Description: One of the major activities on Mount Titlis was the Ice Flyer, an open air chairlift ride which allowed you to fly over glaciers and other various ice formations located on the mountain. The cost of the Ice Flyer was included in our lift ticket, so my friend Jen and I trekked through the snow and ice to arrive at the station where the ride operated from.
The Ice Flyer was mostly made of hard plastic with a steel frame. The seat consisted of a sturdy leather cushion which made the ride as comfortable as you can possibly be while suspended in the air. The hard plastic exterior allowed for a 360 degree view during the ride, which was a big plus.
There was a bit of a line to go through before our turn came around. Eventually, it was time for us to go, and we were instructed on how to seat ourselves on the chairlift. Due to the pulley system which is used to 'fly' the chairlifts, they won't actually stop moving. They slow down enough for you to hop on from a platform, and off you go! After managing to hop on, albeit a bit clumsily, we were locked in using a metal bar and we flew off the side of the mountain!
It was a very bright and sunny day, so the views were unobstructed, and what views they were! The ice and snow were clean as a white blanket on the surface of the mountain, and the higher we went, to more mountains came into view. Soon, we were looking over a large portion of the Swiss Alps, and the sight was literally breathtaking.
After five minutes of gliding above the surface of the earth, we pulled into the other gondola station, a few hundred meters below the station where we boarded. We circled around, waved hello to the operators, and started our flight back up the mountain. It was a different experience this time, as we started our ascent. We felt as though we were climbing Mount Titlis, but without the need to actually hike.
Three minutes or so later, we saw glaciers below us! Large ice surfaces with deep crevices lay below us, and seeing that Mount Titlis has snow all year round, I'm actually wondering how old the glaciers were. They were lovely to look at, and I snapped a few photos before the chairlift moved out of range.
All too soon, we were approaching the end our of ice flight. We looked over to see a station attendant waving at us to smile as he pointed towards a camera which was perched on the roof. We put on a pair of cheesy smiles, as the camera flash went off. We weren't expecting it, but the photos managed to turn out pretty ok. We hopped off the chairlift and quickly moved out of its way as it turned around to head back down the mountain.
We followed a path, indicated by signs to the exit. Before reaching the gate, we saw the photo booth where we assumed our photo would be on display. After waiting for two persons to complete their transactions, we approached the counter and were shown our picture. We actually liked it, so we bought two copies for a charge of 10 Swiss Francs each.
We enjoyed the little excursion, and the fact that it didn't cost extra with our tickets, was simply icing upon the cake. A must-do for any adventurous visitor to the mountain.
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