DREAMING OF MOUNTAINS
FEBRUARY 8, 2021
Frozen Lake Sils after sunrise
As so many of us, right now I am still confined to a very small range of places to be. As it is, I could go to the mountains, but because that is true for everyone, the mountains are being overrun - unfortunate for nature, the inhabitants and me as well. Thus, I'm restricting myself further, just as I have during the entire last year. One cannot help but start dreaming of other places. The Engadin is such a place for me. I went there for two nights in March 2019 by myself, it was one of the best trips I ever took and I would like to share my memories with you. This trip was probably the first time that I tried to capture the feeling of a trip in multiple connected images - which makes it perfect for the format of this blog.
The Engadin is a valley in Switzerland and houses the river Inn. I have lived much of my life along the river Inn, so it was a long-time wish to see it at its source. The beautiful thing about the drive there is that by the nature of a river, the most efficient route through the mountains always goes besides the river, allowing you to see the evolution from a small rivulet to a big stream. At the source of the river Inn lie four adjoined lakes, the highest of which is at 2.200 meters above sea level. It is called Lake Sils. Lake Sils freezes in winter, so much so that biathlon tournaments are held on its surface. It is absolutely surreal to stand on a white plane this size surrounded by giant mountains.
On the snowshoe trail from Lake Sils to the Fex Valley
I had one main day around Lake Sils and I wanted to use it. It had snowed half a meter the night before, but Swiss road maintenance is good. Still, the drive from my Airbnb to the lake was the scariest half-hour of my life, alone on icy streets five meters besides frozen lakes at six in the morning. My goal was to photograph the sunrise - which proved difficult because the mountains are so high that the light isn't soft anymore when it hits the lake. It still was a great morning.
It was nine in the morning when I finished shooting there and suddenly I didn't know what to do anymore. I had fulfilled my plan after all. Luckily, I passed by a sports store and decided to rent some snowshoes. It was Monday, perfect weather and apart from some avalanche regions, there were many fresh trails to explore. I had never been on snowshoes before, but I absolutely loved it. I spent the rest of the day wandering around the lake and the neighbouring Fex Valley, turning to where it looked nice. I ended the day on the lake again, barely catching the last bit of alpenglow. That was probably the best day of my life so far.
I hope you didn't mind my reminiscing. See you in the mountains when everything is a little less jammed.
Larch trees in front of Piz Duan
The last bit of alpenglow on Piz Corvatsch