A Glacier Canyon and Alpine Intensity of Nature
Before humans coming, nature is there. Before and independent of our experiencing, the creative power of nature expresses itself and shapes the forms. Last Sunday, my wife and I were at a valley near the Eiger North Face. There is a small road going uphill from Meiringen through the Reichenbach (Rychenbach) valley in the Bernese Alps towards Grindelwald.
The valley was illumined by soft, golden autumn light shining through the trees. We had a look at some places and then stopped at the parking near the Rosenlaui glacier canyon.
Over eons of time, water from the Rosenlaui Glacier had dug a deep gorge into the stones, pressing through the rocks with great intensity. Humans had cut an uphill pathway into the sidewall of the canyon and through tunnels at medium height between the riverbed and the upper end of the gorge.
We experienced awe-inspiring moments when we approached the canyon and then stood inside, surrounded by rock faces. When we went through the gorge, the Sun just lit up the chasm and illuminated the drops of water falling from above. Rapids, roaring waterfalls, darkness, then spashing sunlight – intense impressions.
As the path became tight, I had to keep my hand at the handrail when looking downward or upward. It is an experience like going through a time of crisis, where you have to look for each next step only and go forward slowly. Along a path others have prepared before but which you have to walk yourself.
On this pathway through the rocks, you can only climb uphill, the path being too small for two directions. It comes again out of the abyss at the upper end. In a crisis, you will also come out again at the upper end when you have walked through into a new phase of life.
Outside, there was a small rock garden with many little towers of pebbles, “stone people”. Seen from the here, the chasm looks quite small.
We went down again and then through the valley to the Schwarzwaldalp (“Black Forest Alp”) on the pass road from the Haslital over the Grosse Scheidegg pass to Grindelwald; the small hamlet now consists just of a hotel, a simple tourist hostel with a restaurant, and an old sawmill.
The sawmill in its present size dates from 1896. It was constructed for building a spa house which burned down in 1943. An old man together with his grandson was operating the saw slowly cutting the trunk to wooden planks.
During lunch on the terrace of the hostel, we were surrounded by hikers, bikers and tourists which the post buses had brought uphill. Later, we we went a bit further along the road towards Grindelwald, which is blocked for non-public motor vehicles, and down to the Reichenbach river. When driving back from the mountains, we were still under the spell of the intense beauty and wildness of the Alpine mountain nature.
October 5th, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Om! Namaskaram Master _/\_
I am speechless on seeing these scenic beauties of every frames which r clean. Pristinely pure. As for waterfalls, I remembered Tirumala hills where Sri Lord Balaji settled, in those hills various waterfalls r there viz. Papanasana,, Tumbura teertham, chakra teertham, Akash Ganga so on. Very beautiful hills & waterfalls. We can gauge the age of these hills seeing the layers of the hills rocky layers.
October 5th, 2023 at 8:35 pm
OM, Namaskarams Master
Dear Sri Murthy
Thank you very much for your kind lines and hinting at the beauty of Tirumala hills of Sri Lord Balaji.
In January 2013, I was blessed to visit the sacred place and also the Akash Ganga waterfall. It was a very profound experience and uplifting experience. I blogged about it here:
https://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2013/01/09/a-visit-to-lord-venkateshvara/
https://blog.good-will.ch/WordPress/2013/01/09/sanctums-of-man-and-of-nature/
October 6th, 2023 at 4:54 pm
Ludger, we were overwhelmed seeing your photos – how beautiful is our planet. You gave the right commentaries to the photos as fas as life is concerned.
Thank you for sharing such beauty!
October 6th, 2023 at 10:04 pm
Doris
Thank you very much – yes, it is an overwhelming beauty an presence of great power of nature – this day in sunshine, but the intense work also being made visible by the water pressing through the canyon. Awe-inspiring.