Thursday September 22 Today was travel day, with a bus to Sion, a train to Visp and another train to Zurich. The flight back to Logan was uneventful, with Swiss International Airlines doing a great job. It’s really nice to be made to feel welcome and not be nickel and dimed by an airline these days. The trip was a fantastic experience; I hope you can join us next year!	Aldo spent some time on today's train ride catching-up on sleep. Photo by Elaine Formica
Wednesday September 21 Dan guided us on another big hike today, this time we went up to the Pas de Chevres at 2855 meters (that’s just about 9400 feet in old money). We covered a total of 12 K with 802 meters of climbing over the course of 6 plus hours which included a lunch in the saddle of the pass with spectacular views both east and west (this route has a shorter option that covers roughly half the distance and vertical). Munching on lunch while gawking at the Cheilon glacier and Mt Blanc de Cheilon in one direction, and our old friend Mt. Collon in the other was quite the experience. On the way back to Arolla we ran into a Chamois, the local species of mt. goat and Dan got some great pictures. By the time we got back to the bus stop we were tired and hungry. I had rabbit and polenta again for dinner, and it tasted great!	Here we are at 9400 feet, wow! Photo by Dan Smyers
Tuesday September 20 We did a really nice hike right out of town today up to Villaz and past (not on) the local Via Ferrata. Total distance covered was approximately 8K. The climb started out steeply but once we gained roughly 1500 feet of elevation we did a loop around the high village toward La Sage and stopped to have a lunch of local cheese, bread, peanut butter (you can take the cyclist off the road but you can’t take the peanut butter away from the cyclist), and Swiss chocolate. Today’s hike proved what a great hiking environment we’re in as we were out for roughly four hours, never very far from civilization, but constantly offered spectacular views of snow-capped mountains, small farms and sheer cliffs. We made it back to town around 3:00, in time to sit outside at a local café and have a beer (or wine in the case of Elaine and Dan). What a great day!	Elaine and Dan and the ubiquitous trail signs. Photo by Aldo Tiboni A view of Evolene from the trail to Villaz. Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Monday September 19 Today we headed to Sion to learn more about that city and to get a feel for what’s to be done there. We visited a thousand year old church and castle (the Basilique de Valère and the Château de Tourbillon) that are perched on two very defensible adjacent hilltops. The Church premises include a museum (free with our Swiss Passes) that’s full of wonderful artifacts dating back many centuries. The church itself is of very heavy construction as was practiced pre-renaissance, but still has relatively delicate looking fluted columns and ribbed vaulting. It also houses the “Ancient Organ” which is supposed to be the world’s oldest and that is still played in concert. After our visit we headed to the historical center of Sion for lunch and a relaxing glass of wine while sitting under a canopy watching the world go by.	Elaine and Dan in Beautiful Old Sion. Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Sunday September 18 It rained today so we used it as a work day to talk business with a couple of the local hotels, narrow down the itinerary that we’ll be offering and refine a couple of hikes. People snickered when we told them we were coming here to work, laugh no more! Instead of a photo of us at the conference table in the hotel, here’s a shot from our room as the sun rises over the mountains.	The view from our hotel room as the sun rises to light the peaks. Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Saturday September 17 Today was another road trip on Switzerland’s unbelievable public transportation system, all covered by our Swiss Passes. We headed to Zermatt and its combination of high peaks and high fashion. Want the Matterhorn? It’s here. Want to buy a new Rolex? It’s here too. We took a trip on a gondola and two trams to the Klein Matterhorn at 12,700 feet where we joined skiers and riders enjoying the snow on the glacier. From here, if it were winter, you could ski either back down to Zermatt or into Cervinia, Italy. Talk about a wow moment as the car approached the station with the high peaks filling our view. Wowie! Did you know that the high tram here is the highest cable car in Europe?	The view from the tram looking up at the Klein Matterhorn. The tram station is just below the peak to the left. Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Friday September 16 Today was a big one, a hike to Cabane des Aiguilles Rouges, one of the high huts in the area used by mountaineers as base camps for ascents of the high peaks or by rock climbers heading up the myriad technical routes in the area. The hut is owned by the Club Alpin Academique de Geneve and sits at 2810 meters (9200 feet). This hike took us 7 hours including rest stops for eating, drinking and gawking. It’s the real deal, with most of our time spent high above tree line hiking around a big cirque (think Tuckerman’s Ravine on steroids). There were a couple of sections with real exposure where the Swiss have installed a chain as a hand hold (this section is avoided on the shorter option of this hike). Given the 13 kilometers and 825 meters (2700 feet) of climbing, there’s no wonder that we’re tired! Dinner tasted great! A big thanks to Dan for being such a great guide today!	A high waterfall on today's hike with Lac Bleu being that little aqua marine dot down in the valley. Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Thursday September 15 We all came out to Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. . .(please forgive the Smoke On The Water reference, but I am of that certain age). Today we recovered from yesterday’s hike by riding a bus and a train to Montreux on Lac Leman, or Lake Geneva if you prefer. Surprise, there are palm trees here! What a beautiful place, with great vistas and interesting culture. We toured the Chateau de Chillon, a medieval castle that is now an interactive museum, a very cool place that makes you glad that you live in the 21st century.	Palm Trees on Beautiful Lake Geneva Photo by Dan Smyers
Wednesday September 14 After a literal continental breakfast of breads, jams, fruits and café au lait, we got our day packs together and headed up to the grocery store (which is right next to the bus stop) to buy the makings of lunch, and then jumped on the bus to Arolla, the end of the line in the valley. We got off at the Lac Bleu stop to do the, get this, Lac Bleu hike. I was wowed by the scenery with spectacular vistas of snowcapped mountains with hanging glaciers and Swiss alps (an alp is actually a high altitude dairy farm). We chose the longer route option which included some up and down hiking along tree line to a picnic table with what only can be described as spectacular 360 degree views.	Lac Bleu is Definitely Blue! Photo by Aldo Tiboni
Tuesday September 13 Today we arrived after flying Boston to Zurich, riding two trains from the Zurich airport to Sion (through the third longest tunnel in the world) and then taking a bus up the valley to Evolene, our home base. Dan had met us at the airport where we bought our Swiss Passes and had a quick lunch. After settling in to our rooms we headed out to dinner at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel. Let me tell you, the beer tasted great flowing over my jet-lagged taste buds.	The View From The Bus Stop in Our Home Base of Evolene Photo by Aldo Tiboni