For a chance to drive through the longest tunnel I’ve ever been in I decided to used the Mt. Blanc tunnel. Construction on this 11.6 km (7.25 miles) long tunnel began in 1957 and was completed in 1965. Interestingly it is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted "V". The altitude on the French side is 1,274 m (4,091 ft) compared to the Italian side at 1,381 m (4,530 ft). The tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. My first stop, on the French side, was the memorial to the 39 people who died in a horrific fire inside the tunnel in 1999. Since then a range of new safety procedures have been put in place including more spacing between vehicles (about 150 meters), rooms cut into the rock where you can run to in the event of fire, and constant video monitoring. It wasn’t cheap at 32 Euro ($45 US or $66 NZ) but quite an amazing experience to drive through the mountain I had just climbed.
Memorial to those who died in the 1999 Mt. Blanc Tunnel tragedy.
Italian side of Mt. Blanc tunnel.
Out on the Italian end (no customs or border crossing now days) and into the very pleasant ski-town of Courmayeur. I had a brief look around then headed down the incredibly scenic Aosta Valley (or Valle d'Aosta as the road signs said). I was driving past vineyards, castles, and beautifully situated little villages. The further I got away for the mountains the more the weather improved – this was just perfect driving country.
The amazing scenery of the Valle d'Aosta.
Then on into the city of Aosta. Wikipedia says that: “Aosta was settled in proto-historic times and later became an important Roman city. The Romans captured the city in 25 BC from the local Salassi tribe and founded the Roman colony of Augusta Praetoria Salassorum, housing 3,000 retired veterans. After 11 BC Aosta became the capital of the Alpes Graies ("Grey Alps") province of the Roman Empire. Its position at the confluence of two rivers, at the end of the Great and the Little St Bernard Pass, gave it considerable military importance, and its layout was that of a Roman military camp."
Much of the old Roman town is preserved and this is the principal tourist draw to the city. I drove around and saw many of the historic monuments. However, on finding a parking spot for the car I could not work out (all the signs being in Italian) how to buy a parking ticket. So, I left heading back up towards the mountains.
I was heading for Colle del Gran San Bernardo (The Great St. Bernard Pass) following one of the most narrow and twisty mountain roads I’ve ever been on. The pass is essentially for recreational travel only now following the 1960s construction of the 6 km tunnel the passes through the mountain. Finally the top of the pass arrived and the border between Italy and Switzerland (and the recently disused boarder station – as of late 2008, Switzerland has joined the rest of Western Europe and has waived stopping for border crossings). The pass is one of the oldest crossing of the Alps. An interesting history of the Great State Bernard Pass can be read here; tracing the use by the Celts, to the Romans, to Napoleon Bonaparte’s amazing crossing with the French Army in May 1800.
The Great St. Bernard Pass.
If the name Great State Bernard Pass sounds familiar, here is the reason why. Sitting beside a deep blue lake right on the pass is the St. Bernard Hospice. Monks have kept the hospice since the 11th Century as a place of prayer and to assist passing travelers. My guide book (Cultural and tourist guide to Valais) describes a little of the man for whom the pass is named.
Not a lot is known about Bernard, founder of the hospice, other than he belonged to the clergy of the Cathedral of Aosta. It is thought he was born around 1020. At the request of Saint Nicolas, Bernard undertook to rid the mountains of a demon that reigned there. The demon took a wicked delight in taking one traveler in every ten (a figure that seems to correspond to the statistics for mortality during the crossing of the Alps). Thus Saint Bernard took the place of the tenth traveler, succeeded in meeting and dominating the demon, and set about saving lives of others who crossed the mountain pass. Bernard was canonized in 1123, and in 1923 Pope Pious IX proclaimed him patron saint of mountaineers. The hospice was run by monks of Saint-Augustin and by the 12th century had become an important destination for Christian pilgrims, necessitating a series of extensions to the buildings.
Wikipedia has a slightly different story of St. Bernard.
The name St. Bernard is also linked to the dogs of the same name. Wikipedia says: The ancestors of the St. Bernards share a history with the Sennenhunds, also called Swiss Mountain Dogs or Swiss Cattle Dogs. I would see these dogs later in my travels used by farmers and dairymen of the Swiss Alps. Originally (and it remains so to some degree) these dogs were used for guarding livestock, herding sheep, as well as for hunting and search and rescue. The dogs are thought to be descendants of molosser type dogs brought into the Alps by the ancient Romans, and the St. Bernard is recognized internationally today as one of the Molossoid breeds.
It is not known when the monks at the hospice started keeping the dogs to assist with mountain rescues although written records state 1707 with paintings and drawings of travelers passing through dating from even earlier.
Painting of St. Bernard's at museum.
The tunnel and modern technology have made rescue operations at the pass mainly unnecessary. The dogs were put up for sale in 2004 because of the high cost of maintenance and were promptly bought by two foundations created for the purpose: Barry (major contributor Christine Cerletti-Sarasin) and Fondation Bernard et Caroline de Watteville. Barry bought the kennels and the facilities in Martigny and continues to support and breed the dogs (three or four dozen). One condition of the sale is that they be brought to the monastery for the summer. I was there too late in the day to see the dogs romping around the slopes but I did see (and hear them) in the kennels.
The monastery currently houses a handful of monks on a permanent basis and serves as a spiritual center for others on retreat. And the hospice still offers lodging and food for weary passing travelers as I found out. I toured the wonderful old chapel and small museum.
The beautiful chapel in the hospice.
Across the road was an expensive cafe and hotel. But I noticed a small sign saying hostel 28 Euro (an amazingly good deal). I found a young women who spoke good Italian, French, German, but alas, almost no English. We were finally able to establish that I was wanting to stay at the hostel, but as I had arrived by auto (car) I was not eligible and had only the hotel as a sleeping option. It transpires that when the calling came to the early monks to establish themselves here it was to provide hospice for those on foot or mule. If you arrive by either method today (and perhaps two dozen hikers appeared to have done just that) then you are in for a cheap but also amazingly spiritual and historic sleep. If you arrive by car – then you must stay at the hotel.
So it was on for a little while longer, down the other side of the pass – seeing some large herds of cows with their bells.
Bulls with bells.
Now in heavy rain I arrived into the city of Martigny. This town with population 15,000 is in the Swiss Province (or Canton to be more correct) of Valais. Martign has a fascinating history as a result of its location at major crossroads linking Switzerland, France, and Italy. I stayed at an expensive motel near the soccer stadium (but it was nice to be out of the rain) and explored the town the next morning thanks to a wonderful informative guide book bought in the downtown area. In the 5th Century a town called Octodura was recorded in old manuscripts as occupying this strategic location. Then, and the town still very much publicizes this, in 57 BC the local Gallic chief decided to go-for-broke and attack a Roman Legion that was wintering over in Octodura, much to the disgust of the locals we can assume. In a very rare occurrence, the Romans got beaten. Julius Caesar even wrote about lessons to learned from this ‘nasty uprising of the Gauls”. Then as much for political as trading reasons, Roman Emperor Claudius ordered a town built on the site, and he bestowed the settlements name which remains to this day. The town rapidly became an important Roman administrative center for the region and it stayed this way well into the 3rd Century. In the 2nd Century, as befitting an important Roman town, a massive 5,000 seat amphitheater was built. Excavations unearthed this amazing structure and I had an enjoyable explore around it imagining the gladiator flights.
Next door was the Musee et Chiens du Saint-Bernard. Here is what my Lonely Planet Switzerland guide book had to say about this place: “A tribute to the lovely dopey St Bernard dog, this museum would merit but a sniff it weren’t for the real-life fluff bundles in the kennels; all together now, ah….” Actually, the place was well worth a visit, although the highlight has to be the puppies. But it also contained an interesting history of the role of the dogs in the life of St. Bernard’s Hospice, as well as large exhibition of their portrayal in painting, film, and advertising.
Letting sleeping dogs lie.
Leaving Martigny I then spend a leisurely day driving past vineyards, apricot orchards (this area is famous for them), and increasingly spectacular scenery as I ventured further up into the mountains. At the village of Tasch I was greeted by a string of parking lots strung along the road – getting increasingly expensive the closer one got to the massive parking garage run by Swiss Railways. Tasch is the last village in the valley you can drive to – the most famous village lying just 5 kms beyond is car free (only small two person, plus driver, electric cars, or horse drawn carriage are allowed). I chose to park at a place charging 4 Swiss francs a day, and then boarded a minivan taxi for the ride up to the edge of Zermatt. Oh, Zermatt - beautiful, historic, romantic, expensive, and above all, a gem surrounded by some of the most famous mountains in the world. I’ll be writing more about this town I just know.
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