Walk through the Swiss stone pine forest on Riffelalp

Did you know that Arven trees (Swiss-pines) must be between 40 and 90 years old before they generate seeds for reproduction?  The Arvenwald forest at the Riffelalp is made up of some of the oldest Arven trees.   

There’s a good reason why a Swiss pine is called ‘the queen of the Alps’.  The trees can survive temperatures from -40°C to +40°C and are completely adapted to a mountain climate. 

When you look at the largest ones you can see that they have been through a lot.  Even having been struck by lightning and endured storms or avalanches they still survive and shoot out new growth.  This is how the especially impressive ‘weather trees’ are created. 

If you step out of the train at Riffelberg  station and walk towards the Grünsee lake you will soon see these ancient, gnarled trees.