Saturday market, Old Town Ljubljana

Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia

Arrived on a rainy morning. The river current that winds its way through old town is running fast and brown with mud and debris from the weather that has been sweeping through central Europe. Saturday morning markets in full swing despite the rain.

Santuario della Madonna del Sasso, Locarno

Perched dramatically above Locarno and Lake Maggiore in Switzerland. Seems like Italy here!

Locarno, Lake Maggiore

Summer is still in the air at Lake Maggiore, shared by Switzerland and Italy.

Valle Quarazza

Lago Quarazza is on way to Colle di Turlo and Alagna Valsesia.

Macugnaga

Clouds cover the east face of Monte Rosa, the second highest mountain in Europe, from Macugnaga, an idyllic mountain hamlet in the Italian Alps.

Snow still present on northern side of Monte Moro Pass

Saas-Almagell to Monte Moro Pass el 9360 ft

The Swiss-Italian border is represented by Our Lady of the Snows, a gold statue on top of the rocky pass. On the Italian side sits a high elevation rifugio and a cable car to whisk you down to Macugnaga, Italy, after your cappuccino.

Above Saas-Fee

Glaciers dominate the high mountains above Saas-Fee, a large ski resort and mountaineering town. The town is built outside a large buffer zone from the glacial rivers of ice perched precariously above the Swiss village. Over the decades, it has also strategically placed avalanche fences, walls, canals, and even planted forests to help protect the town from massive snowfall, glacial debris and raging rivers streaming down from the mountain.

Saastal Valley - mountain walker's paradise

We joined a wily group of marmots to scope out the wild jagged 4000M peaks forming a line across the narrow valley high above the ski town of Saas-Fee Switzerland. Dom at 4545M (nearly 15k ft) led this group of attractive peaks.

With the aid of two cable cars to Hohsaas, we shot up to over 10kft from the town of Saas-Grund, right up to the glaciers careening down the mountain and positioned directly across the valley from the 4000+M peaks.

While forming part of the Tour of Monte Rosa, this section warrants multiple walks on its own, many highlighted in Kev Reynold's recent "Walking in the Valais".

If so equipped glacial travel is available but we spent our day acclimating at the top while still feeling quite jet-lagged hiking up above the station and around closer to the action on the glaciers. Views were unbelievable, and imagining it during ski season, mind-blowing.

The locals told of their snow-shoe and sledding adventures during full-moons taking advantage of all the steep mountains have to offer especially when sunlight is available for only three hours of day in a long winter in these narrow steep valleys.