10,623 feet high, to be exact! After breakfast, we took a gondola up to the next gondola station. The first gondola was really large, it must have fit around 40 people. From there, we took a second gondola up to the summit of Mt Titlis. The second gondola was just as big as the first, but this one rotates 360 degrees during the ascent/descent. One of the girls started getting really bad altitude sickness during the second gondola ride.

Once we got off the gondola, we walked through a glacier cave. It was awesome. There were a few different tunnels. Halfway through, I realized I was alone because I had stopped to take pictures, which no one else seemed to be doing. Thoughts of getting lost in the glacier cave and freezing to death briefly went through my mind. Luckily the cave is designed so that all the different tunnels converge at the exit.

No one on this trip was prepared for how cold it would be at the summit. Some people didn’t even have tennis shoes! I at least had adequate walking shoes, but nothing in the way of warm clothing. I am now the proud owner of several very touristy pieces of apparel, including two “Germany” hoodies as well as a ski hat and gloves with the Swiss flag emblazoned on them.

There are 4 floors above the glacier cave/gondola stop that include restaurants, shops, and a bar. The top level is where you exit to get to the mountain. At some point going up the stairs, the altitude really started to hit me. Once I got outside, I stood in place for a while and just took pictures until the dizziness subsided. I slowly made my way up to the top. It wasn’t too bad since the snow was really compact, making it easy to walk.

About half of the group is bungee jumping out of a specially outfitted gondola right now. I decided that I am happy with my current relationship with gravity and decided to forgo bungee jumping. Today is the birthday for a few people in our group – a pair of twins and another girl, all from South Africa. We are having a party tonight after dinner for their birthday. The theme is “poor taste,” which kind of sounds like the British version of a white trash party.