Forget the news, enjoy the archives

swissinfo.ch

2020 has been challenging, to put it mildly, so SWI swissinfo.ch would like to help you relax in the run-up to Christmas with four fun stops along the way. Sit back and click through some oddities and festive stories from our archives. 

A silent blanket of snow has been covering Switzerland this week, and snowflakes will hopefully continue to twirl down throughout the winter season. In the mountains this usually results in walls of snow that then have to be cleared before visitors start arriving in summer.

Last year our journalists accompanied 15 men armed with shovels, chainsaws and avalanche detectors up on the old Furka cogwheel steam railway in central Switzerland. After three weeks of hard work the tourist attraction was ready to welcome the 30,000 passengers who board the train every year between the end of June and the beginning of October.

Here’s a sneak peek at what their efforts look like.

Previous Next

The locomotives have left the depot. At 6:30am, they whistle and bring the volunteers to the clearing site. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Breakfast time, when volunteers plan their day Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

A last look at the weather and avalanche danger before leaving to clear the snow Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

For safety, they strap avalanche detectors onto their chests. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

The locomotive cannot go any further; the tunnel is blocked by metres and metres of snow that the volunteers will have to clear. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Hiking gaiters are strongly recommended, as the snow softens after a few hours and the feet sink. The snow is 16 metres deep in some places. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

An avalanche has completely blocked the last tunnel, which must be cleared with a mechanical shovel. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

The rack is frozen in the ice in some places. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Under the Steffenbach Bridge, the snow is so hard that the volunteers need chainsaws. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Close-up of a snow plough Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

The snow plough drivers have a lot of experience. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

It is not always easy to get the snow ploughs where they are most needed… Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Getting the Steffenbach Bridge cleared of snow takes some extra effort. Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Time to go back to Camp Realp before avalanches become a worry Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

Time to relax after a long day shifting piles of snow Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4
• Picture 5
• Picture 6
• Picture 7
• Picture 8
• Picture 9
• Picture 10
• Picture 11
• Picture 12
• Picture 13
• Picture 14
• Picture 15

Instead of the usual year-end look back at the past 12 months, we’ve gone back even further and raided the archives of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, for quirky internal memos and letters from disgruntled members of the public.

Why were female staff asked not to wear stilettos? Why was the SBC sued for blasphemy after broadcasting a play about three farmers and a doll? And did you know that the SBC once debated whether it should use the internet? Discover these and many other “pearls from the archives” in this collection going back to the 1960s.

Now Christmas really is getting close and the goose – or plant-based alternative – is probably already fat, so to put you in the mood we’ve fished out an old audio file from our predecessor, Swiss Radio International. In 1996 we explored Swiss Christmas customs, such as the not-at-all-dangerous placing of real candles on the Christmas tree and the “correct” time to open one’s presents.

• MP3 file
• Description

Audio file with different experts talking about Swiss Christmas customs.

After three de-stress packages we imagine you now look this relaxed. Stay tuned for the fourth and final lighthearted bundle of archive material.

Imagebroker.com