Awesome Alpine Adventure: Day 7 - Mount Pilatus Kulm

Day 7 found us taking the Worlds Steepest Cogwheel Railway car up to Pilatus Kulm. Then we returned on an aerial cableway and then switched to gondolas.
Favorite photo for the day that captured what we did:

Favorite geologic image:

We got off the ferry and just had to walk a short distance to get to the Cogwheel Railway train station that went up the mountain.  We didn't have a very long wait before it was our turn to get onto the train.  The ride is touted as the World's steepest Cogwheel ride and I believed it.  Along the route there were signs posted as to what the grade was but non of my photos turned out - they were too close and we were going by too fast to get a good image of one.  The brochure says it boast  a gradient of 48%.

Mount Pilatus is very interesting for many reasons.  Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it. ( Mount_Pilatus )
The legend has it that after  Pontius Pilate executed Jesus the Emperor summoned Pilate back to Rome.  The Emperor had heard of the healing powers of Jesus and he had had some health issues that he wanted Jesus to cure but now that Jesus was gone he couldn't be cured by him.  The Emperor was so angry with Pilate for killing him he went and had Pilate executed also.  Because Pilate was cursed they took his body to the farthest reaches of their world and had his body throw into a lake that was on this mountain.  Then for years if anyone came on the mountain it would shake and rumble and cause problems.  The natives eventually drained the lake to solve the problem.

The other legend was it was also a home to a dragon.  So they use a dragon silhouette to represent it.
I just loved it for its unique geology.  You can see all sorts of folding and steeply dipping beds.   There is also something very interesting too that you'll see in the photos.

Here's the photo's I took of the trip up and around and then down again, going first on the Cogwheel train, then coming down on the aerial cableway and finally switching over to the gondolas.

The map at the train station so you could tell what you were seeing.  Unfortunately it doesn't talk about the geology at all. 

While I was waiting for the train I did get to view this rock and decided it was probably a limestone of some sort.  I did not have acid with me to tell for sure, but had a limestone look and feel to it.  I did not see any fossils in it but then again I didn't get any samples either. 

 The cogwheel train started out and it did not seem too bad.  The driver then explained that the cogwheels would be used later.  

 The gradient was getting steeper an we were going in and out of the tunnels in the mountain.

 When ever I saw a break in the trees with some rocks exposed I would go ahead and take a photo.  I know these aren't very pretty but I thought this one interesting because there was a small crevice and the soil was so dark.  Not what I was expecting since the matrix rock was so white looking.  

 This is more typical of what the rocks were looking like on the side of the mountain as we were going up. 

 Another tunnel notice how the beds are dipping over it. 

 The wild flowers and pastures were so idyllic looking.

 We had a cable car pass overhead and noticed that clouds were rolling in.

 The driver of the train had to engaged the cog wheel with this steep gradient.

The next day we went to the Swiss Transport museum and saw this exhibit.  It sure did help to see how the cog wheel worked.  I thought it was engaged by dropping down and I came to find out it wasn't.

 The higher we went the sparser the vegetation as I would have expected.

 In spots the clouds were pretty dense and we couldn't see much out the windows.

 But then just around a corner things would be perfectly clear. 

 I was grateful as we got to this upper portion and I got the photo's I did when I did because the clouds were so fickle that day with the way they would come and go.
    I saw this and thought it was interesting how there was that gap in the rocks.  But then when I looked at it I could tell that the material was darker and probably was weathering easier.

This was to the left side as we went up and was closer than the other one.

This was moving more to the right.

 This was looking more backwards towards the left.   It definitely looked like limestone to me at this point.   I could see the nooks and crannies in it and I could understand why they thought a dragon lived on this mountain with all the clouds and such around it.

 Then we got to this point and I could see the 'S' folding in the one layer dark layer tilting up to the left and was like OMG look at how fantastic that is.  You don't see something like that very often.  And just look at how those rocks next to it are now vertical.  How fascinating in that!!!  The others were admiring that zigzag path that was coming down from it and the debris field that was coming down from the mountain too.
 

 Then we got past some trees and higher up and I got to see this.  Just look at that intrusive rock.  No wonder some of the soil was so dark down the hill.   Just look at the way its weathering faster than the limestone and is lower than it. 

This was so good I just had to get it on my cell in something happened to my camera.

 By now the cog wheel was definitely doing its job.

Then I got this one. I've enlarged it so it will be easier to see.   If you look really closely you can see a red dash on the mountain that was another train going up it.  You could also see a cave that goes into the side of the hill.

Cogwheel train  on Mount Esel, Pilatus Kulm, Switzerland

 I liked this one because you can see the angle that we were going up while trying to keep the mountain as we were seeing it.  I took this because of the intrusive dark rock and how contorted the white/ grey rock was. 

 Here's looking down the valley and seeing that zigzag trail again.  I know they boast having the longest toboggan run and I wondered if this was it. 

 

 We were almost to the end of the line and we could see the observation and communication towers on top.  The white building is the Hotel Pilatus Klum. 

 Another view of the Hotel Pilatus Kulm and the visitor center.  This area is about 6800' high.  The complex is built on an arete (arete  ) so there is scenic views to both sides.

 The train station with the Hotel Bellevue on top.

 We got out and walked to the restaurant that was in the Hotel Pilatus Kulm.  As we were walking we noticed the clouds rolling in again.  They seemed to like coming up the valley.  It was interesting to see. 

 On the other side of the arete it was nothing but clouds.  I saw these  black birds - ravens? (Raven - bird ) and got a couple of photo's of them.  I really didn't expect to see any birds up here.

 One of the birds that was hanging out on Mount Pilatus.

Black bird on Mount Pilatus

 This was coming back from the restaurant.   A better view of the cable car on the mountain. 

 The hotel Bellevue and above it is  mount Esel which is 6953' high.  Mount Esel would be considered a 'horn' - a high point with glacial erosion around it. Glacial_horn

 One of the things I couldn't capture with a photo but was so interesting to watch was to see the clouds come up the valley then hit this arete and then be turned back into the valley.  So one side was cloudy and the other wasn't.  I could really see how the lake side of the mountain would get more precipitation  than the other.   Made me think of the West Coast of America and how along the coast there is enough rain for vegetation to grow while on the other side its desert.

 It was cold and windy and since we couldn't see much we went inside the visitor center.  They like there stuffed animals and had this ibex (Ibex)  for all to see.

Ibex in the visitor area on Mount Pilatus.

 Some of the people opted to hike up to the Oberhaupt.  which was 6913 feet high. I talked to some of them after they had done it and said you couldn't see much, today but on a clear day it would be fantastic views.  I was glad we decided against going up.

 I did get to take this shot of an outcrop that was near these stair.  It was definitely limestone.  I could see some things that looked like shells in it.

 While I was looking at the rocks I started to hear some music.  Everyone started to look around trying to figure out were it was coming from.  It was so incredible to hear because it was bouncing off the valley walls and coming back.  I couldn't get over how loud it was yet not piercing to the ears.  It was so beautiful.  Some people looked down and saw this guy and realize it was all coming from him.  It was so nice to have this free concert, it really made you feel like you were in Switzerland.

music on Mount Pilatus

 We were up there a couple of hours and then it was time for us to go back down.  When we went down we took the aerial cableway back down.  I got this shot as we were waiting for the next car to come.

aerial cableway on Mount Pilatus, Lucerne Switzerland

 Heights don't seem to bother me as much as they do other people.  I had no problem getting to the front of the car and being able to look straight down.  Most of the people in the car didn't want to be there and there were some that absolutely insisted on being in the middle.  The cars held about 40 people.  I thought they were interesting to see.
    When I was taking this picture it looked like the cable lines went into nowhere. It was so mystical looking.

 It was hard getting decent images since the cloud cover was so heavy but the geologist in me just had to try to get something.  Just look at how those beds are steeping.  

 I liked seeing this glacier coming off the mountain,

 here's looking directly down into the valley below.  It amazed me that people were actually able to climb up to here let alone build all that they did.  Everything up here has to be transported either via the cable cog train or by this cable car.  They had special compartments that they transport things up and as we were getting on they were taking one of the carts off.  The person moving the stuff talked to us about it.  Just think of all the food and anything else all has to come up this way.

 The other side of the mountain.  Here's that dark easily folded layer again that is so distinctive and stands out so well.

 The tower that holds it all up.  The clouds were starting to leave or we were getting below them and the view started to improve. 

 

 The view down - The lake is Lake Lucerne.

 So different than what I'm use to seeing.  I wondered if this was the toboggan run?

 Another view of the lake Lucern and you can see how Burgenstock  looks like and island and the way it stands out.

 More folded rocks.

 Frankmuntegg is were we transferred to the gondola.   The gondolas were lot smaller and would only fit 4 people at a time. 

 I did get this shot of the gondola as it was passing by.

 Nice idyllic view of some cows in the pasture.  I could see why there was so many dairy products everywhere we went.  They did have a lot of cows in the pastures.

 Finally we got to the buses in Kriens and I got this shot while we were waiting for the others in our group to get down off the mountain.

Gondola at Kriens

The group then took a bus back to Lucerne and our hotel.  The rest of the day we had to ourselves.   but that is to be continued on another post.

PS:  I do want to thank the group that took us on this awesome adventure and all the wonderful people we got to know while going on it.  You know who you are - THANK YOU.

Also I want to thank my husband for wanting to do this adventure with me and for making it so special and unforgettable.