Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: mountains

This is a view of the Wolfgangsee (Lake Wolfgang), taken when we were hiking the so called Pillstein-Panorama-Rundweg . This is a worthwile - and quite easy - walk in wonderful mountain scene high above the Wolfgangsee and other lakes in this part of Austria. Starting point is the mountain station of the Zwölferhorn cable car above the village of St. Gilgen. One is rewarded with awesome panoramic views of the surrounding alpine pasture area, the peaks of the Osterhorn group and the limestone high Alps further away. The circular path goes around the Pillstein and returns to its starting point.

The Sella Group (Gruppo del Sella, Sellagruppe) is a plateau-shaped mountain massif in the Dolomites. It is located in Northern Italy on the border of Trentino-Alto Adige (Trentino-Südtirol) and Veneto. South of the Sella lies the Marmolada Group with the highest mountain of the Dolomites. To the west one has a view of the Lang- and Plattkofel (PiP 4). The highest peak of the Sella Group is the Piz Boè at 3.151 meters above sea level. My pictures were taken at the Pordoi Pass, with an altitude of 2.239 meters, connecting the villages of Arabba with Canazei. From the pass starts a cable car to the Sass Pordoi (2.950 m).

The Cuesta del Obispo (Bishop’s Slope) is a winding and steep stretch of Ruta33, located between the hamlet San Martin in the Escoipe Valley and the Piedra del Molino (PiP5) in the province of Salta. During more than 20 km the dirt road winds its way up with many hairpins to the highest point of the road - 3.348 meters above sea level - between Salta and Cachi. A grinding stoned, carved in granite gives the name to that place: Mill Stone. The slope was called Cuesta de la dormida del Obispo (Slope of the sleeping bishop), because in 1622 the bishop of the diocese of Tucumán traveled from the city of Salta to Cachi and had to spend the night uncomfortably in the middle of the slope. Later and with time the name was simplified to as it is known today: Cuesta del Obispo . (We did drive this road - which was quite an adventure - and were quite lucky with the dry weather. When it rains the road is often blocked for regular cars. We came across a couple of gauchos (PiP3) with their horses and made several stops, enjoying the fascinating landscape with grassland. One of them was a viewpoint towards Valle Encantado (PiP2).

Wildhaus is a rural village, whose houses are scattered in a broad valley between the Churfirsten (main image) and the Alpstein mountains (PiP). The village is located on the Wildhaus Pass between the Rhine valley and Unterwasser in Toggenburg. With an altitude of 1.090 metres it is the uppermost village in canton St. Gallen. The precipitous rock formations of the seven Churfirsten contrast sharply with the gentle landscape on the valley floor and are the natural boundary between Toggenburg and Sarganserland. The limestone ridge is running from east to west with seven peaks formed by erosion. To the south it has a much more vertical drop of hundred metres towards Lake Walen. The seven peaks of the Churfirsten are (from left to right): Chäserrugg, Hinterrugg, Schibenstoll, Zuestoll, Brisi, Frümsel and Selun. With a height of 2.306 metres is the Hinterrugg the highest one. The name is a plural, indicating the peaks forming the historical boundary of the bishopric of Chur. It has historically also been folk-etymologized as Kurfürsten , i.e. the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire who in the later medieval period (until 1648) numbered seven, which in turn encouraged the count of seven main or "official" peaks.

The majestic Matterhorn - king of mountains with a height of 4.478 metres - is the most famous landmark of Switzerland. Most probably this triangular pyramid shaped rock is the most photographed mountain in the world. Its shape and free-standing position make the Matterhorn to be the epitome of a mountain. There is no better-known mountain in the world whose natural shape is so close to a pyramid. Hundred million years ago enormous forces brought Africa closer to Europe. Fifty million years later, as the rock masses folded and deformed, the Matterhorn was born from the rock thrusting upwards. Matterhorn is first mentioned in medieval documents as Mons Silvus , which finally became Mont Cervin in French and Cervino in Italian. The German name Matterhorn first appears in the year 1682. The name is probably derived from Matte , meaning alpine meadow, referring to the grassy valley, which has now been almost completely covered by the village of Zermatt.

St. Gallenkirch - Montafon - Vorarlberg with the Pfarrkirche St. Gallus.

Reschensee (Lake Reschen) is an artificial lake in South Tyrol. It is located in the triangle between Italy, Austria and Switzerland, a couple of km’s from the Reschen Pass on the border of Austria. Reschensee is an artificial lake, which unifies two natural lakes (Reschensee and Mittersee). Construction of the dam started in 1940 and took ten years. The lake submerged a couple of villages. The landmark of the reschensee is the steeple of the former 14th century village church of Graun (see PiP). On the right hand side of the mountain range you see the Piz Lad, a 2808 meter high peak nearby the so called “Dreiländerecke” (Corner of three countries).

Langkofel/Sassolungo (left) and Plattkofel/Sassopiatto (right) seen from the Goldknopfsee (Lake Goldknopf), nearby the Edelweißhütte. The amazing peaks of 3.181 m. and 2.969 m. are towering above the Seiseralm. The Goldknopsee is an artificial lake, which was constructed in 2003, storing water to feed snowmaking equipment and is also intended as a water reservoir for possible fires. I made this image late September from the Seiseralm, most probably after the first snowfall in the Dolomites.

The Schlern (Monte Sciliar) is one of the most well known landmarks of the Dolomites and South Tyrol. It is famous due to its location as westernmost bastion of the Dolomites and the two peaks - Santner Spitze and Euringer Spitze - in front of the mountain massif. The Schlern has a height of 2.563 meters and is a long stretched plateau, which drops vertically on almost all sides. Its unique location and characteristic profile makes it a very recognizable mountain. I took this image late September from the Seiseralm, most probably after the first snowfall in the Dolomites.

Lake Cavallers ( Estany de Cavallers) is located in the 'Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park' at a height of more than 1.800 m.