Rolling through the Riunaulta

Rolling through the Riunaulta

I first enjoyed the rugged gorge of the Vorderrhein, also known as the Riunaulta, in 1989, while riding the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz.

I’d enjoy it again, many years later, while riding the Rhätische Bahn from Chur to Disentis/Mustér and back, on a perfect autumn afternoon in 2010.

One can enjoy this canyon of the Vorderrhein, also known as Switzerland’s Grand Canyon, but it is quite another thing to experience its scale!
That can be elusive, looking out of a train, even through an open window, while winding through this mighty limestone cliff-lined gorge.

And that is why I had long wanted to see it, and shoot it, from a higher viewpoint –
just didn’t know how to accomplish that. Thought it might even mean hiring a helicopter.

So imagine my delight when f-c friends Beatrice and Ruadi told me they’d have an Überraschung (surprise) or two for me, as we
set out in the car for some hawk’s eye views of the gorge. Fortunately, the weather cooperated brilliantly on this autumn day in 2011.

Ahhh, good things do come to those who wait!

Here, a Rhätische Bahn train in the direction of Chur rolls through the Swiss Grand Canyon.
Its “model railroad” sort of appearance fills in the scale not always appreciated at river level.

And when, a few days later, I relived (in reverse) a portion of that first Glacier Express
trip of so long ago, well, I did have a better idea of how "tiny" we truly were.

This image is available in archival gallery prints and as a custom printed Photo Note Card.

Photo, Narrative, and Design ©2011/2012