Photography: Switzerland, Winter 2004 - 2005For Christmas 2005 I went skiing in Verbier, a high altitude resort in the Southwest of Switzerland. I brought with me my new camera, a Canon EOS 10D digital SLR, with a 25mm – 50mm Sigma lens. This was my first time using an SLR, but I think I got to grips with it pretty quickly. VerbierThe town of Verbier is 1500m above sea level. Its situated on an alp on the Southeast side of the Val de Bagnes. As part of Switzerland’s largest ski resort, it is very popular, particularly with British tourists, and as such has some good night-life. During the day, one can go cross-country or downhill skiing, paragliding or ice-climbing, as one chooses.
The Val de Bagnes is dominated at one end by the Grand Combin, which at 4314 meters is one of the highest and most impressive mountains in the Alps. Across the valley from Verbier, it is visible from many locations throughout the resort. Here are views of the mountain taken from three different locations. The fourth picture is a detail taken from the third.
Here are some more views across and down the Val de Bagnes. The first photo (and the accompanying detail) show the view from Mont Fort (the highest point of the 4 Valleys ski area) towards les Dents du Midi (the mountain with the seven teeth on top), and beyond that to the lake Geneva basin. The lake itself would be visible were it not for the layer of cloud that covers it to the horizon. The second view is across the Val de Bagnes, looking towards the Mont Blanc massif. Mont Blanc itself isn’t visible, but on the left is the unprepossessing peak of the Grandes Jorasses, at 4208 meters. The third and fourth views are again across and along the valley. The final view is looking towards Mont Blanc, this time visible, from the summit of Mont Fort.
Finally, here are three miscellaneous views. The first two are taken from the summit of the Greppon Blanc, at the far end of the 4 Valleys resort from Verbier. The first looks north into the Rhone valley, the other looks east into the southern ranges of the Alps. The third view is a detail of a photo taken from the top of Mont Fort, looking east again. The Matterhorn (4474 meters) is visible in both the second and third views, if you can find it!
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