Video: An Italian pilot flies a glider through the Alps for eleven hours (video highly condensed, obviously) at times coming agonizingly close to the mountains, not because he's reckless, but because that's what's keeping him aloft. Fullscreen viewing recommended.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Nov 28, 2011 - 25 comments

To the aficianado, a clicky keyboard is the only keyboard. For PC users, nothing is better than an IBM Model M. For Apple lovers, it never got better than the Apple Extended Keyboard II. [more inside]
posted by whimsicalnymph on May 2, 2011 - 115 comments

The North Face of the Eiger has claimed the lives of at least 64 climbers attempting it since 1935. The first succesful attempt in 1938 took a team of four 3 and a half days. The first succesful solo climb in 1963 took 18 hours. In 2008, Swiss Climber Ueli Steck broke his own record by 1hr7, soloing the face in 2hr47.33. Watch him.
posted by protorp on Feb 20, 2011 - 46 comments

SKYLINER: A short documentary about highlining in the French Alps.
posted by gman on Oct 12, 2010 - 10 comments

The Villa Vals, from Christian Muller Architects, is an innovative (and totally cool) house dug into the side of a Swiss alp. More pictures from Iwan Baan.
posted by OmieWise on Dec 18, 2009 - 12 comments

L'homme et l'oiseau au Mont-Blanc. Falconer Jacques-Olivier Travers runs the Aigles du Léman park on Lake Geneva where he teaches eagles raised in captivity how to fly. Here he is paragliding down the Alps with his student Sherkan.
posted by homunculus on Oct 15, 2008 - 8 comments

Swiss Alps Cheesemaking
posted by Mr_Zero on Aug 14, 2008 - 17 comments

The Sphinx Observatory atop the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss alps is one of the most amazing man-made objects I've ever seen. A UNESCO world-heritage site, it holds the distinction of being the highest (in altitude) structure in all of Europe. Approachable by a train that runs inside the mountain (via a tunnel dug between 1896 & 1926 at the cost of a small fortune, not to mention many lives), the Observatory rests atop a glacier which has been hollowed out to feature a year round gallery of never-melting ice scultptures (glacial ice is spectacularly pretty), and an elevator up to the research station.
posted by jonson on Jul 24, 2007 - 30 comments

Port Revel sits at the foot of the French Alps near Grenoble, France. Since 1967 [PDF], its landlocked harbor has been the place to go if you want to learn how to sail a fleet [PDF] of the world's largest ships.
posted by cenoxo on Aug 6, 2006 - 6 comments

I came upon an enchanting gallery of Lac Léman ice storm photos via presurfer today, which then led me to some rather beautiful scenes of the the Alps. There was also an amazing shot from space, and a link to another site where I followed hikers to les Massif de Bauges and le Massif de la Grande Chartreuse. OK, I didn't get my work done today, but I had a marvelous trip to the Alps.
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 30, 2005 - 16 comments