Purple saxifrage Saxifraga oppositifolia I’ve been meaning to write up some notes on Alpine wildflowers for a while. Seeing clumps of purple saxifrage flowering well above the snowline prompted me to start with this remarkably hardy flower. Naturalists have found it flowering at 4505m in Switzerland and at a latitude of 83° N. This makes…
Our first guest post from Alps2Alps If you’re planning your next ski holiday, why not try Les Deux Alpes? This beautiful resort is one of the biggest ski areas the Alps has to offer. It’s surrounded by picturesque scenery and a jaw-dropping mountainous landscape.If you’re planning your next ski holiday, why not try Les Deux…
These large, ground-dwelling squirrels are a symbol of the Alps and other mountain ranges. They are easy to recognise from their cute, cuddly appearance, but how much do you know about everybody’s favourite mountain rodent? There are fourteen different living species of marmot Four extinct species have also been identified in the fossil record….
We all know that France and Switzerland are famous for their cheese, from Camembert to Gruyere, and cheese dishes like Fondue or Raclette. Cheese forms a big part of the local culture in the Alpine regions. Consequently, countless stories surround the production and even the names of the cheeses. As a lover of local cheese,…
This post is based on a talk I prepared for my recent International Mountain Leader summer assessment in Samöens. Candidates have to deliver two ten minute talks on topics related to the Alpine environment. I chose to use village architecture as a framework to talk about the geology of the region near Les Deux Alpes….
