Taeschhorn, scene of climbing accident in canton Graubuenden
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 55-year-old man from Solothurn died Saturday 10 September after climbing the Taeschhorn in canton Graubuenden, in the company of a guide.
The small group of climbers was coming down from the peak and heading towards Taeschalp at 12:15.
They had just removed their ropes five minutes before, according to the guide, and were walking along Weingarten glacial moraine when the man fell 100 metres to his death from the edge of a cliff.
Swiss forest fires: prevention is the best solution (shown: history of fire hydrants, Zurich, ©2011 Ellen Wallace)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A dozen bush fires have been sparked in canton Vaud in the past week, mostly started by negligence, from cigarette butts and cooking fires not put out properly, police warn.
The canton has had a ban since 15 April on lighting fires closer than 10 metres from forests, woods, hedges, grasslands and reedbeds. Small amounts of rain fell over the weekend in some areas, but the largest amount recorded was only 10 cm, far short of what is needed to end the record April dry spell.
Cantons Graubuenden and Ticino both had sizeable forest fires in the past few days, reports TSR, with 2,000m2 burning under a ski lift in the commune of Celerina and 3,000m2 burning in the area of Maggia, in Ticino.
In the first case a discarded cigarette butt is suspected of causing the fire that took several hours to put out, using three helicopters, with 60 firefighters involved.
Gotthard base tunnel workers line up to return to the surface at the end of their shift
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The second of the twin Gotthard rail tunnels was completely pierced Wednesday 23 March near Sedrun in canton Graubuenden, inching the mega-project to build the world’s longest train tunnel closer to completion.
When the Gotthard opens in December 2016 the 57 km tunnel will cut travel time between Zurich and Milan to 2 hours, 50 minutes, reducing it by nearly an hour.
The first tunnel was pierced to much fanfare five months earlier, in October 2010. The engineering feat came soon after 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground, drawing attention to the dangers and difficulty of work hundreds of metres underground.
Workers must now encase the galleries in cement, add the high-speed train rails and other fittings for the tunnels, parts of which sit 2km underground.
Background story, GenevaLunch, 16 October 2010: Life down under: the Gotthard tunnel workers have reason to cheer
Links to other sites: TSR, “The New Gotthard Rail Link”, pdf, brochure by Alp Transit, in English with technical descriptions, Alp Transit home page
Update 14:30 Merano, Italy (GenevaLunch) – An Italian regional train came off the rails near Merano, in northern Italy, not far from Switzerland’s canton Graubuenden and the border with Austria, 09:00 Monday morning 12 April. Seven people died and 25 people are injured, five of them seriously. Another train had passed just moments before, going in the other direction, without a problem. First reports are that the cars on what is considered one of Italy’s most modern train lines were derailed when a landslide was set off by a ruptured irrigation pipe for nearby farmers’ fields.
Links to other sites: Corriere della Sera (Ita), Reuters (Ita) and Reuters UK, TSR (Fre)
Davos, Switzerland (image: WEF)
Davos, Graubuenden, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Graubuenden cantonal police chief Markus Reinhardt appears to have committed suicide, one day before the World Economic Forum opens in the Swiss resort of Davos. Reinhardt was also head of security for the WEF, which pulls in business and political leaders from around the world. The news was announced by the cantonal minister for justice, safety and health, Barbara Janom Steiner. Reinhardt’s body was found in a hotel room in Davos Tuesday morning and all signs are pointing to suicide, Janom Steiner told reporters, calling it a “personal tragedy.” No further information will be given, out of respect for the family, she added.
Reindhardt had headed the police department for 25 years. Marcel Suter, a high-ranking police official in the cantonal system, will now take over as head of security arrangements for the WEF.
Title: Giacometti, a retrospective
Location: Musée Rath, Place Neuve, Geneva
Link out: Click here
Description: A retrospective of a major sculptor of the 20th century. Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), was born in Grisons, and spent most of his professional life in Paris, except for 1942-1945, when he lived in Geneva.
Open every day except Monday. Weds open until 21:00
Entry CHF10/CHF5
Start Date: 05 Nov 2009
Start Time: 10:00
End Date: 21 Feb 2010
End Time: 17:00
Guided Tour for English speakers!!
Sunday, November 22, at 3:00 pm and Wednesday, January 13, at 6 :30 pm
Free admission, no reservations, places limited
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – GaultMillau has awarded its coveted title of Swiss chef of the year 2010 to Andreas Caminada, the second time the chef has been given this distinction. Caminada tends the stoves at Schloss Schauenstein in Fuerstenau, Graubuenden, which has 19 points. He won the title in 2008 as well.
GaultMillau includes 816 restaurants in its 2010 Swiss guide, none of which have 20 points, but eight of which have 19 (five are in French-speaking Switzerland). The promising young chef of the year for French-speaking Switzerland is Pierrick Suter at the Hôtel de la Gare in Lucens, Vaud.
Links to other sites: Lake Geneva region tourism office, GaultMillau and Michelin restaurants list
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Austrian police are investigating a case of possible arson at a hunting lodge in Bach, Austria, near Innsbruck, that belongs to Daniel Vasella, CEO of phamaceutical giant Novartis. More than 100 firemen put out the blaze, which witnesses say broke out early 3 August out after a dull explosion was heard at the property. According to a Novartis spokesperson, a “professional fire accelerator” was used.
Col de Bernina, Graubuenden, Switzerland (20 Minutes/ATS) – A chain reaction crash involving seven motorcycles has put seven people in hospital, some in critical condition.
The accident was provoked by one bike going up the pass road, which was in the wrong lane, colliding head-on with another one coming down. Other bikes were unable to stop on time. One of the bikes caught a piece of clothing in the wheel, causing the biker to fall.
