Finally, one comes to something approaching a top, where the view is simply spectacular. On cloudy days, the view would all but disappear. The height of the mountains in the area through which the train passes is about 12,000 feet above sea level, and even on sunny days, puffy clouds often hide the mountain tops, but thankfully, only for a few moments at a time. There is a constant shifting of light and shade as the clouds pass by in the distance. Behind the clouds the sky is a brilliant blue and the mountains themselves an interesting mix of brown tundra and green fields.
Distance is all but unfathomable in that setting.
The train never quite makes it above the tree-line, but it is close. We dart in and out of pine forests, and ocassionally pass under a corrugated steel shelter, built over the tracks to prevent them from being covered over with snow, sliding down from greater heights. St. Moritz is a fabled location, famous for being the resort of choice for snow lovers who also love their comfort. The picture, taken from the small balcony outside our hotel room, shows the town, which may now be home to some 5,000 people, in the late afternoon. There seems to be very little to do in St. Moritz except enjoy the scene before one.