow that lay on the upper glacier, for a pull without a check of one or two hours.

 

At last we came to the region of bergschrunds and crevasses. They seemed to form at first an impassable labyrinth, but gradually the guides wound in and out between the large rifts, which were exquisitely lovely with their overhanging banks of snow and glittering icicles, and then trod as on pins and needles over a snowbridge here and there, or had to take a jump over the more feasible ones – and we found ourselves at the foot of the mountain; trudged up on the snow which ought to have been crisp but was even then more or less fresh fallen and sloppy; had to creep over about three crevasses, and after a tiresome pull, dragging one leg after another out of ankle or knee deep snow, we got on a crest of snow at right angles to the slope we had just come up. That slope with its crevasses on one side, and on the other a shorter and much steeper one which led in a few steps to a precipice.

 

All along this crest went a snakelike long crevasse, for which we had continually to sound, and go first one side and then the other; then we got to the foot of the saddle. Some twenty or thirty steps, some cut, some uncut, soon took us up a kind of hollow, and we got on a little sloping plateau of some six feet [1.8 m] large, where we left the grub and the knapsack, keeping my small flask of cognac only. Then up a steep ice slope, very steep I should say, down which the bits of ice cut out of the steps hopped and jumped at full gallop and then bounded over to some bottomless place which we could not see down. Their pace gave one an unpleasant idea of the possible consequence of a slip.

 

Here we encountered a biting bitter wind. Peter Baumann cut magnificent steps, at least he and Rubi did between them, the one improving on the other's first rough blows. After Rubi came Chaytor with Kauffmann behind him, then the Guv, and then myself, the tail of the string. Each step was a long lift from the last one, and as the snow was shallow they had to be cut in the ice which was like rock on this last slope.

 

Suddenly there burst upon us, on lifting our heads over the ridge, the green and cheerful valleys of Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken, of Grindelwald and a distant view of others equally beautiful stretching on for ever in one vast panorama. On the other side in grim contrast there was a wild and even awful scene. One gazed about one and tried in vain to see to the bottom of dark yawning abysses and sheer cliffs of ice or rock.

 

Tourism

 

Named after the Jungfrau, the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland is a major tourist destination in the Alps and includes a large number of railways and other facilities. While the mountain peak was once difficult to access, the Jungfrau Railway, a rack railway, now goes to the Jungfraujoch railway station at 3,454 m (11,332 ft), therefore providing an easy access to the upper Aletsch Glacier and a relatively short access to the Jungfrau itself, the height difference between the station and the summit being only 704 metres and the horizontal distance being slightly less than 2 kilometres. As a result, in the popular mind, the Jungfrau has become a mountain associated with the Bernese Oberland and Interlaken, rather than with Upper Valais and Fiesch.

 

In 1893, Adolf Guyer-Zeller conceived of the idea of a railway tunnel to the Jungfraujoch to make the glaciated areas on its south side more accessible. The building of the tunnel took 16 years and the summit station was not opened before 1912. The goal was in fact to reach the summit of the Jungfrau with an elevator from the highest railway station, located inside the mountain. The complete project was not realized because of the outbreak of the World War I. Nevertheless, it was at the time one of the highest railways in the world and remains today the highest in Europe and the only (non-cable) railway on Earth going well past the perennial snow-line.

 

The Jungfrau Railway leaves from Kleine Scheidegg, which can be reached from both sides by trains from Grindelwald, and Lauterbrunnen via Wengen. The train enters the Jungfrau Tunnel running eastward through the Eiger just above Eigergletscher, which is, since 2020, also accessible by aerial tramway from Grindelwald. Before arriving at the Jungfraujoch, it stops for a few minutes at two other stations, Eigerwand (on the north face of the Eiger) and Eismeer (on the south side), where passengers can see through the holes excavated from the mountain. The journey from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch takes approximately 50 minutes including the stops; the downhill return journey taking only 35 minutes.

 

A large complex of tunnels and buildings has been constructed at the Jungfraujoch, referred to as the "Top of Europe". There are several restaurants and bars, shops, multimedia exhibitions, a post office, and a research station with dedicated accommodation facilities. An elevator enables access to the top of the Sphinx and its observatory, at 3,571 m (11,716 ft), the highest viewing platform of the area. Outside, at the level of the Jungfraujoch, there is a ski school, and the "Ice Palace", a collection of elaborate ice sculptures displayed inside the Aletsch Glacier. Another tunnel leads to the east side of the Sphinx, where one can walk on the glacier up to the Mönchsjoch Hut, the only hotel infrastructure in the area.

 

Apart from the Jungfraujoch, many facilities have been built in the Jungfrau Region, including numerous mountain railways. In 1908, the first public cable car in the world, the Wetterhorn Elevator, opened at the foot of the Wetterhorn, but was closed seven years later. The Schilthorn above Mürren, the Männlichen above Wengen, and the Schynige Platte above Wilderswil, offer good views of the Jungfrau and the Lauterbrunnen valley. On the south side, the Eggishorn above Fiesch also offers views of the Jungfrau, across the Aletsch Glacier.

 

Climbing routes

 

The normal route follows the traces of the first climbers, but the long approach on the Aletsch Glacier is no longer necessary. From the area of the Jungfraujoch the route to the summit takes only a few hours. Most climbers start from the Mönchsjoch Hut. After a traverse of the Jungfraufirn the route heads to the Rottalsattel (3,885 m or 12,746 ft), from where the southern ridge leads to the Jungfrau. It is not considered a very difficult climb but it can be dangerous on the upper section above the Rottalsattel, where most accidents happen. The use of the Jungfrau Railway instead of the much more gradual approach from Fiesch (or Fieschertal), via the Konkordia Hut, can cause some acclimatization troubles as the difference of altitude between the railway stations of Interlaken and Jungfraujoch is almost 3 km (1.9 mi).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Eiger ist ein Berg in den Berner Alpen mit einer Höhe von 3967 m ü. M. Er ist dem Hauptkamm der Berner Alpen etwas nördlich vorgelagert und steht vollständig auf dem Territorium des Schweizer Kantons Bern. Zusammen mit Mönch und Jungfrau, deren Gipfel auf der Grenze zum Kanton Wallis liegen, dominiert der Eiger die Landschaft des zentralen Berner Oberlandes. Die etwa 3000 Meter über dem Tal aufragenden Nordflanken dieser Berge stellen die Schauseite einer der bekanntesten je als ein «Dreigestirn» bezeichneten Gipfel-Dreiergruppen in den Alpen dar.

 

Insbesondere die Nordwand des Eigers fasziniert sowohl Bergsteiger als auch Alpin-Laien. Durch dramatische Begehungsversuche und gelungene Begehungen dieser Wand wurde der Eiger weltweit bekannt und immer wieder ins Blickfeld der Öffentlichkeit gerückt – nicht zuletzt, da die gesamte Wand von Grindelwald und der Bahnstation Kleine Scheidegg aus einsehbar ist. Die Jungfraubahn mit ihrem Tunnel durch den Eigerfels ist seit ihrer Eröffnung im Jahr 1912 ein Touristenmagnet.

 

Namensherkunft

 

Die erste urkundliche Erwähnung des Eigers stammt aus dem Jahre 1252 – dies ist die zweitfrüheste urkundliche Erwähnung eines Schweizer Bergs nach dem Bietschhorn (1233). Am 24. Juli 1252 wurde in einer Verkaufsurkunde zwischen Ita von Wädiswyl und der Propstei Interlaken ein Grundstück mit den Worten «ad montem qui nominatur Egere» (dt.: Bis zum Berg, der Eiger genannt wird) abgegrenzt. Ein halbes Jahrhundert später wird der Eiger in einem Belehnungsbrief erstmals in deutscher Sprache erwähnt: «under Eigere».

 

Für die Herkunft des Namens gibt es drei gängige Erklärungen. Eine erste ist der althochdeutsche Name Agiger oder Aiger, wie der erste Siedler unterhalb des Eigers geheissen haben soll. Der Berg über dessen Weiden wurde deshalb Aigers Geissberg oder auch nur Geissberg genannt. Hieraus entwickelten sich dann im Laufe der Zeit die direkten Vorgänger der heutigen Bezeichnung. Die Herkunft des Namens könnte auch von dem lateinischen Wort acer kommen, woraus sich im Französischen aigu entwickelte. Beide Worte haben die Bedeutung scharf beziehungsweise spitz – in Anlehnung an die Form des Eigers. Die dritte Erklärung stammt von der früher gebräuchlichen Schreibweise Heiger, was sich aus dem Dialektausdruck «dr hej Ger» entwickelt haben könnte (hej bedeutet hoch, Ger war ein germanischer Wurfspiess). Wiederum wäre hier die Form des Eigers ausschlaggebend für seine Bezeichnung.

 

Im Zusammenhang mit dem Eiger wird auch des Öfteren die Namensähnlichkeit mit dem Oger, einem menschenähnlichen Unhold, genannt. In Anlehnung an das Dreigestirn «Eiger–Mönch–Jungfrau» gibt es die Erzählung, der Unhold Eiger wolle seine lüsternen Pranken auf die Jungfrau legen, woran er aber vom fröhlichen Mönch gehindert werde. Zu dieser Geschichte sind in Grindelwald alte Karikaturen und neuere Postkarten zu kaufen.

 

Lage und Umgebung

 

Der Eiger erhebt sich direkt südwestlich von Grindelwald (Amtsbezirk Interlaken). Die bekannte Nordwand ist genaugenommen eine Nordwestwand. Neben dieser existiert in der berühmten «Eiger-Nordansicht» auch noch die Nordostwand. Sie bildet die Basis für den scharfen Mittellegigrat, der vom Unteren Grindelwaldgletscher zum Gipfel zieht. Auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite begrenzt der Westgrat die Nordwand. Ihm folgt die Westflanke, in welcher sich der Eigergletscher und der Klein Eiger befinden. An diesen schliessen sich der Südwestgrat und noch ein Stück östlicher der Südgrat an, der wiederum die Südostwand begrenzt, welche bis zum Mittellegigrat reicht. Südöstlich des Eigers liegt der Grindelwald-Fieschergletscher.

 

In der Umgebung des Eigers befinden sich einige Viertausender des Aarmassivs. Im Osten ist er umgeben von Schreckhorn (4078 m ü. M.) und Lauteraarhorn (4042 m ü. M.), im Südosten vom Grossen Fiescherhorn (4049 m ü. M.), und im Südwesten ist der Mönch (4107 m ü. M.) durch das Nördliche und Südliche Eigerjoch vom Eiger getrennt. Zusammen mit dem Mönch und der Jungfrau (4158 m ü. M.) bildet der Eiger das «Dreigestirn», bei dem der Eiger den nordöstlichen und die Jungfrau den südwestlichen Endpunkt bildet. Entgegen der steil abfallenden Nordseite des Berges befindet sich im Süden des Eigers die Hochfläche und Gletscherwelt der Berner Alpen. Seit Ende 2001 gehört der Eiger zum Gebiet des UNESCO-Weltnaturerbes Schweizer Alpen Jungfrau-Aletsch.

 

Geologie

 

Der Eiger ist ein Teil des helvetischen Systems, das im Grossraum um den Thunersee die Decken des Alpennordrandes bildet. In einer späten Phase der alpidischen Gebirgsfaltung wurden die helvetischen Kalk-Sedimente von ihrer kristallinen Basis abgeschürft und in Form einer Abscherungsdecke nach Nordwesten verschoben. Während des Faltungsprozesses in der Alpenentstehung brachen die Kalkbänke auf und Kluft- sowie Faltensysteme entstanden, die später mit ausgefälltem Calcit geschlossen wurden. Wichtigste Bestandteile der Sedimente sind der Schrattenkalk der Kreidezeit und der Malmkalk. Als Füll- und Schmiermaterial dienten Mergel und Tonschiefer.

 

Die klar erkennbare Faltung des Helvetikums mit seinen gebänderten, plattigen Kalkschichten zeigt sich auch am Eiger. Das Massiv des Eigers besteht komplett aus Kalk der helvetischen Zone und schliesst die Flyschschichten und die Molasse des Grindelwaldbeckens steil nach Süden hin ab. Weil der Talkessel von Grindelwald so reich gegliedert ist, finden hier die verschiedensten Tiere einen Lebensraum.[6] Südlich des Eigers schliesst sich das Aarmassiv mit seinem Innertkirchner-Lauterbrunner-Kristallin an. Teilweise hat sich dieses über die Sedimente des Eiger geschoben. Im Bereich des Mönchs treffen die Sedimente auf Altkristallin. Die typischen Gesteine des helvetischen Systems im Bereich des Eigers entstanden während des Jura, dem mittleren Zeitabschnitts des Mesozoikums. Der vorherrschende Kalk ist dabei mit verschiedenen Gesteinen durchmischt. Es zeigen sich Mergel-Kalke und -Schiefer, Ton-Schiefer, Eisenoolith sowie kalkige Sandsteine.

 

Die Kalkschichten des Eigers lagern auf Gneis und sind um 60–70° nach Norden geneigt. Geprägt wurde die heutige Form des Eigers durch die Eiszeiten. Während der Riss-Kaltzeit reichte die Vergletscherung bis an den Fuss der Nordwand. In der Würm-Kaltzeit war die Mächtigkeit des Eises um 200 Meter geringer. Durch die Bewegung der Gletscher wurde die Erdoberfläche umgestaltet. Vom Eis überlagerte Landschaften wurden abgeschliffen, wohingegen unbedeckte Bereiche durch Verwitterung und andere Formen der Erosion verändert wurden. Mit dem Rückzug des Eises änderten sich auch die Druckverhältnisse im Gestein, was sich durch Entlastungsbewegungen formgebend auswirkte. Prägend für den Eiger und seine Form war die allseitige Umlagerung von Eismassen, welche für einen recht gleichmässigen und markanten Abrieb aller Wände sorgte. Darüber hinaus war die Nordwand durch ihre Exposition den Abtragungsprozessen wie Frostverwitterung mehr ausgesetzt.

 

Felssturz

 

2006 ereignete sich am Eiger ein grosser Bergsturz, der öffentliches Interesse auf sich zog. An der Ostseite des Berges, unterhalb des Mittellegigrates, war durch Felsbewegungen ein rund 250 Meter langer Spalt entstanden, der eine Breite von etwa 7 Metern erreichte.Danach senkten sich die äusseren Teile mehrere Zentimeter pro Tag ab. Eine Ursache dieser Felsabspaltung könnte sowohl das massive Eindringen von Schmelzwasser in den Felsen gewesen sein, als auch eine Instabilität des Gesteins durch den Rückgang des Gletschers unterhalb des Felsabbruchs infolge der globalen Erwärmung. Am 13. Juli 2006 um 19:24 Uhr stürzten rund 500'000 Kubikmeter Felsbrocken auf den Unteren Grindelwaldgletscher. Über der Gemeinde Grindelwald schwebte stundenlang eine Staubwolke. Bereits am Nachmittag desselben Tages war die sogenannte «Madonna vom Eiger» zu Tal gestürzt. Hierbei handelte es sich um einen ungefähr 30 Meter hohen schlanken Felsturm mit rund 600 Kubikmeter Volumen.

 

Seit diesen Ereignissen wird die Felsnase (Gesamtvolumen: ungefähr eine Million Kubikmeter Gestein), aus der die Gesteinsmasse abbrach, von der Universität Lausanne beobachtet. Die Beobachtungen ergaben, dass sich die Nase von Juli 2007 bis August 2008 auf einer nach Osten geneigten Gleitfläche um 15 Meter talwärts bewegte. Zusätzlich kippte die Gesteinsmasse um zwei Grad nach Nordosten. Die Kluft zwischen Berg und Felsbrocken betrug im August 2008 50 Meter. Immer wieder brechen Gesteinsteile ab und stürzen zu Tal. Gebremst und stabilisiert wird die Masse vom Gletschereis, in das die Felsnase gleitet. Dies verhindert, dass die Nase als kompakte Masse zu Tal stürzt. So gilt es als wahrscheinlicher, dass der Gesteinsblock in sich selbst zusammenfallen wird.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Mönch ist ein 4107 m ü. M. hoher Berg der Berner Alpen in der Schweiz. Zusammen mit dem Eiger und der Jungfrau bildet er eine markante, von weit her sichtbare Dreiergruppe, ein sogenanntes „Dreigestirn“.

 

Seine Erstbesteigung fand am 15. August 1857 durch Christian Almer, Christian Kaufmann, Ulrich Kaufmann und Sigismund Porges statt.

 

Südöstlich des Mönch liegt die Mönchsjochhütte, eine 3657 m ü. M. hoch gelegene Berghütte wenig oberhalb des oberen Mönchsjochs, das den Mönch vom Trugberg trennt.

 

Höhenbestimmung

 

1935 wurde die Höhe des Mönchs mit 4099 m ü. M. bestimmt. Diese Zahl ist noch heute häufig in der Literatur zu finden. 1993 ergaben jedoch Messungen per Luftfotogrammetrie eine Höhe von 4107 m ü. M.. Daraufhin wurde der Wert auf der Landeskarte der Schweiz korrigiert. Mit einer Messung per GPS ermittelte man 1997 eine Höhe von 4109,4 m ü. M.; und bei einer erneuten luftfotogrammetrischen Messung von 1999 resultierte sogar eine Höhe von 4110 m ü. M.. Diese neuen Messwerte wurden jedoch nicht auf den amtlichen Karten berücksichtigt. Für diese abweichenden Werte sind nicht nur Messfehler verantwortlich, sondern auch die Tatsache, dass der Mönch eine Kuppe aus Firn besitzt, welche in den letzten Jahren gewachsen ist.

 

Name

 

Am Fusse des Mönchs befinden sich Alpweiden, auf welchen früher Wallache, sogenannte „Münche“, gesömmert wurden. So hat man den über den Münchenalpen gelegenen Berg Münchenberg genannt und schliesslich nur noch Münch oder Mönch.

 

Routen

 

Südarm des Ostgrates (Normalroute)

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS-, mit II. UIAA-Grad Felskletterei

Zeitaufwand: 2½–3½ Std. von der Mönchsjochhütte, 3–4 Std. vom Jungfraujoch

Ausgangspunkt: Mönchsjochhütte (3657 m ü. M.)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m ü. M.)

 

Südwestgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS-, mit III-. UIAA-Grad Felskletterei

Zeitaufwand: 3–4 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Jungfraujoch (3454 m ü. M.)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m ü. M.)

 

Nordostarm des Ostgrates

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS, mit III+. UIAA-Grad Felskletterei

Zeitaufwand: 4–5 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Mönchsjochhütte (3657 m ü. M.)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m ü. M.)

 

Nordostgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS

Zeitaufwand: 4–5 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Mönchsjochhütte (3657 m ü. M.)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m ü. M.)

 

Nordwestbollwerk (Nollen)

 

Schwierigkeit: S

Zeitaufwand: 6–10 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Guggihütte (2791 m ü. M.)

Talort: Kleine Scheidegg (2061 m ü. M.)

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Die Jungfrau ist ein Berg in der Schweiz. Sie ist mit 4158 m ü. M. der dritthöchste Berg der Berner Alpen und bildet zusammen mit Eiger und Mönch eine markante Dreiergruppe, ein sogenanntes «Dreigestirn».

 

Am 13. Dezember 2001 wurde die Jungfrau zusammen mit südlich angrenzenden Gebieten als Schweizer Alpen Jungfrau-Aletsch in die Liste als UNESCO-Weltnaturerbe aufgenommen.

 

Lage und Umgebung

 

Über den Jungfrau-Gipfel verläuft die Grenze zwischen den Kantonen Bern und Wallis. Der Berg ist ausserordentlich vielgestaltig. Im Norden und Nordwesten, auf ihrer „weiblichen“ Schauseite (vgl. Foto) sind ihr Wengen-Jungfrau, Schneehorn, das Silberhorn, das Chly Silberhoren und der „Schwarzmönch“ vorgelagert sowie die zerrissenen Kühlauenen- und Giessengletscher. Im Westen erhebt sie sich fast eisfrei volle 3250 Meter über dem hinteren Lauterbrunnental. Es ist dies (nach dem Mont Blanc) der zweithöchste direkte Abhang in den Alpen. Ihre Südwand erhebt sich über dem versteckten Rottalgletscher und ihre Ostwand über den Firnen am Jungfraujoch.

 

Die Pläne, auf die Jungfrau eine Bergbahn zu bauen, wurden aufgrund finanzieller Schwierigkeiten nicht realisiert. Die ursprünglich bis unter den Gipfel geplante Jungfraubahn wurde bis 1912 mit Endstation Jungfraujoch fertiggestellt.

 

Auf dem untersten Absatz des Nordostgrats haben die PTT einen Funk-Umsetzer auf 3777 m ü. M. installiert.

 

Geologie

 

Die Jungfrau liegt im nördlichen Randbereich des Aarmassivs, eines der sogenannten Zentralmassive der Schweizer Alpen. Ihre höheren Lagen (Silberhorn, Wengen-Jungfrau und Hauptgipfel) sowie ihre Westflanke bis hinunter zum oberen Ende des Lauterbrunnentals sind weit überwiegend aus kristallinem Grundgebirge (prä-triassische Gneise, Glimmerschiefer u. ä.) der Helvetischen Zone aufgebaut. Die Nordwestflanke hingegen, der ganze «Vorbau» (Schwarzmönch, Rotbrett und Schneehorn) besteht aus sedimentärem, überwiegend jurassischem und kretazischem Deckgebirge des Helvetikums. Eine Besonderheit der Jungfrau ist, dass dort zwischen dem prinzipiell autochthonen Gipfel-Kristallin und dessen Deckschichten ein Überschiebungs-kontakt besteht; somit ist das Grundgebirge geringfügig auf sein Deckgebirge überschoben worden.

 

Name

 

Der Name Jungfrau dürfte sich von der Wengernalp am Fusse des Berges ableiten, die – nach den Besitzerinnen, den Nonnen vom Kloster Interlaken – früher Jungfrauenberg genannt wurde. Einer anderen Quelle zufolge leitet sich der Name vom Aussehen des Nordhanges des Berges ab, der aus der Ferne dem Schleier eines Mädchens ähneln soll.

 

Nach dem Berg ist die Jungfrau-Region benannt, die Tourismusorganisation der Orte Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren und Lauterbrunnen, ausserdem die Jungfraubahn Holding AG, die neben der Jungfraubahn selbst auch die anderen Bergbahnen in der Region betreibt.

 

Besteigungsgeschichte

 

Bergsteiger auf dem Gipfel im Jahr 1878

Erstbesteiger waren Johann Rudolf Meyer und sein Bruder Hieronymus mit den Führern Joseph Bortis und Alois Volken, die am 3. August 1811 vom Lötschental her den Berg von Süden erklommen hatten. Sie folgten ungefähr der heutigen Normalroute. Der Volksmund taufte daraufhin die bis dahin unberührte Jungfrau «Madame Meyer».

 

1874 erfolgte die Winter-Erstbesteigung durch die Alpinistin Margaret Claudia Brevoort.

 

Die Jungfrau gilt, obwohl leicht erreichbar, als unfallträchtiger Berg. Bei einem der schwersten Unglücke stürzten am 12. Juli 2007 sechs Rekruten der Gebirgsspezialisten-Rekrutenschule Andermatt vom Rottalsattel 1000 Meter auf den darunterliegenden Rottalgletscher in den Tod, nachdem sie eine Lawine ausgelöst hatten. Das urteilende Militärgericht ging von einem falsch eingeschätzten, heimtückischen Lawinenrisiko aus und sprach in der Folge die verantwortlichen Bergführer frei.

 

Routen

 

Rottalsattel und Südostgrat (Normalroute)

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS-

Zeitaufwand: 4–5 Std. von der Mönchsjochhütte, 3½–4½ Std. vom Jungfraujoch

Ausgangspunkt: Mönchsjochhütte (3657 m)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m)

 

Innere Rottalgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: ZS

Zeitaufwand: 6–7 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Rottalhütte (2755 m)

Talort: Stechelberg (919 m)

 

Nordwestgrat oder „Rotbrettgrat“

 

Schwierigkeit: S

Zeitaufwand: 8–12 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Silberhornhütte (2663 m)

Talort: Stechelberg (919 m)

 

Nordostgrat

 

Schwierigkeit: S+, mit IV. UIAA-Grad Felskletterei

Zeitaufwand: 8–10 Stunden

Ausgangspunkt: Jungfraujoch (3454 m)

Talort: Grindelwald (1034 m)

 

Kunst

 

Erwähnt ist die Jungfrau unter anderem bei Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell, Vers 628 (1804). Lord Byrons Drama Manfred (1817) spielt am Fuss und auf dem Gipfel des Massivs. Ferdinand Hodler hat die Jungfrau mehrfach gemalt, darunter die perspektivisch verfremdete «Jungfrau über dem Nebelmeer». Alex Diggelmann gab 1958 eine Lithographienmappe unter dem Titel Die Jungfrau, mein Berg heraus. Stephan Bundi gestaltete 2005 eine Schweizer Gedenkmünze mit dem Bergmotiv.

 

Im Januar 2012 wurde zum 100-jährigen bestehen der Jungfraubahn eine übergrosse Schweizer Flagge vom Lichtkünstler Gerry Hofstetter an den Gipfel projiziert. Zeitweise waren neben dem Schweizer Kreuz auch ein Porträt des Zürcher Unternehmers Adolf Guyer-Zeller sowie ein Bild von einem der Züge zu sehen.

 

(Wikipedia)

"Pete, stay!"

Pete flashed his light once and clicked as he obediently stayed put on Vincent's dinner table. Bernadette giggled and went into the sitting room. From there, she went to hide around the corner of one of the larger bookshelves. It was about five seconds later that she called out softly, "Pete, come!" However, Pete didn't move. He stayed put. There was no sound or indication that he'd listened. When she peeked around the corner, sure enough he was still standing on the table waiting. She quirked her mouth then glanced towards Vincent's room and called out, "Aiden, am I doing it wrong?"

"Say it louder!" came Aiden's loud response from Vincent's bedroom. "And try to deepen your voice a little more!"

"Oh!" Bernadette cleared her throat and following Aiden's instructions, she commanded, "Pete! Come!"

Pete obeyed! He flashed his light and made his way towards the edge of the table. It seemed for a moment that he was unable to figure out how to get down! Then Pete's leg extended out to the back of the chair and hooked around the wood. Bernadette watched with fascination as Pete climbed his way down the chair and didn't even falter at all! She'd been equally impressed when Pete had managed to climb up a few minutes earlier with relative ease! It was only a moment later that Pete stopped in front of Bernadette and awaited further instructions. She beamed and knelt down and patted Pete and said, "You are such a good boy, Pete!" Pete flicked his light once and seemed to lean up slightly into her pets.

While Bernadette was spending time playing with Pete and interacting with him, Aiden and Vincent were in the bedroom setting up a space for Aiden to work. While Aiden would have liked to have done this in a workshop, he would make do! Aiden had done the heavy moving and lifting while Vincent grumbled about his broken ribs. However, once the wardrobe and bed stand had been moved over and the table put in place, Vincent retrieved a stool for Aiden and watched as Aiden began to set everything out.

"So how are you going to touch the Eye?" Vincent was asking as he leaned on the table and peered into the bright blue light. "It's a bit dangerous, isn't it?" He looked over at the pair of leather gloves that Aiden had then quirked his brow at him. Honestly, Vincent wasn't trying to nag him. He was simply concerned for Aiden's well-being and didn't want him to get hurt, or worse.

"Of course it is!" Aiden responded enthusiastically. "We're still learning and it's not exactly something easily found so we can study it. I only ever found two books on it." Seeing skepticism growing on Vincent's face, Aiden smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll be careful, I promise! My tools are made with materials that are meant to resist the shocks better than the standard ones. Besides, I was able to put Pete's piece in without getting hurt, right? It should be fine! "

Vincent stared at him a long moment then finally gave a small smirk and teased, "Those are famous last words, my friend. Are you SURE you have everything you need?" He turned to look over the table once more. Aiden was right. He HAD put in Pete's piece of Fulgora's Eye. However, in Vincent's opinion, that was quite different than breaking apart a whole piece; especially one this size! But, then again, it was not his area of expertise. He could only take Aiden at his word that he knew what he was doing. Regardless, he was excited to see Aiden take apart the Fulgora's Eye and see him at work when not on the ship or working on Pete.

Aiden glanced over his list and made sure he had everything set out and ready to go. And finally it was time. He grinned over at Vincent with a slight wiggle (which caused Vincent to snort in amusement) and went around to peek out at Bernadette and waved her in.

"We're ready to start!"

With a "Pete, come!" from Bernadette, she headed for the bedroom with Pete following behind her. When she rejoined the men in the bedroom, she went and stood alongside Aiden while Vincent took to Aiden's other side. Aiden glanced at the two of them and chuckled nervously as he looked down at his lovely specimen and took a deep breath.

"No pressure right?"

"Of course not!" Vincent said with a teasing smirk and watched as Bernadette lifted Pete and set him down on the table off to the side and chimed in in a chipper voice, "You absolutely got this!" She gave his shoulder a few firm pats of encouragement before she asked nonchalantly, "But if you do happen to meet your untimely demise, can I keep Pete?"

Aiden slowly turned in his head to stare at her as if he couldn't believe she just said that. Although he was clearly not upset; simply surprised. Bernadette simply stared back at Aiden with a sweet, angelic smile. On his other side, Vincent snorted and folded his arms over his chest. Oh, he was amused! He was very amused!

Aiden was as well! He smirked at Vincent over his shoulder before shaking his head and laughing before looking back at Bernadette with a snicker.

"Yeah, fine. If you ask for me tomorrow and find me a grave man*, you can keep Pete."

Bernadette laughed and threw her arms around Aiden and gave him a small squeeze. "I adore you, Aiden Anderson. I adore you so much." But behind her, Vincent was looking at Aiden and feeling a touch impressed.

"Did you just quote...?" Vincent began but trailed off as Aiden beamed and nodded in response. Vincent chuckled and added, "Forgive me, I didn't expect you to be interested in theater." Aiden bit his lower lip and shrugged slightly shyly. "What's not to like?"

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Bernadette softly cleared her throat behind Aiden with a tiny smirk. Aiden blinked then turned and faced forward with a slight hint of pink on his cheeks and quickly got busy going over his tools as if he had not done it twice already. Behind him, Vincent glanced off to the side and suddenly found a picture across the room interesting. Bernadette simply shook her head slightly with a small roll of her eyes and kept her thoughts to herself.

Staring at the Fulgora's Eye, Aiden suddenly felt nervous. He realized that he'd exaggerated a tiny bit in his efforts to sound more impressive and grown up to Vincent. However, his excitement won over and he slid on his gloves and picked up his tools.

Starting with the screws, Aiden began to undo the first pieces of the lantern on top. Beside him, Vincent leaned his hand against the table and let his eyes wander towards Aiden's notes. And then he noticed something written there; something Aiden seemed to have forgotten about. Vincent smirked slightly and eyed Pete before saying, "Aiden, did you read all of your notes before you started?"

"Yeah, why?"

Aiden was so focused on what he was doing, wetting his lips as he went to unscrew another tiny screw after setting one down in the box so they didn't get lost. Bernadette glanced sideways at her cousin curiously.

"Hm," Vincent responded, tilting his head slightly. "Don't you think Pete may be standing too close?" At his name, Pete perked up and faced Vincent a little more. Aiden glanced at Vincent with slight confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Aiden looked at his sentient lantern then looked at the Fulgora's Eye. What was he forgetting? Feeling paranoid, Aiden set down his tools and picked up his notes. Vincent had to fight hard to not to pinch the bridge of his brow and groan loudly at him. Aiden's damn thumb was covering the part of the notes that he was forgetting!

"He's fine," Aiden told Vincent with a confident smile as he set down his notes with a shrug. Then he picked up his tools and went back to what he was doing. Vincent blinked skeptically and considered his words for a moment before starting to tell him, "But-"

"But this is what he is meant to do." Aiden looked back at Vincent and explained, "It's a good way for him to get used to being in the middle of a work space. That way when we're up in the air later on he will be used to dealing with a lot going on and staying on task; perhaps even learn to operate completely independently without needing commands someday."

And as Aiden well-meaningfully lectured him, Pete shifted around slightly on the table beside him. But Aiden wasn't really paying attention to the lantern, instead focusing on Vincent. Therefore he didn't see the little sparking flare flick out from the Fulgora's Eye that reached out towards the edge of the glass at Pete.

While Vincent's attention remained on Aiden, he HAD seen that little spark out of the corner of his observant eye. He simply blinked at Aiden then gave a courteous little smile and nod of his head before responding, "Very well, then. My apologies. Carry on."

Aiden stared back at him suspiciously then shrugged a little and turned back to what he was doing. Meanwhile, Bernadette had been watching the two men and had missed the spark from the lanterns altogether. Vincent could feel her eyes on him, and he glanced her way with a shrug and a smirk before returning his attention back to the project. She could tell Vincent was holding back information from Aiden. She already knew why though: Vincent HAD tried to warn him about whatever it was but Aiden had insisted he knew what he was doing. As per Vincent's style, he was going to let him do it and learn the hard way; whatever it was. 'This should be good,' she thought to herself.

Aiden finally had unscrewed the little screws holding the armored base together at the top. He wet his lips and began to wedge one of the flathead screwdrivers under the seal's lip and lifted. Bit by bit, Aiden was working his way around the seal and he almost had it.

Bernadette tilted her head slightly and leaned in just a bit more but as she did, she accidentally bumped one of Pete's legs. The gentle bump made Pete take two steps to the left. And the moment he did, there was a quickly intensifying buzzing sound.

Aiden barely had time to register that something was wrong when suddenly the Fulgora's Eye began to flick sparks of lightning towards Pete! Simultaneously, a small spark of lightning shot out from under Pete from his own tiny piece of Fulgora's Eye and he was being pulled towards the larger piece! The small streaks met right by the front of Pete's leg and then there was a deep popping sound that hit like a tiny boom of thunder!

Aiden instantly felt a deep, painful, tingling sensation move through his right hand and shot up along his arm before spreading through his body! It made him shudder violently for a moment before he suddenly could breathe again and physically even move! Everything had happened so fast; in less than two seconds!

"Whoa..." Aiden breathed and realized he was okay after all. Blinking, he stared at the Fulgora's Eye in surprise as Pete quickly began backing away from the larger lantern and clicked at it skeptically. Beside him, his friends stared in surprise, but as soon as Aiden vocalized his first thought, they both looked at him and it began to register what just happened! Bernadette suddenly had to bring her hands to her mouth to muffle the sounds of her giggling. Vincent's sarcastic, smug voice spoke up from behind Aiden: "Well, that was quite a shock."

Bernadette couldn't contain it any longer! She suddenly burst out with a scream of laughter and turned away, holding her abdomen. Vincent smirked at her then slowly glanced back at Aiden and looked him over. And he couldn't help it either! He found himself chuckling as well as his gaze reached his hair.

"What's so funny?" Aiden demanded incredulously as he flexed his fingers and stretched his arm to get rid of the unpleasant tingling feeling. Bernadette managed to gasp out between her laughs, "Your hair! Aiden, your damn hair!"

"What's wrong with my hair?"

He yanked off his gloves and shoved his hands towards his hair....which was sticking pretty much straight up! His eyes widened and his face flushed a deep shade of red as he quickly began to run his fingers through his hair and shook it out and tried patting it down. How utterly embarrassing! However, Aiden found himself chuckling as well, as he began to realize the situation was actually pretty funny after all. Then he found his laughter slowing as Vincent reached out and slid Aiden's notebook before him and insisted, "Read that. Right here." Vincent pointed at the notes to indicate exactly where and what Aiden had missed.

Aiden blinked and picked up his notes and read aloud his own scribbled note that Vincent was pointing to: "Larger size Fulgora's Eye becomes a magnet to other Fulgora's Eye. Keep...." Aiden's voice lowered in embarrassment as ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly and continued with a groan. "...keep Pete away." Bernadette gasped and quickly reached out and grasped Pete by his ring and drew him off the table before he got too close again! "I'll take him in the other room," she was saying as she wandered around the table to head for the door.

Aiden watched her go then glanced back at Vincent though he didn't quite meet his gaze; not at first. His face was flushed in embarrassment and his lips pressed to a thin line. He didn't know what to say and felt a little foolish. So that's what Vincent was trying to tell him! Though after a moment, he finally did meet Vincent's gaze.

Despite teasing him moments earlier there was no indication of humor on Vincent's face. Instead, he was actually smiling a little bit. He reached out and clasped Aiden's shoulder and told him, "Everyone makes mistakes. The important part is you learned from it, right?"

"Right!"

Vincent watched the relief cross Aiden's expression as he relaxed. He realized he was not continuously being made fun of for his mistake and was in fact being encouraged instead. The young man smiled a bit more before turning more in his seat to look back at the Fulgora's Eye. Then after a moment he chuckled softly and ran his fingers over his hair to make sure it was staying flat. Beside him, Vincent's soft, deep chuckle rumbled beside him, "I did try to warn you..."

"You did, you did!" Aiden snickered as Bernadette wandered back in with a slight apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. Are you really alright?" she asked as she stood before the table opposite the men. Aiden smiled and nodded then motioned her to come back around. "I'm fine! Don't be sorry! It WAS funny! And thank you for getting Pete for me." Bernadette flashed a smile back at him and quickly moved back to Aiden's side and peered back at the Fulgora's Eye and exclaimed, "Okay, you got this, Aiden!" And with her and Vincent's encouraging smiles, Aiden got to work!

...

It was an enjoyable afternoon filled with lots of shenanigans and great company between Aiden and the cousins. Pete was eventually permitted back inside the room after a little while, but not on the table. Bernadette promised to keep an eye on him, and when she went off to get the three of them dinner the sentient lantern went out shopping with her! Aiden was glad to let her have some fun with Pete and it gave him an excuse to spend a little more time alone with Vincent.

When the job was done, Aiden had broken the Fulgora's Eye into four pieces! He'd left most of it as part of the original so it was still a considerable size. However the other three had been broken down into smaller pieces and were floating and spinning inside Aiden's jars. It had been impressive to watch Aiden work.

Vincent had suggested that Aiden take a single jar with him for now and offered to hold the others for safekeeping until Aiden made other accommodations. Aiden was glad to take him up on the offer. So he boxed up one of the jars and set it in a carrying bag which he'd conveniently be able to sling over his shoulder.

Finally after a long, enjoyable day, it was time for them to part for the evening. Vincent walked his cousin and friend downstairs to the street curb. He gave Bernadette a kiss on the cheek and hug to which she returned before turning to Aiden with a smile. He told him, "Great job! I knew you could pull it off. Go get some rest and enjoy the benefits of your reward, my friend." He extended his hand out to which Aiden grasped and shook with a pleased grin on his face.

"Thank you for everything, Vincent. I'll be seeing you soon."

"I look forward to it."

Aiden gave Vincent's hand a firm squeeze before letting go a bit reluctantly. He gave a nod to Vincent before turning and facing Bernadette. She gave him a smile and hug before telling him, "I don't know when I'll be seeing you again but something tells me it will be sooner than later. Be well, Aiden!" She released him and then bent down to pet Pete and said, "See you soon, Pete!" Then Bernadette waved at her cousin and headed off towards her home.

Aiden watched her go with a soft smile. He really liked Bernadette and felt much adoration for her. He was glad to have made friends with her. She was a welcome, colorful addition to his stay in the capital. And even more so, she was related to Vincent! Somehow that just made it even better. And with that thought, he glanced back towards the object of his affection with a soft smile. Then with a great internal reluctance, he turned and made his way to head back towards the docks.

"Come, Pete."

Vincent watched Aiden's departing figure for a long moment before pulling himself away and turning to go back inside. What a fantastic day that had been! And Aiden and Bernadette made such a hilarious pair. He hadn't realized until today that his cousin and Aiden had quite a few similarities in personality. No wonder he liked Aiden so much! But by God....the two of them together in the same room! Vincent chuckled softly to himself and shook his head as he closed the door behind him and began ascending the staircase towards his flat. Though, unlike Bernie, he didn't see Aiden like a younger sibling. While he felt protective over Aiden, it just wasn't quite the same...

Vincent let himself inside and closed the door behind him. With a glance towards the clock, he decided he'd start the kettle for his nighttime bhang tea a little early. But as he began to prep his kettle, an urgent knock sounded at the door. Vincent blinked at it. Had one of the other two forgotten something? The knock came again but this time louder; almost banging. That certainly didn't seem like Bernadette or Aiden...

Reaching into a nearby bookshelf on the way to answer the door, Vincent withdrew a hidden pistol and cocked it. He could feel the floorboards creaking as whoever it was was pacing on the other side. Alert but with an air of calmness, he held his pistol at the ready before he demanded, "Who's there?"

And he felt his stomach clench unpleasantly as he heard Damien's urgent voice respond, "Vincent, it's me! Open the door! I need to talk to you now!"

  

*Reference:

"Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man."

Mercutio - Romeo and Juliet - Act 3, Scene 1

 

NEXT PART: A BTS (Behind the Scenes) shot:

www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/52857667493/in/datepo...

 

To read the rest of the story, here's the album link:

www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127

 

***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***

 

Special thank you to Vin (BMM? Pose Store) for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!

 

DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and The Engineer has a Discord Server! If you wanna join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!

discord.gg/qBa769TAC4

 

***NEW!!!!***

 

The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!

FACEBOOK PAGE:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558531406088

 

365 from the archive~ day 21~ Xinjiang

More than two thirds of the old city of Kashgar has been demolished and the rest doomed to follow shortly...

    

I met this girl in one of the narrow alleys of what is left of the old city as she stood framed by her old family door. Old decorated wooden doors are considered a family treasure among the inhabitants of Kashgar and the carry with them a richness of symbology and lore. A half open door for example is an indication that the master of the house is at home and male visitors may call in. I head while in Kashgar that when the homes are getting demolished, the families, unhinge their doors and take them with them to their assigned new homes, because these doors are holders of their family traditions that they are so afraid of losing. (Facebook)(Blog)(Twitter)

White Ibis WHIB (Eudocimus albus)

 

Florida

 

DSCN6302

I noticed these birds have some webbing between toes

 

By all indications, these were free flying and unencumbered individuals (which were visiting the areas of habitat around Disney Wild Kingdom) vs captive birds.

 

Yeah, the title made me giggle! ...But that's just another indication of how much I love to play with words as well as images!

 

The Vanity Club held its fall Soirée at the Darcy Hotel in Washington, DC back in September! ...And of course I had to have a few pics of me in my Gala Dinner ensemble to remember it by! My thanks to my bff Cindy for capturing me with my camera!

 

My ensemble for the final night dinner is based on my custom made blue "Moon Glow" wet look lycra spandex ruffle hem wiggle dress from coquetryclothing.com, with Platino Caresse Clean Cut 15 denier pantyhose from shapings.com worn over Hanes Alive Barely There support hose from onehanesplace.com and my black leather ankle strap open toe platform pumps with the 5" heels from venus.com

 

To see more pix of me in other tight, sexy and revealing outfits click this link:www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157623668202157/

 

To see more pix of me in clothes from Coquetry Clothing click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157626739774869/

 

To see more pix of me out & about click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157632318953102/

 

To see more pix of me with friends and acquaintances click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157622620508143/

 

To see more pix of me showing off my legs click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157623668202157/

 

To see more pix of me wearing blue & green ensembles click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157662531123100

 

To see more pix of me wearing Platino hosiery click this link: www.flickr.com/photos/kaceycdpix/sets/72157633156315924

  

DSC_8116-1

With a Thypoch Eureka 50mm f2. Taken on crop sensor mode.

 

This large file for zooming-in gives you a good indication of how sharp the lens is wider open. It's an impressive performer.

 

I've posted a YouTube video on the lens - a copy of the British made Taylor-Hobson 2 inch f2:

 

youtu.be/ywK3uPRRg9c

An indication of possible future knaresborough road deliveries at transdev is this yutong in chernobyl green. Interesting transdev normally use red buses on knaresborough road but have this one in green with red names. Connexions use green buses but with red fronts, unless its a double decker then its all red ! Keeping up ?

Q326 throttles up upon receiving the clear indication at the east end of Hudsonville after meeting D700 in the siding. Leading the 15,000 train today is SD40-3 #4054 along with C40-8W #7392 and an ES40DC.

 

Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine

 

If you are interested in specific locomotives, trains, or freighters, please contact me. I have been photographing trains and ships for over 15 years and have accumulated an extensive library!

One of the earliest forms of fixed railway signal is the semaphore. These signals display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most widely used form of mechanical signal. Designs have altered over the intervening years, and color light signals have replaced semaphore signals in most countries, but in a few remain in use.

 

A few wires still dangle from this pole, but almost all of the rest of the wires have been removed by scavengers.

 

If you look closely, you can see a tunnel that was painstakingly bored into the mountain when this railroad was constructed almost a century ago.

 

Near a switch next to the Goat Canyon Trestle on The Impossible Railroad / SD&AE created by John D. Spreckels in 1919.

 

One almost expects Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner to show up at any moment.

 

The San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railway Company is a short-line American railroad originally founded in 1906 as the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) by sugar heir, developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels. Dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by many engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved, the line was established in part to provide San Diego with a direct rail link to the east by connecting with the Southern Pacific Railroad lines in El Centro, California. The SD&A's 146.4-mile (235.61 km) route originates in San Diego, California and terminates in El Centro, California.

 

The company took over the SD&A's operations in February 1933 after financial troubles led John Spreckels' descendants to sell their interests in the railroad to the Southern Pacific. Through the years natural disasters and vandalism rendered sections of the line unserviceable, and portions of the line have been sold to various interests.

 

Around 2004, Carrizo Gorge Railway, Inc. spent millions of dollars repairing the tunnels, trestles, and more and trains begin running on the line once again. Only four years later, in 2008, the line was embargoed. Recently, however, Baja California Railroad has taken over control of this line and plans to restore freight train service sometime in 2018.

No mention of the Dennis Tridents at Stagecoach East Midlands can be made without acknowledging the Plaxton Presidents, which are arguably just as (if not more) synonymous with the place than the ALX400s. Despite the majority being new to Manchester, plus a smattering elsewhere, many convened on North Notts and Lincolnshire to see out significant parts of their working lives. Not to mention some operated in Hull, too.

 

18023 was always nice to see around with its flip dot destination blind and cemented itself as one of my favourites. On 27.7.23 it is departing Lincoln for Sleaford on the 31X and seen immediately outside the bus station, on Norman Street.

 

Usually at this juncture I complain that none of the East Midlands Presidents survive, but it’s possible that up to three do; 18046 was converted to a non-PSV thing and could still be at large somewhere; 18050 got donated to the police force; and 18056 – which served Bassetlaw but ended its days in Fife – got preserved in Scotland.

 

Now, all those things occurred between 2021 and 2023 and since then there’s been no update on any of them. Checking the government MOT and tax online database in October 2025, 18046 is shown as taxed until November 2026 but no MOT, while 18050 and 18056 come up as SORN with expired MOTs. So it’s a good indication that they still exist.

 

As for 18023 in this picture, it comes up with no results on the website so is likely scrapped. However, I can be satisfied in the fact that I was able to cheaply pick up the Northcord model of 18023 last March, so as far as I’m concerned now that *is* 18023... a small and mildly inaccurate representation of the original which fits nicely on a shelf.

 

MX53 FLC

 

 

My drive to work normally gives me a good indication of what conditions are like on the mainline. This morning Mother Nature threw me a curve ball.

 

Departing Toledo around 4:45am, we began our Chicago bound journey with normal visibility. Signals, whistle posts, and mile posts were easily seen.

 

Things started to change about 30 miles west of town. We started going through patches of low hanging, in and out fog. Within another 5 miles, it turned into a full fledged whiteout. Maximum visibility was just over the nose of the cab. Not even the track could be seen!

 

To make matters worse, our 60mph intermodal train was quickly catching up to a few slow running merchandise freight trains. Around Bryan, Ohio, we saw our first approach signal, which means approach the signal prepared to stop.

 

Now the adrenaline begins to flow, heart pounds, and palms moisten. The first and foremost priority is to get the speed down, while at the same time not losing focus on the location of the upcoming signal, which most likely is red.

 

Conditions such as dense fog can challenge even the most seasoned train crew. It is situations like this where an engineer or conductor realizes how much they know, or don't know, about the railroad over which they operate.

 

Here we are stopped at the top of the Bryan hill, just beyond mile post 349. Ahead are two stopped trains waiting for a few eastbounds to pass. Soon the sun will rise and begin burning away the fog. It can't happen soon enough!

  

Iberia

Airbus A330-202

EC-MIL

Fortaleza - Pinto Martins Int'l Airport (FOR/SBFZ)

April 16, 2016

 

Iberia 6012, from MVD to MAD, diverted to Fortaleza after a smoke indication in the crew rest area. The aircraft landed at runway 13 but braked hard, causing a brake overheat on the left main gear. It rolled out of runway 13 and stopped on taxiway Delta, while the emergency vehicles arrived. The left main gear was sprayed with foam (I believe), this is why it looks kinda "frosted". The A330 was then towed to the terminal, with all 269 people still on board. Really dramatic situation, i've never seen such an emergency here in Fortaleza airport!

 

Picture taken hand held! :D

 

Nikon D5100 + Nikkor 70-300mm VR

The first indication that we were getting too close for comfort to a Chick was when this Variable Oystercatcher came running over a low dune, screeching at us to "...stop - right where you are!!!"

 

So we did... And after giving us a few glaring looks, and finally confident that we were heeding her warning, she scampered back over the dune...

  

Continue to keep well everyone, and thanks for taking the time and the trouble to leave a Comment...! It's always nice to hear from you, and your comments are always greatly appreciated...!

   

An odd quirk of the allocation saw three younger Olympians (743, 748 and 751) painted in Route Rouge colours, but an older Olympian painted in Island Explorer colours. 727 was the only all-Leyland Olympian ever to receive Island Explorer colours and retained these until the network review in 2006. It is pictured at Shanklin. The blind, as was usual in Island Explorer days, shows the continual route to Ryde, before an indication that it will head forward to Newport and Yarmouth.

 

20th August 2004

© all rights reserved by B℮n

 

Please take your time... to View it large on black

 

I came across this old stickered Volvo at the Jacob Catskade in Amsterdam. You might wonder how this started. Did it start with a sticker on a rusty spot or scratch? I used to have such stickered room door. What will you do with a sticker gift and you want to paste it somewhere? This is not what we call car advertising. Car stickers is the cheapest and most obvious way to make advertising. I guess in this case it doesn't work. But if you love the decorate your car with stickers and it's a hobby of yours they can not refuse it or give you a fine. But even if you do not like it. It starts when you go to Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic or Hungary. Your entire windshield is so plastered with autobahn vignettes. Then there are the necessary safety vests in the car, alcohol testers, spare glasses and extra triangles etc. Next, the entire back of the caravan stickered with speed indications, warnings length and even more. Then in one country a fire extinguisher in the car, in the other country is a first aid kit required. Why do we have European Commission in Brussel? To each country to establish its own sense and nonsense niceties that the average traveler does not know what he needs and what is and is not required? In one country dim light on mandatory during daytime, in the other country emission sticker on the windshield, if there is any place left between all other autobahn vignettes. Let the politicians and officials in Brussels agreed to wake up and just meet European rules. This car is a good protest.

 

Why do all cars look alike? Well not this unusual vehicle at the Kattensloot in Amsterdam. An old stickered Volvo car, something crazy, strange and absolutely unique.

 

Ik kwam deze oude bestickerde Volvo tegen op de Jacob Catskade in Amsterdam. Je vraagt je af hoe dit begonnen is. Is het begonnen met één sticker op een roestplek of kras? Vroeger had ik ook een kamerdeur die zo bestickerd was. Je krijgt een keer een sticker cadeau en je wil hem ergens op plakken. In ieder geval valt dit niet onder de autoreclame. Autostickers is wel de goedkoopste en duidelijkste manier om reklame te maken. Maar op deze manier lukt dit niet. Maar…als je dit doet omdat je het mooi vind en het een hobby van je is om je auto met stickers op te sieren ze kunnen het niet verbieden en of je een boete opleggen. Maar zelfs als je het niet mooi vindt. Het begint al als je naar Oostenrijk, Zwitserland, Tsjechië of Hongarije gaat. Je hele voorruit zit zo volgeplakt met autobahnvignetten. Dan moeten er nog de nodige veiligheidshesjes in de auto, alcoholtesters, reservebrillen en extra gevarendriehoeken etc. Vervolgens moet de hele achterkant van de caravan bestickerd worden met snelheidsindicaties, lengte waarschuwingen en weet ik wat er allemaal nog meer op moet. Dan moet er in het ene land een brandblusser in de auto zijn, in het andere land is een EHBO-doos verplicht. Waar hebben we Brussel voor bedacht? Om ieder land zijn eigen zin- en onzinregeltjes te laten opstellen, zodat de modale reiziger niet meer weet wat hij wel of niet nodig heeft en wat wel en niet verplicht is? In het ene land verplicht dimlicht overdag, in het ander land milieusticker op de voorruit, als er nog plek is tussen alle reed aangebrachte autobahnvignetten. Laat die politici en ambtenaren in Brussel eens wakker worden en gewoon europese regels afspreken. Deze auto is mooi voorbeeld als protest.

Inspiration came from my area.

Thanks for visiting.

Copyrights(c) Nira.

Location - Dharakoh, Madhya Pradesh.

.

The focused A2 coach indication of 2-tier AC Sleeper of Tamilnadu Express...

Tile tableau in three-color scheme with year indication. The tableau is placed in the top of the symmetrical front facade of a four-storey apartment building, just under a balcony.

The building is executed in a kind of chalet style. The brick building has some natural stone keystones. Only the tableau has some Art Nouveau elements.

At the ground floor Van Dam butcher shop was located, now renamed De Schuyt.

 

About the history of the use of year stones in architecture:

English: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_plate

Dutch: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muuranker

And: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaartallen_op_gebouwen

 

Amsterdam-Oud Zuid, Cornelis Schuytstraat, Oct. 23, 2017.

 

© 2017 Sander Toonen Amsterdam/Halfweg | All Rights Reserved

Autumn is arriving early this year ...

Another indication that the gators aren't aggressively hunting is the incursion of feral pigs into areas where they were absent throughout the spring and summer. Mama is suckling two new piglets while four adolescents from the previous litter make a nuisance of themselves on the bank of Horsepen Bayou near Middlebrook Road.

Soul band Durand Jones & the Indications perform at the 2022 Hinterland Music Festival in St. Charles, IA.

Indications and Usage

 

Included with the medication to keep the consumer fully informed as to what they are putting into their bodies.

 

I'm supposed to take this medicine. Can you hear the theme to Starwars music as the words scroll up the screen?

 

Original Photo

Unfortunately

An indication of how high the tide gets in this part of the English south coast. This is in Saltdean, a few miles east of Brighton, and those steps were treacherous!

 

And no, I did NOT add the bird in post processing!

 

35mm film photography

Leica M6 rangefinder

Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0

Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400

"Taken from the St. Charles Streetcar....Emeril's Delmonico is located at 1300 St. Charles

(corner of St Charles & Erato) in the Garden District in NOLA. Never eaten there but hear

they have the best 'Bananas Foster' this side of Heaven!" mmm mmm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S.~"The strings of Mardi Gras beads hangin' in the tree is a pretty good indication that

one of the parades passes by there." see 'em?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hope you all have a wonderful day!"

~Mary Lou

Shoe size is an alphanumerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. Often it just consists of a number indicating the length because many shoemakers only provide a standard width for economic reasons. There are several different shoe-size systems that are used worldwide.

At approximately 0749 on September 15, 2020, UP Train MCXNP 14 ran a stop indication and derailed on a crossover switch at State Line Jct. on the KCT High Line while crossing over from 75 to 74 Track. The switches were out of correspondence, being thrown while the stop signal violation took place. At over 20 MPH, both engines and the head 5 cars derailed, listing but upright.

 

The derailment thankfully stayed on the ballasted deck bridge without falling to the ground below, but presented a unique challenge with where the equipment came to rest, necessitating the use of several contractors to remove the locomotives and railcars.

 

Wilkerson Crane Rental, Inc., and Cranemasters did most of the lifting, while Mainline Services LLC., under the direction of BNSF engineering forces, as they have the MOW contract on the KCT; replaced the track. Watco/KCTL dropped new ballast with a BNSF rock train to replace what was removed from the bridge deck during cleanup.

 

A myriad of other contractors also assisted in moving the needed materials and equipment into the site. The line returned to service at 0450 on the 17th without the crossover, which will be restored at a later date. It was nothing short of a fascinating procedure to watch as the equipment was recovered.

 

Mainline and BNSF are hard at work replacing the tracks and dropping panels as KCT Train 310 makes its way through Santa Fe Jct. with a short transfer from Mill Street Yard to NS Avondale Yard in NKC. On the left is BNSF Train M KCKKCK1 15A heading north onto the KCT North-South Corridor alongside them.

 

Locomotives: WAMX 3826, BNSF 7384, BNSF 7702, BNSF 2376

 

9-16-20

Kansas City, MO

Silverton:

 

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Rangers came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border.

 

In 1879 John Stokie established a store at Umberumberka, 19 km north of Thackaringa. He continued prospecting and discovered silver–lead veins nearby, which he pegged with Edward Pegler in November 1881. A 100 ton parcel of ore was shipped to England for a 40% profit. The following October the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company Ltd was floated with nominal capital of £20 000. Umberumberka was the second area of silver–lead mineralisation discovered in the Barrier Ranges and the new company was the first to be publicly floated. The town of Silverton soon developed close to the mine and became the main settlement of the growing silver field.

 

Silverton was surveyed in 1883, by which time Australia had a population of 2, 250, 194. By September that year, the population of Silverton was 250, and by December 1883 it had doubled. That year the Day Dream Mine opened and attracted an additional population of 400 - 500 people. In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. That same year 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

 

By 1885 - 1886 the town's population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a municipality the following year. In 1885 a short-lived smelter was established at Day Dream Mine, operating for only a year. In 1892 the Umberumberka Mine closed, followed by the Day Dream Mine. The Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa closed in 1897. By 1901, after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, the town went into decline and only 286 people remained. Today the town has a population of around 50 people, most of whom work in tourism.

 

The Silverton Tramway Company:

 

The Silverton Tramway Company, a rare private railway of 50klms in length, was incorporated in New South Wales October 14, 1886 and the line was completed and opened for traffic on January 12, 1888. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, the tramway was originally founded to transport ore from local mines in the Broken Hill and Silverton region into South Australia. The company soon branched out, not only carrying ore from the mines but freighted other goods and offered a passenger service which accounted for a third of their business.

 

The company serviced travellers on long trips heading interstate to Semaphore (Adelaide) to the Largs Bay Holiday Camp and excursions for local community groups often conveying passengers to Silverton and McCulloch Park (at Stephens Creek) for the day and returning to Broken Hill in the afternoon. When traveling to South Australia the train would travel from Broken Hill, through Silverton and then to Burns which is on the New South Wales side of the border of Cockburn (a town divided by the NSW/SA border).

 

In 1927 the New South Wales government completed the railway from Sydney to Broken Hill, thus joining the Silverton Tramway and completing the link from Sydney to Adelaide. It played a strategic role in the trans-Australia network until 1970, when it was surpassed by the New South Wales Government Railways (Indian-Pacific). From 1888-1970 it was critical to the economic functioning of Broken Hill, by providing the key transport of ore to the Port Pirie smelters. It played a significant role in the politics and recreation of Broken Hill, and a crucial role at times of water shortage in Broken Hill.

 

Today, Silverton resides in the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales (NSW) and so does not feature a City Council. It is run by the Silverton Village Committee, who to this day hold their quarterly meetings in the Silverton Municipal Chambers.

 

Source: Silverton NSW (www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw), New South Wales Heritage Register & Discover Broken Hill (discoverbrokenhill.com.au/silverton-nsw/historic-building...), "The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia" by Kenneth George McQueen, and 'Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 97'

CP train 281 gets rolling at Franklin Park with a single NS Dash 9 straight cab.

There's not much to give an indication of scale in this photo of a Wat Po statue but from memory I'd say it could be 3-4 metres tall. There are a number of these fearsome 'guardian' statues dotted around both Wat Po and the adjacent Grand Palace.

 

Click here to see photos from this and a previous trip to Thailand : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72157600177340620

 

From Wikipedia : "Wat Pho (Thai: วัดโพธิ์), also spelt Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร; rtgs: Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimonmangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan; The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction of its older name Wat Photaram (Thai: วัดโพธาราม; rtgs: Wat Photharam).

 

The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site, and became his main temple where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple."

 

My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd

 

© D.Godliman

Sheffield

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

All lights were out in Vincent's flat with no indication that anyone was even home, with the Sun having set a couple of hours ago. There was no sound nor movement other than the sound of the ticking clock on the mantel in the sitting room.

However, it was occupied after all. In the next room over, sitting atop his bed in the dark and still in his nice day clothes, Vincent had his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the wall opposite of him. He was not happy; not at all.

Vincent planned to work things out with Damien, but right now he wasn't ready to talk to him. He was still hurt and it was all too fresh. He'd been trying to figure out why Damien had acted out the way he had. But after a few hours he'd decided there was no logic to it! He'd just have to wait for the man to explain himself. So, now he was just sitting here; brooding and waiting for time to pass. It had been a long time since he'd brooded so strongly.

When sleep started to pull at him some time later, Vincent finally let himself deflate a little more with a heavy sigh, as if trying to just release it off his shoulders. He may as well try to get some sleep and figure this out tomorrow.

He finally got himself up out of bed, turned on a small oil lamp, and began to change. And as he did, he began to realize that not once this evening did he feel the inclination to drink any of his troubles away. He hadn't even over-indulged in his bhang tea! He'd simply taken his standard medicinal dose and that was it! Despite all the upsets of the day and the bad thoughts, he found that little bit of silver lining was something actually worth smiling over. It had been a long time since he'd felt pride in himself.

And, indeed, Vincent found himself smiling slightly after all as he shoved his shirt and waistcoat off his shoulders. He felt a little proud of himself now that he thought about it. He was already imagining Aiden's beaming smile when he found out! But more importantly, Vincent thought, he was smiling for himself.

Vincent finished changing out of his day clothes and finally began to head back to bed; though this time with the intention of sleeping. As he settled in and rolled on his side, he turned to face his wardrobe. He could faintly hear the buzzing of the Fulgora's Eye in the box and vaguely remembered that Aiden had left his wrench on top. A small smirk appeared on his face as he made a mental note to remind Aiden of it next time. Closing his eyes, Vincent sighed contently and let himself start to drift off.

When he'd first begun rousing the next morning, something just made him want to just sleep the day away. He could tell it was going to be a lazy morning. So instead of waking up, he allowed himself to close his eyes once more and roll over and sleep just a bit longer.

When he finally began to wake for the day about an hour later, Vincent rolled onto his back and groggily stared up at the ceiling. Vaguely he wondered what time it was. It was darker than he was expecting. Pushing the covers off and sitting up with a groan, he glanced towards the window. And as he suspected, the sky was dark with various shades of gray indicating the overcast day ahead. Well, that made sense why he felt he could lay in bed all day. And indeed the clock indicated so; it was very nearly eleven o'clock!

A short time later, Vincent stepped out onto the terrace with his hands enclosed around a hot, steaming cup of coffee. He was dressed in only a loose pair of pants with his hair down, allowing the slightly cool, damp air to touch his warm, exposed skin. Sipping the hot coffee, he closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. Now this was a comfortable way to wake up.

Though as he stood there sipping his coffee and slowly waking up more, he began to think about Damien and how things had gone the day before. Vincent decided that once he woke up a bit more, he'd get dressed and go to see Damien after all. He didn't want to let this sit and fester between them if Damien was willing to talk it out with him. But something wasn't sitting right and he couldn't place his finger on it. It was as if there was an unpleasant feeling lingering and it felt like a knot was tightening in his stomach.

Vincent frowned slightly as he stared into his nearly drained cup. With a heavy sigh, he lifted it to his lips and drained it the rest of the way. He'd already decided he'd go so he may as well go get it over with. Deciding to dismiss the ominous feeling as typical nervousness, Vincent readied himself to head back inside and get ready to go see Damien.

Something cool and wet suddenly dripped onto Vincent's left cheek, causing him to blink in slight surprise. Then it happened again on his right shoulder. Then several more drops followed, and a moment later the sky opened up.

A gentle rain began to fall, slowly soaking Vincent as he remained where he was. He stared up at the sky, blinking slowly. Finally he gave a small, releasing sigh and closed his eyes.

Vincent took another couple minutes to stand in the rain before he decided he should go in. It would be wise to do so, he figured, before he caught a chill. With a final look at the sky, he gave a small nod and ducked back into his flat to warm up and make his preparations to go out.

...

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Vincent was standing outside the residence of Damien's sister and her husband, twisting his umbrella nervously in his hand absent-mindedly as he waited patiently. A young child's voice (which he recognized as Damien's niece) called out from the window above which faded as she went to fetch her mother: "Mama! Mama! The one-eyed man is here!"

Vincent sighed and immediately felt regret for even coming here unannounced. He hadn't forgotten this family's reservation regarding his appearance. But sometimes he'd gotten the impression there was something more to it. He had wondered for a long time if it was about Damien's arm but that just didn't seem right. Damien's sister and her husband always seemed to try too hard to be nice and never could look him in the eyes. He had the impression they didn't like him very much but were pretending for Damien's sake. And unfortunately, he thought, his current bruised appearance likely wasn't going to help matters much.

He only had to wait a short time until the door opened and he was greeted by Damien's sister. She was very clearly embarrassed but pretending her daughter hadn't announced Vincent's arrival so rudely as she exclaimed in a slightly rushed, polite manner, "Captain Dubois! What a morning to be out and about! Come in! How are you? Damien told us you were accosted outside your own home! Are you feeling more improved lately?"

"Quite, thank you."

Not wanting to be rude, himself, Vincent stepped inside and out from the rain, shaking out his umbrella before closing it and wiped his feet. He had no intentions of staying longer than necessary and hoped Damien was in. He turned to her once more and watched as she cleared her throat nervously and folded her hands in front of her. Her eyes remained glued to his chin and explained, "Damien is not here right now. He stepped out earlier this morning and hasn't been back since." She seemed to think better of her manners before asking, "W-would you like to sit?! I can brew some tea to-!"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Rivers," Vincent cut in quietly, having decided it would be best for him to take his leave now. He wouldn't stay where he wasn't wanted. "Thank you for your time. Would you please be so kind as to give this to him?" He withdrew a small, sealed letter from his pocket and offered it to her. He'd written a small note for Damien explaining that he'd like to talk this out and to let him know when he was ready.

She took it, gazing at it for a moment before responding in a slightly relieved tone, "Of course. Have a pleasant day, Captain Dubois."

"You as well, Mrs. Rivers."

Without further word, Vincent turned and opened his umbrella before stepping out into the rain once again. He heard the front door quickly shut behind him before he even made it down to the fourth step. When it did, he finally let out that disappointed sigh he'd been holding in for the last uncomfortable minute or so and continued to make his way towards the street. And as he made it there, thunder rumbled overhead which startled a few people nearby, exclaiming in surprise. However, Vincent paused and glanced up at the sky and narrowed his eyes a touch. After a few more seconds of staring up at the stormy clouds, he turned and made his way down the street.

...

The rain didn't seem to want to let up as Vincent continued to wander the streets of the city aimlessly. The gentle storm had caused most people to stay indoors so it was thankfully more quiet than the usual busy hour of the day. Though as he wandered, he began to wonder if he should just head home. At least if he was home he could just read and listen to the storm as background noise. Then he would finally have a distraction from the increasingly depressing thoughts burrowing its way into his mind. But as he thought about his small collection at home, he found himself wanting to read something different. He'd read the new book Aiden had gifted him three times already. And as he was thinking about this, Vincent realized that he was not very far from the public library at all! So why not make a quick trip before heading back?

It was not even ten minutes later that Vincent stepped into the library. He glanced around as he shook his umbrella free of excess water by the front door, then kicked his boots free of water as well. Finally, he inhaled deeply the scent of old books and candles as it integrated with the smell of the storm. Perfect. It was one of his favorite scents in the world. After all, it was one of his favorite places to be other than Leon's Claw.

Vincent took his time browsing among the fiction bookshelves; enjoying how serene it all felt. After the upsets of yesterday and today, it felt nice to just be in here and decompress. He enjoyed listening to the echoes of the rain and occasional gentle thunder while being surrounded by the scent and feel of the library. He did select one book but still was on the hunt for a second. Perhaps he could find something in the non-fiction section which happened to be just around the corner. He would just need to figure out what topic he wanted to research.

Vincent made a turn and was greeted with the open seating area with a few tables and chairs for the library patrons to relax and do their research and read. Vincent was very familiar with this place and had spent many of his youthful days here. He glanced around the open space and then settled his gaze on his favorite study table which was occupied. And it happened to be occupied by none other than Aiden!

'That's right!' Vincent thought as he remembered. Aiden said that he'd be going to the library to do some research. He watched from a short distance as Aiden leaned closer over one of the open books, forehead pressed into his left hand, delving a bit into his golden hair. With his right hand, he held a pencil between his fingers which he gently tapped on the paper of his notebook. Vincent knew it was already filled with notes and scribbles and sketches. He watched as the young engineer nibbled his lower lip and pored over the words on the page like that. Vincent supposed it was the scholar in himself that appreciated it.

Vincent didn't even realize he was doing it, but it was not the usual gaze he held when laying eyes upon his engineer either. His gaze was locked on the younger man with himself unmoving. It was if something was stirring quietly inside him; perhaps even just a touch...primal. It was almost as if he were stalking prey. Yet as seconds turned to nearly a full minute, he still had no idea that he was staring as intensely as he was.

 

Aiden had come to the library nearly two hours ago and had delved into his research upon finding a few books. They'd looked promising! Aiden discovered once he'd sat down with them that his selection was quite advanced compared to other books he'd read in the past. However, he was pleased to be able to comprehend everything easily enough! He'd quickly accumulated quite a bit of notes and knowledge! And now he was certain he had a complete list of everything he would need to pull apart that Fulgora's Eye! He just needed to put these books back and find out where the local shops were.

With a groan, Aiden straightened in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. As he did, he felt his upper back pop, causing him to groan once more but this time in relief. Slumping back in his chair, he set down the pencil and rubbed his hands over his face and against his eyes. Okay, so he'd get up and put these away in a minute.

Aiden heard the sound of a throat clearing beside him. Who could it possibly be? When he lowered his hands to see who was trying to get his attention, he was surprised to discover who it was.

"Vincent!"

Vincent smirked, his cheeks coloring in amused embarrassment. Aiden's exclamation had been much louder than anyone expected! It even prompted a few of the other patrons to go "Shh!" and glare at him for the sudden outburst!

Aiden's face flushed scarlet in embarrassment as he turned in his chair to smile apologetically and mouth, "I'm sorry" to a few who still continued to glare at him. Finally he turned back in his seat and grinned up at Vincent, face still colored but clearly happy to see him.

Vincent shook his head as he reached out and drew out the chair adjacent to Aiden's and muttered just loud enough for Aiden to hear, "You're gonna be the death of me, kid." Without further ado, he sat down in the chair and set down his book on the table with a soft groan.

Aiden chuckled in response and gave a slight shrug as if he had no idea what he was talking about. The gesture earned a playfully hostile glare from Vincent. It made Aiden snicker and look down; unable to meet his eyes.

Vincent stared at him a moment longer before giving an amused snort. He then cast his gaze over Aiden's collection of books. As he suspected, they appeared to be mechanic books, one about Fulgora's Eye, and another on airship construction. Interesting!

While Vincent was busy eyeing his selection, Aiden took the time to look Vincent over. He seemed a little unrested, the slightest dark circles under his eyes. And there was just something about him and how he held himself that seemed slightly off. Aiden supposed it had to do with Damien. He had no idea that Vincent had a rather humiliating encounter earlier with Damien's sister as well, which was even more reason why he appeared even more drained.

"Will you be able to get everything you need for your project?" Vincent was asking him. Aiden bit his lower lip and glanced over at his notebook at the list of items he needed to go shopping for. It was not a cheap list by any means. This would be the end of whatever finances he had left. However, thanks to Vincent's incredible generosity, that would not be a problem!

"I believe so," he replied. Then he added with a huff, "This rain may push my plans back a bit. I'm still not sure where all the stores are in town." He reached out and began collecting the books he'd taken out and stacking them into a pile so he could put them away.

"Would...would you still like to come see? You know...when I work on my project? I understand if you need more time. I'd be willing to wait for you."

Aiden was standing now, holding the books in his arms and looking hopeful, yet Vincent knew there was no real pressure to be there. And he knew Aiden really would wait for him if he asked him to. It was one of the wonderful things about Aiden: he understood that Vincent needed time and space to process through things. Today happened to be a day where he seemed to need less. Vincent had to wonder if that was why Aiden had been so surprised to see him.

"I would," Vincent responded with a slight smile. Deciding he no longer needed a second book, he suggested, "We need to discuss where and when would be best. Hm, perhaps moving this discussion to a more private location would be the most advisable. Would you like to come back to my flat? I'd be happy to point you in the right direction if you tell me which shops you are looking for." Aiden beamed at the offer! More time with Vincent? Oh, he was not going to squander this opportunity!

The men went together to put back Aiden's books then headed for the main entrance of the library. it didn't take very long for Vincent to get his book checked out and they were ready to go....or so Vincent thought. As he tucked his borrowed book under his arm and shook out his umbrella, Aiden grumbled beside him, "Damn it. I forgot my umbrella at the table. I'll be right back!"

Vincent chuckled and shook his head as Aiden turned to go back for it. He pushed the slide to open his umbrella and lifted it above his head and stepped out into the rain. He wanted to listen to the sound of the raindrops while he waited patiently for Aiden. However, his enjoyment was cut short by Aiden's upset voice moments later: "Vincent, I may have to come by later! Someone stole my umbrella! I'm sorry. It looks like everything's getting pushed back after all."

Vincent turned to look back at Aiden with surprise at the news. Aiden looked so genuinely disappointed! And it was raining even harder now than it was even a minute ago. Logically, Vincent knew Aiden would have to wait out the rain or he'd get soaked and potentially fall ill unless he ran straight back to the ship to dry off. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the rain was going to be letting up anytime soon. So, Vincent approached Aiden and stood before him before raising his umbrella a little higher with a slight smirk as he offered, "Well, come on then. We'll share mine."

Seeing Aiden's face light up with that excited grin made Vincent's day just that much better. Aiden wasted no time stepping under the safety of the umbrella and tried not to reveal just how excited he felt!

"Thank you! I can't believe someone stole my umbrella that fast!"

"I can!" Vincent chuckled wryly and shook his head as they began to set off side by side under his umbrella. "Maybe you'll get lucky and it will stop raining by the time you're ready to head out again."

"That would be fantastic!"

They fell into silence as they walked side by side in the rain. It was pleasant, Vincent felt. He expected Aiden to be more talkative but he seemed as content as he was to enjoy each other's company like this. Aiden was simply glancing around as they walked and occasionally peeked over at Vincent who sometimes caught his little look. Then they'd exchange a small smile and look away. And as they walked, Vincent began to smell the integrating scent of the rain with Aiden's scent. It was quite nice. More than nice. Clearing his throat, Vincent gestured off to the side towards a General Store.

"Isn't that one of the shops you need to visit?" he asked, remembering Aiden's short list. Aiden looked over to see where Vincent was pointing. Sure enough it was! Aiden nodded and replied, "Yes. I don't expect you to say 'Yes' but...would you like to stop in? Since we're on the way?"

"Hm...why not? Let's go."

Vincent wasn't sure what came over him but he was quite content to go into the General Store with Aiden (who couldn't stop grinning for some reason, he thought) and follow him around as he shopped for items that he'd need. And as Aiden went through his list, Vincent saw that it really was not a very long list at all. In fact they could easily pick everything up on the way back to his flat. Once Aiden was finished paying for his items, Vincent suggested doing just that, to which Aiden readily agreed! And so they did! For the next hour, the men went to two more shops on the way back to the flat. Aiden finally had gotten everything he'd need for his endeavor!

The rain hadn't let up at all during their time out on errands. It was just as well that none of the shops had any umbrellas available for sale to replace Aiden's. He needed both his hands to carry everything! Therefore, Vincent continued to hold his umbrella for them both and enjoyed the friendly conversation with comfortable silences in between. And while Vincent still wasn't feeling his normal self, even he could tell he wasn't feeling quite as melancholy. He liked how Aiden seemed to make things better just by being there; by being himself.

When they returned to Vincent's flat, Vincent and Aiden took the Fulgora's Eye out and set it down in the middle of Vincent's sitting room. It was fun to admire it as they discussed where Aiden would take it apart. Vincent had offered up his flat since it was already here as well as Aiden's purchased equipment. All Aiden would need to do is bring over his tools from Leon's Claw. Once they had figured out the logistics of it, their conversation moved off to other enjoyable topics; just laughing and enjoying each other's company. Vincent didn't even realize it, but he was no longer thinking about yesterday or Damien. In fact, he felt as light as he often did these days...and he didn't even realize it was all because of Aiden. As for Aiden? He was happy. So happy. He was finally getting that quality alone time he'd been hoping for yesterday with Vincent. And Vincent looked so genuinely happy to have him here visiting together as he laughed and smiled again.

It was a few hours later that Vincent realized what time it was...

"I didn't realize how long we've been sitting here," he chuckled as he looked away from the clock hanging on the wall nearby. "I am expecting Bernadette anytime now."

"Oh! Should we put away the Fulgora's Eye? How has she been? Is she coming to do your dressings?"

"Mhm. She's been well. If you'd like to wait to see her, you're welcome to. And honestly, she'd likely find it fascinating. She loves to learn. And you don't have to worry about her. She doesn't have a loose tongue."

"Then we'll leave it out! Thank you! I have been hoping to see her again!"

Vincent smirked slightly as Aiden groaned and moved his stiff muscles as he made to stand. Then he went to the window to peek out. It was still a bit overcast, he saw, but the clouds seemed to be starting to finally break apart. He could even see the evening sun rays peeking through here and there. He grinned back at Vincent and exclaimed softly, "Look! It stopped raining just in time for me to leave after all!" He looked back at the sky as Vincent chuckled in response. Vincent drained the rest of his tea and stood. He picked up Aiden's teacup as well before heading towards the kitchen to rinse their cups.

"Oh, don't forget your wrench! You should grab it before you forget!"

"That's right!"

Aiden grinned sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair as he began to head back for the bedroom to retrieve it...but then there was a knock at the door! Excited to see Bernadette, Aiden decided to get the wrench later and turned with a smile as Vincent stood and went to open the door. Sure enough, there she was on the other side with a soft smile for her cousin.

"Well you look to be in good spirits today," she greeted him with a kiss on his cheek. Vincent gave her a warm smile and closed the door behind her and responded, "It's not every day I get to see you, Bernie."

"Oh you flatterer- What is THAT?!" Bernadette exclaimed as she stared straight ahead at the Fulgora's Eye with wide eyes. Then she suddenly realized Aiden was standing there as well.

"Aiden! Oh, it's good to see you!"

Aiden blushed as she hurried over and actually threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. Aiden squeezed her back tightly and grinned before turning and walking over to sit in front of the Fulgora's Eye. "It's called Fulgora's Eye! It's an exceedingly rare specimen! Have you heard of it before?"

"No! Is that lightning?!"

Bernadette stared with wide eyes and took a seat beside Aiden. And as Aiden began to launch into an explanation as to what Fulgora's Eye was, Vincent scoffed good naturedly and rolled his eyes as his cousin seemed to temporarily forget him for Aiden and his specimen. They seemed to be getting along quite well and seemed quite familiar with each other. Well, they HAD spent the better part of a week taking care of Vincent together. Were they feeling sweet on each other possibly? Vincent wondered. But no, he didn't sense any sort of romantic affection between them. Why did he care anyway? He went to take a seat on a nearby chair and listened to Aiden's lecture and pushed it out of his mind.

Vincent, as always, was happy to let Aiden do his thing; and while he'd heard most of it already before, he still got to learn more. While Bernadette's interests generally laid outside of more modern technology, she found it all quite interesting and, like Vincent, found Aiden's enthusiasm endearing. Her lack of knowledge and love of learning led to her asking lots of questions. Finally, she asked what could be done with something like Fulgora's Eye.

Aiden's eyes lit up dreamily as he explained, "Honestly, I can't wait to find out! It's more of a recent discovery and it's so rare. Who knows? But we know it can power machines! I don't know if it will replace steam powered engines but it's quite fascinating, isn't it?!"

"Aiden, why don't you tell her about Pete?" Vincent finally cut in with an amused little smirk. Aiden grinned at Vincent then looked back at Bernadette who looked confused slightly. However, she didn't have to wait for an explanation.

"Pete is my Spider Lantern! He's an artificial intelligence lantern powered by a tiny speck of Fulgora's Eye!" Aiden told her which surprised Bernadette. "He has independently moving legs and he's a never ending source of light and can communicate in his own way. He even has a personality!"

"So if you can power a small lifeless lantern and give it artificial intelligence just with a tiny speck..." Bernadette's gaze turned in fascination as she leaned in just a bit closer to inspect the pretty colors moving around in there. "And how on Earth did you find such a thing?" However, before Aiden could fumble for an appropriate answer, Vincent responded for him, "I acquired it very recently and offered it to Aiden as a 'thank you' for saving my life."

Aiden's face turned a lovely shade of red in embarrassment and he nibbled his lower lip bashfully. Bernadette glanced between the two of them and smirked slightly before sitting back in her seat. "I see. Well, that is quite a handsome reward! So what will you do with it, Aiden?"

"I'm going to pull it apart and find different uses for it. I haven't quite figured it out yet...hey, would you like to watch?! Vincent, can she watch?!"

Vincent blinked in surprise as suddenly both his cousin and friend turned to look at him hopefully. Side by side, the duo was quite a pair! He couldn't help the laugh that rumbled deep in his chest which caused him to rub his ribs gently. "Of course she can. We'll be meeting back here tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock. Aiden, why don't you bring Pete with you and introduce them?" The duo on the couch grinned at him gratefully and chorused, "Thank you!" and Bernadette added, "You bet I'll be here! I want to meet Pete!" And as Bernadette turned to speak to Aiden once again, Vincent's smile faded a little bit as he watched the two of them. His gaze lingered more on Aiden, watching how he smiled and relaxed there. He looked so perfectly at home almost as if he belonged there on his couch.

It was about ten minutes later that Bernadette finally told Aiden, "While I am enjoying our conversation, forgive me, but I must get on with taking care of Vincent's dressings. Thank you for your patience, by the way, Cousin." Vincent chuckled and shrugged as he added, "I have been enjoying both of your company, but yes, time is getting on in the day. Aiden, you'll need your rest for tomorrow. It's going to be a big day."

With that, Aiden went to safely store the Fulgora's Eye back in Vincent's bedroom in its box. He also grabbed his wrench as well. He went to bid Bernadette and Vincent farewell. And as he went to take his leave, Vincent stopped him and offered his umbrella with a genuine smile and a soft, "Just in case." Aiden wet his lips and smiled softly at the kind gesture before taking it. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow. Make sure you eat a decent dinner and some rest okay?"

Behind them on the couch, Bernadette was watching with a little smirk as Aiden promised he would and took his leave. While Vincent may have thought there may have been something going on between her and Aiden, Bernadette could see more than Vincent realized. Oh, she couldn't wait to see this all come to fruition!

After Aiden left, Bernadette went with Vincent to his bedroom where he began to strip down and allow her access to his dressings. And as she began to administer treatment and clean his wounds, Vincent began to tell her about his day and how he'd met Aiden at the library. And as he spoke about what they had done for the day and how well it went, Bernadette smiled softly and just let him talk. It was good to see Vincent finally having a friend like Aiden. And as she went past the window, she glanced outside. Something made her do it. And then it began to drizzle; rain gently hitting the window.

"I didn't know when I picked him to be my engineer that he'd end up being more than just that. What luck, eh?" Vincent was saying behind her. She glanced back over her shoulder at him with a sweet smile and replied, "Very lucky, indeed. I'm very glad you picked him." And as Vincent agreed and continued to talk to her about what a wonderful friend Aiden was, she chuckled and continued on with her healing work.

Vincent may not know it yet, she thought to herself, but things were looking up more than he realized. Oh, she couldn't wait until the day came where Vincent finally saw it, too.

  

Next Part:

www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/52826273345/in/datepo...

 

To read the rest of the story, here's the album link:

www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127

 

***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***

 

Special thank you to Vin Aydin Raven-Mysterious-Moonreign for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!

 

NOTE: This picture was photographed outside the Archimedes Public Library at the Babbage Palisade region on Second Life! Go check it out! Its a very nicely laid out library and great for picture taking!

  

~

 

DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and the Engineer has a Discord Server! If you would like to join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!

discord.gg/qBa769TAC4

 

***NEW!!!!***

 

The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!

FACEBOOK PAGE:

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558531406088

Jetzt hat mich das Retro-Fieber xDDD

 

Ich sehe mir derzeit die alten Sailor Moon Folgen an (schlimmer Fehler xDDD ) - Tja... *ggg* - Hier mein erster Merch *____*

 

Mit Pluto's Stift bin ich grad am Basteln xD - weitere Bilder folgen :-)

During our trip on the roads of North Vietnam, in the Ha Giang Province, we followed some tourist indications to find a cave. The latter did not have the expected interest; however, it had the merit of forcing us to make a detour that turned out to be much more interesting. Driving on more or less narrow tracks, we had to cross several small villages hidden in the valleys, in which we decided, on several occasions, to stop.

This is how, walking in one of them, we met a group of a few children. After crossing them, I turned around, and found that this girl, beautifully dressed, had done the same, perhaps surprised to see us there. My camera in hand, I understood by this smile that she was allowing me to make a portrait.

Vietnam has many ethnic groups, especially in its mountainous areas in the North. Many Vietnamese there wear traditional dresses, specific headdresses or jewelry. I don’t want to make a mistake, so I would not say anything about the girl's ethnicity, but I'm sure some people could deduce it from her clothes.

 

Durant notre séjour sur les routes du Nord Vietnam, dans la Province de Ha Giang, nous avons suivi des indications touristiques pour trouver une grotte. Cette dernière n’a pas présenté l’intérêt escompté; toutefois, elle a eu le mérite de nous imposer un détour qui s’est révélé beaucoup plus intéressant. Roulant sur des pistes plus ou moins étroites, nous avons ainsi traverser plusieurs petits villages cachés dans les vallées, dans lesquels nous avons, à plusieurs reprises, décidé de nous arrêter.

C’est ainsi qu’en marchant dans l’un d’entre eux, nous avons croisé un groupe de quelques enfants. Après les avoir croisés, je me suis retourné, et ai constaté que cette jeune fille, magnifiquement habillée, en avait fait de même, peut-être étonnée de nous voir là-bas. Mon appareil photo à la main, j’ai compris par ce sourire qu’elle m’autorisait à faire un portrait.

Le Vietnam compte de très nombreuses ethnies, en particulier dans ses zones montagneuses, au Nord. De nombreux Vietnamiens arborent des tenues traditionnelles, des coiffes ou encore des bijoux. Ne souhaitant pas faire d’erreur, je ne m’avancerais pas sur l’appartenance ethnique de cette jeune fille, mais je suis certain que certains pourraient la déduire à partir de ses vêtements.

 

Silverton:

 

The first indication of silver–lead mineralisation in the Barrier Rangers came in late 1875 with the discovery of galena by Julius Charles Nickel and Dan McLean while they were well sinking on Thackaringa Station, near the South Australian - New South Wales border.

 

In 1879 John Stokie established a store at Umberumberka, 19 km north of Thackaringa. He continued prospecting and discovered silver–lead veins nearby, which he pegged with Edward Pegler in November 1881. A 100 ton parcel of ore was shipped to England for a 40% profit. The following October the Umberumberka Silver Lead Mining Company Ltd was floated with nominal capital of £20 000. Umberumberka was the second area of silver–lead mineralisation discovered in the Barrier Ranges and the new company was the first to be publicly floated. The town of Silverton soon developed close to the mine and became the main settlement of the growing silver field.

 

Silverton was surveyed in 1883, by which time Australia had a population of 2, 250, 194. By September that year, the population of Silverton was 250, and by December 1883 it had doubled. That year the Day Dream Mine opened and attracted an additional population of 400 - 500 people. In 1884 1,222 mineral leases, 937 business permits and 114 miners' rights were issued. That same year 6,000 tonnes of ore were extracted and the town acquired its own newspaper, the Silver Age.

 

By 1885 - 1886 the town's population had reached 3,000. Silverton was proclaimed a township in 1885 and a municipality the following year. In 1885 a short-lived smelter was established at Day Dream Mine, operating for only a year. In 1892 the Umberumberka Mine closed, followed by the Day Dream Mine. The Pioneer Mine at Thackaringa closed in 1897. By 1901, after miners had moved to the richer fields at Broken Hill, the town went into decline and only 286 people remained. Today the town has a population of around 50 people, most of whom work in tourism.

 

The Silverton Tramway Company:

 

The Silverton Tramway Company, a rare private railway of 50klms in length, was incorporated in New South Wales October 14, 1886 and the line was completed and opened for traffic on January 12, 1888. One of only two privately owned railways in the state, the tramway was originally founded to transport ore from local mines in the Broken Hill and Silverton region into South Australia. The company soon branched out, not only carrying ore from the mines but freighted other goods and offered a passenger service which accounted for a third of their business.

 

The company serviced travellers on long trips heading interstate to Semaphore (Adelaide) to the Largs Bay Holiday Camp and excursions for local community groups often conveying passengers to Silverton and McCulloch Park (at Stephens Creek) for the day and returning to Broken Hill in the afternoon. When traveling to South Australia the train would travel from Broken Hill, through Silverton and then to Burns which is on the New South Wales side of the border of Cockburn (a town divided by the NSW/SA border).

 

In 1927 the New South Wales government completed the railway from Sydney to Broken Hill, thus joining the Silverton Tramway and completing the link from Sydney to Adelaide. It played a strategic role in the trans-Australia network until 1970, when it was surpassed by the New South Wales Government Railways (Indian-Pacific). From 1888-1970 it was critical to the economic functioning of Broken Hill, by providing the key transport of ore to the Port Pirie smelters. It played a significant role in the politics and recreation of Broken Hill, and a crucial role at times of water shortage in Broken Hill.

 

Today, Silverton resides in the Unincorporated Area of New South Wales (NSW) and so does not feature a City Council. It is run by the Silverton Village Committee, who to this day hold their quarterly meetings in the Silverton Municipal Chambers.

 

Source: Silverton NSW (www.aussietowns.com.au/town/silverton-nsw), New South Wales Heritage Register & Discover Broken Hill (discoverbrokenhill.com.au/silverton-nsw/historic-building...), "The pathway to Broken Hill: Early discoveries in the Barrier Ranges, New South Wales, Australia" by Kenneth George McQueen, and 'Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 97'

Dagnam Park, London Borough of Havering

Male fawns show indications of antlers growth nine months following birth and the first set of antlers are shortened spikes.

Each April or May, during the summer months, bucks lose cast and grow fresh antlers. New velvet growth commences within 5 days from antler loss. The velvet is torn to yeild thick, hard antlers mid to late August.

The Fallow's deer antlers shed every year. Based on genetics, environmental stress and nutrition the size of the bucks antlers increase in size till the 11th year is reached and the deer passes beyond its prime. It is then that the antler size begins to diminish!!

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have conducted the first search for atmospheres around temperate, Earth-sized planets beyond our solar system and found indications that increase the chances of habitability on two exoplanets.

 

Specifically, they discovered that the exoplanets TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, approximately 40 light-years away, are unlikely to have puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres usually found on gaseous worlds.

 

“The lack of a smothering hydrogen-helium envelope increases the chances for habitability on these planets,” said team member Nikole Lewis of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. “If they had a significant hydrogen-helium envelope, there is no chance that either one of them could potentially support life because the dense atmosphere would act like a greenhouse.”

 

Julien de Wit of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, led a team of scientists to observe the planets in near-infrared light using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. They used spectroscopy to decode the light and reveal clues to the chemical makeup of an atmosphere. While the content of the atmospheres is unknown and will have to await further observations, the low concentration of hydrogen and helium has scientists excited about the implications.

 

“These initial Hubble observations are a promising first step in learning more about these nearby worlds, whether they could be rocky like Earth, and whether they could sustain life,” says Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is an exciting time for NASA and exoplanet research.”

 

The planets orbit a red dwarf star at least 500 million years old, in the constellation of Aquarius. They were discovered in late 2015 through a series of observations by the TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST), a Belgian robotic telescope located at ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) La Silla Observatory in Chile.

 

TRAPPIST-1b completes a circuit around its red dwarf star in 1.5 days and TRAPPIST-1c in 2.4 days. The planets are between 20 and 100 times closer to their star than the Earth is to the sun. Because their star is so much fainter than our sun, researchers think that at least one of the planets, TRAPPIST-1c, may be within the star’s habitable zone, where moderate temperatures could allow for liquid water to pool.

 

On May 4, astronomers took advantage of a rare simultaneous transit, when both planets crossed the face of their star within minutes of each other, to measure starlight as it filtered through any existing atmosphere. This double-transit, which occurs only every two years, provided a combined signal that offered simultaneous indicators of the atmospheric characters of the planets.

 

For more information, please visit:

www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-hubble-telescope-makes-...

 

Credits: NASA/ESA/STScI/J. de Wit (MIT)

When the D23 Exclusive Leia figure was released, I was very hopeful that it was an indication that we were going to get a Star Wars doll line. It was not. However, I do think this doll did serve some purpose of testing the market's interest for this kind of item from the Disney company.

 

The D23 Leia was made in the style of the Disney Store's Live Action dolls:

 

- Large head with a good likeness of the actor/actress

- Screen accurate costume

- Optional screen accurate accessory

 

Enter the Disney Store's "Premium Action Figure" line.

 

Launched with the Captain America and Black Widow Figures from Marvel, the line continued with the release of Rey & Kylo Ren figures. Since then, Leia and Darth Vador figures have been released. Other figures, including Jyn Erso & others from Rogue One, will be released on Dec 16.

 

The Premium Action Figure line, like DS's dolls, is a 1/6th scale-ish line.

 

--

 

This series caught my eye as a potential way of getting a Black Widow for my collection that resembled Scarlett Johansson. When I finally got my Black Widow figure, I was disappointed with the scale. If her head was bigger and she was a little bit taller, she would fit right in with my dolls. (See flic.kr/p/LFvu4d, where I discuss Black Widow's usability.) In the end, the figure became a clothes and accessory donor for a Black Widow Barbie I was already making. They are so well made; I can't imagine my Black Widow without them now.

 

I don’t know for certain, but I believe that Rey, Leia & Jyn in this series share the same body as Black Widow. Their heads all look to be small as well.

 

This creates a bit of a conundrum for me... If I want a Star Wars doll collection, what do I do? There is no denying the quality of these 'Premium' figures for the price point. A part of me would like to just be able to buy these toys and leave them as is.

 

However, like many doll collectors and customisers, I get pretty anal-retentive about things 'fitting' into my collection. When I put my Rey doll next to my Katniss from Hunger Games, for example, I want them to 'fit'.

 

This is further complicated by the fact that I have actually caved and purchased the D23 Leia for myself. She is my final Holy Grail purchase for the year (I have been blessed to get a few of my Grails this year). If the Premium Action Figure heads look small next to my Collector Barbie heads, what are they going to look like next to a DS head? Really, really small, I bet.

 

It is looking more and more like, if I want Star Wars "dolls", I am going to have to make them myself. In the past, I have paid more than I would have liked for items from Hot Toys figures to put on my dolls. The Premium Action Figure line seems like a good alternative to that. The quality won't be as good, but I'd get more for a lower price point. I checked ebay: if I wanted to assemble the Rey outfit in this line from Hot Toys pieces it would cost me over $100, especially considering the accessories.

 

[Right now, I'm learning how to sew but I'm still working on making basic t-shirts and skirts. Working my way to a collared shirt. Ooooooh!]

 

In the end, I'm definitely going to get this line. Mostly likely as clothes and accessory donors, like my Black Widow.

 

The question now is, do I get the male figures as well... From my research, the Darth Vador figure is 12". The height of most Ken dolls. He might work really well next to a Barbie. Kylo is shorter, but perhaps with a figure stand...

 

We'll see what happens. I would love to have a healthy Star War contingent in my collection, so keep ‘em coming Disney Store!

Wandelend tussen Craggamore en Glenlivet als zijsprong van de Speyside wandeling zoals wij die in de zomer van 2007 hebben gemaakt. De plaats op de kaart is slechts een globale indicatie van waar de foto genomen is.

 

Walking the Tomintoul spur, between Craggamore and Glenlivet, as part off the Speyside walk wich we made in the summer off 2007. The point on the map is just a rough indication because it was difficult to find te correct spot on the map.

2023.07.24: Rene-Levesque ouest has turned into a condo haven with a bunch of 120 meter towers making a picket fence of buildings stretching westwards. The UI: towers dominate. This old building in the pic, just south of the towers, has been renovated. My understanding was it is used by the Chinese embassy but I saw no indication that its being used for anything at the moment.

Easing up to a stop indication at Kaw Tower on Main Track 1 of the UP KC Metro Sub is KCS train Y-KC136-28, also known as "Run 36", with a pair of Ex-ATSF, now PRLX, SD75Ms for power.

 

This is a transfer from KCS's Knoche Yard to UP's Neff Yard. Since both yards run parallel to each other, this job will need to make a loop around the West Bottoms. They'll drop south down the Elevator Lead from Kaw Tower to Adams St. on the KCT, turn north up the Terminal at Santa Fe JCT, and then down The Incline back onto the UP KC Metro Sub at Broadway as it continues east into UP's Neff Yard. 7/28/18.

Extra bus operated by Tower Transit, even though there is no indication of it being on the 635!