Rugisbalm
Rugisbalm is an alp in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden .
location
The Rugisbalm is located at around 880 meters on the western side of the valley above the lower Engelberger Aa . There is a farm on the Alpe. The Alp Eggen , located to the west at around 1,200 m to 1,600 m, is also cultivated from here.
Eggen is a convenient starting point for hikes, for example over the Lutersee to Engelberg or over the Storeggpass into the Melchtal .
Cable car
From the bottom of the valley , a smallcable car leadsin two sections to the farmstead on Rugisbalm and from there on to theEggenmountain station. It is run privately by the Töngi family and is a typical example of a so-calledBuirebähnlifor transporting people andloadsin Alpine agriculture. Many of these cable cars were built in the 1930s and 1940s; initially as open wooden boxes with space for a maximum of four people. Initially, they served exclusively private purposes. From the 1950s onwards, farmers used theirBuirebähnlias an additional source of income by transporting tourists up the mountain for a fee.
Due to stricter safety regulations and the corresponding financial requirements, their number has been falling in the recent past. When Rugisbalm train originated in 2011 cost of 900,000 alone for the modernization of the upper section in francs . The Töngi family was only able to make this investment through subsidies from the federal government and the canton and the income from the transport of tourists.
The cable car runs on demand: You sit down and report by phone, whereupon a member of the Töngi family sets the gondola in motion. In contrast to most cable cars, the gondolas do not swing from a central drive, but are suspended at the front and back. Thus, they incline according to the incline of the suspension cable and tilt forwards or backwards when this changes. This effect is particularly impressive on the descent in the lower section, when the gondola passes the mast on the edge of the rock and the suspension rope suddenly leans towards the valley floor.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Patrick Robinson: «Buirebähnli» on the Rugisbalm. In: Engelberg Magazin , Summer 2015, pp. 39–42 ( online )
