alpine

In the Sierra Nevada, the snow that blankets the rugged landscape each winter melts and gushes in meadows, streams and rivers, nourishing alpine ecosystems and filling reservoirs.

It was the flipside of alpine vacation retreats like Incline Village, Mammoth Lakes or Lake Arrowhead.

Many had spent weeks along the John Muir Trail, a 200-mile traverse through some of the most rugged and spectacular high alpine terrain in the United States.

Losing Blatten, and the prospect of losing others like it, has made many Swiss ask themselves how many of those alpine traditions could disappear.

The gas guzzling cars are too big for alpine roads, US cheese and chocolate…well, let's just say they're not really to Swiss taste.