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Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post all your European Airshow news, updates and rumours in here
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Vixen1
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Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Vixen1 » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:11 pm

I’ve attended Axalp twice and did a bit of research before going the first time, but it would have helped me a lot if I’d had an easy reference guide. Well, here it is.

When
It’s usually held in the first full week of October with the show days on Wednesday and Thursday. Full practice takes place on Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday.

Getting there
Axalp is east of Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It’s about 5 miles south of the village of Brienz and 5 miles west of Meiringen town. Motorways are excellent from Geneva, about 2.5 hours by car. The trains are really good too.

Where to stay
You can find accommodation in any of these places but remember that Switzerland is more expensive than Britain. Accommodation ranges from Bed and Breakfast to a very good standard hotel. You’ll need to book early as many people book up year on year.

What to take
You need to be prepared for all weathers and for some strenuous hill walking. While the climbs look daunting, you do not have to be superfit to do them, just take your time.
Here are some ideas: -
 Clothing in layers – temp. varies from 0 to 26 degrees centigrade
 A spare t-shirt so you can take off the one that will be drenched in sweat at the top
 Energy bars/Fruit/some food
 Water
 Good walking boots
 A couple of walking poles – the paths are almost non-existent and these will help you a lot
 Backpack for cameras
 Waterpoof/windproof jacket
 A torch or head-lamp – you may start walking in the dark before 6.30am
 Money – Swiss Francs (SwFr)


Costs in 2009
Car Park 5 SwFr
Chair Lift 10 SwFr

Timings
On show days the first F18s start practice between 8.30 am and 9.00am and can continue off and on until about 11.00am. Helicopter activity continues right up until the show starts and afterwards.
The show proper starts at 2.00pm and lasts for around 90 minutes.
Be prepared for everything to stop at any time if the cloud closes in from over the mountain ridge.

Getting up there
Car is the easiest way, Axalp is well signposted from the main road outside Brienz and you’ll pay for the car park at the bottom of the mountain. The earlier you get up there, the closer you get to the village when parking. Go carefull in the dark though limited parking and on the walks as there are some sheer drops. Note: - getting there early is best but be prepared to wait around for an hour or so when you get back to the car as the car parks lower down the mountain will empty first.
A photobus runs from Brienz station to Axalp but can be oversubscribed.
Some visitors also arrive by taxi.

From Axalp you can elect to walk all the way up or get the chairlift (next to the top car park) which takes you up part of the way , I’d recommend that you take that option as it’s quicker and you’ll save a lot of energy. The chairlift is only in operation at certain times/days, it's certainly available on both show days, it's advertised as starting at 7.00am but it is usually well before that.
The track/road going up from Axalp is closed during the week of the show but it is possible to get a pass/permit for days before the event and park way further up to the valley to the west of the range.

See the map for the options: -
Image
Points 1, 2 and 3 on the map are referred to below.

I have not walked all the way up but from getting on the chairlift to getting to point 3 can take up to 2 hours. Refreshments/food is available at the top of the chairlift. From here to Point 3 you’ll need to be very careful as it’s quite hard walking over fairly rough ground and then a very steep scramble up to Point 3.
Image
Top of the Chairlift as seen from Point 3
Image
The trail along the mountainside
Image
The intial climb towards Point 3
Image
Image
Nearing the single width trail, rope pull and temporary footbridge
Image
The trail up to Point 2 as seen from Point 3
Image
Point 3 as seen from Point 2
Image
Image
Point 1 as seen from Point 2
Image
Point 2 from Point 1
Image
Points 2 and 3 as seen from Point 1

Where to stand
From point 3 the sun is right in your face when looking up the valley but can be good for DSOs and aircraft turning into the valley. It’s probably best to press on and in 30-40 minutes to point 1 next to the control tower and then most of your shots will be west along the valley away from the sun. Note that the path between points 2 and 1 closes during the shooting practice and the full show. Food, drink and portaloos are available at point 1.

Point 2 can be really good in the afternoon as you can shoot up and down the valley although the sun is in your face for DSOs.

I used ISOs between 400 and 800 mostly because of the shadow of the mountain and the mountain itself which can become a very dark background. Shooting is quite challenging as the light varies wildly from right to left and from the valley to the sky. Planning your shots is essential as you can’t keep changing you settings during fast passes.
Lens - A zoom is probably best with 200-400mm plus needed. I’ve used a 80-300mm VR lens which was great except for the shots of the aircraft climbing over the mountain tops.


Getting Down
Most people walk all of the way down as there is usually a huge queue at the chairlift and there is a big bottleneck getting down from point 3. Carefully walking down the steep slope to the valley in front of you from points 1 and 2 is the best option. Walk along the valley floor and join with the tarmac road which winds it’s way down to the village of Axalp. There is a restaurant in Axalp that serves food and drink both inside and out where you can spend your time until the car parks begin to empty.
Image
Image
Exiting down into the valley in front of you at the end of the show
Image
Looking back up towards Point 1

I hope you find this guide useful and have a great time.

Tony
Last edited by Vixen1 on Wed Mar 21, 2018 3:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Dave934
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Dave934 » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:50 pm

Thank you Tony.
That is a brilliant guide.
It's something I've always wanted to do, but have never got 'round to.....
Maybe next year !!!
Dave.

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nick197
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by nick197 » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:11 pm

That's a great guide thanks very much :thumb:
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Mike
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Mike » Fri Oct 16, 2009 7:14 pm

Thanks Tony,much appreciated :thumb:
This season, I'll be mostly wearing........A THONG!

RichC

Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by RichC » Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:20 pm

Top Notch and thanks for posting this on Fightercontrol. Very much appreciated by all wishing to go i'm sure.

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Vixen1
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Vixen1 » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:52 pm

Thanks for the feedback, I've updated the guide with a few recommendations from other visitors.

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Mark
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Mark » Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:54 pm

Looking pretty certain that i'm going to Axalp this this year. I'd also like to thank you for this as i'd probably have been woefully under-prepared had i not found this thread..
Cameraless

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Vixen1
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Vixen1 » Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:00 pm

Mark wrote:Looking pretty certain that i'm going to Axalp this this year. I'd also like to thank you for this as i'd probably have been woefully under-prepared had i not found this thread..
You are very welcome. I'd love to go back.... sometime maybe. Have a great time and let's hope it does not cancel this year.

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by flyingslug_0 » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:12 am

Many thanks Tony, the guide has opened my eyes as to how big the climb is. Both my wife and I were planing to go next year, it makes the climbs up to the loop look like mole hills. I guess its a question of getting into shape and start training :thumbs:

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Vixen1
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Vixen1 » Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:19 pm

Since I wrote the guide there have been some changes to the parking arrangements. You can't now drive up to Axalp on the show days and need to park just outside of Brienz in the official car parks and take the bus up to the village. It's probably best that way as the last time I went getting back down from Axalp was a pain. You'll have to be extra early though as althouigh there are more buses you still have the same treck when you get to Axalp village on the bus.

Here's a link to the official site http://www.lw.admin.ch/internet/luftwaf ... nfluh.html for 2013.

Have a great time.

ajay
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by ajay » Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:04 pm

Brilliant !

Ive already booked and cannot wait, your insight will be extremly helpfull

Mnay thanks :clap:

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SamP
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by SamP » Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:12 am

Fanastic guide Tony, I've made it a sticky to keep it at the top of the section. :thumb:

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Flyingmonster » Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:41 pm

This will come in majorly handy! In the process of planning a trip!
Cheers

Boo boo (aka Jamie)

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Blackcat1 » Tue Aug 07, 2012 10:57 am

Was nearby a couple of weeks ago, saw a good few F18s low and fast from the coach on the way to Italy.
Gareth

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by AndrewBarclay » Wed Aug 08, 2012 10:15 pm

http://www.ianallantravel.com/aviationt ... rs2012.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; scroll down to 227228
for details

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by snapper8v » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:41 pm

Thanks for this Tony. We were in the area in 2009 whilst driving from the UK to San Marino for an annual car rally and it wasn't until we'd returned home and I saw footage upon Youtube that I realised what we'd missed but, at the end of the day, our trip had already been planned.

We are again making our annual pilgrimage to San Marino in the next few days, but this year we WILL be at the show, on the Thursday. Really looking forward to this :thumbs:
http://www.lawrencecliftphotography.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/user/snapper8v" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by snapper8v » Wed Oct 09, 2013 9:49 am

Oh well, Italy it is then seeing that the display has now been cancelled due to snow :'(
http://www.lawrencecliftphotography.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Turbo 1 » Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:01 pm

Great Guide! Thanks for taking the time to do this :)
Regards Turbo 1

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Vixen1
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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Vixen1 » Fri May 15, 2015 9:07 am

I wrote this guide after I last visited Axalp in 2009. Things have changed since then especially around the parking situation and transfer by bus to Axalp village.

Mods, feel free to remove this post or add a health warning to it as I'd hate to lead anyone astray on a trip of a lifetime. Of course, someone else could start the topic again or provide a new full guide by copying and pasting the relevant info from my post and adding the updates. :)

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Re: Axalp - 'A Guide'

Post by Rotörhead » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:47 pm

Anyone heading up this year? I'm going, just need to figure out the public transport system in Switzerland!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/olicphoto/

Aviation Photography Instagram: @olicphoto

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