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08/31/2006 11:25:19 AM · #1 |
After hiking up about 3000' and across a mountainside, we were having lunch at this little farm that sells hot chocolate, sandwiches, etc. Suddenly a helicopter came whuffing up from Martigny (the city in the valley 5000' below).
We wondered whether it was to rescue someone. Nope - this is how the farm gets its firewood.
The helicopter made about 20 runs, going a few hundred feet across the mountain, picking up large pieces of trees that had been cut earlier, and dropping them about 20 feet from us. We watched for probably 45 minutes, and I took about a dozen photos, before it was time to continue hiking.
Here's a four-picture series (they're linked back and forth, so you can just go to the first one and click the thumbs in each photog comment area):
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08/31/2006 11:27:17 AM · #2 |
That must make firewood rather expensive! ;^)
- nice shot BTW. |
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08/31/2006 11:31:51 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by glad2badad:
That must make firewood rather expensive! ;^) |
Yeah, no kidding! We were amazed they would do that. Then again, they charge $5 for a cup of hot chocolate. Money we gladly paid, I should mention. How often do you hike for 3 hours, into what were clouds when arrived, and have hot chocolate waiting for you? :)
We were just lucky the clouds burned off right after we got there! |
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08/31/2006 12:45:09 PM · #4 |
Wow, that's a pretty fancy-pants method to get firewood. I'd think it would be more cost-effective to use an ATV.
I've done some helicopter-supported gold exploration work. Sometimes the pilot had to "toe in" to let me off to take a sample. It was a small helicopter, so I had to enter & exit gently so as not to cause the big blades to hit the hillside. That would be bad. Most of the time we were able to land in shallow creeks, but would have to "whipper-snip" tree branches on the way in & out of tighter valleys. Too much of that stuff & I'd get a bit nervous.
It was a lot of fun, though, and beats the hell out of traversing on foot!
:-)
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08/31/2006 01:00:00 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Wow, that's a pretty fancy-pants method to get firewood. I'd think it would be more cost-effective to use an ATV. |
I don't know if this is a factor or not, but erosion control is a MAJOR issue on those Alpine hillsides with towns in the valley. Wouldn't surprise me if the ATVs are a no-no...
R.
Oh yeah, thanx for the slide show! I enjoyed it immensely, took me back to my childhood years in Switzerland.
Message edited by author 2006-08-31 13:00:40.
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