The Belvedere hotel! Built just after the completion of the pass it sits on in 1867. No one’s really knows why it was built.. Once a lounge to escape and enjoy the silence or to attend the many lavish parties it used to hold. Perhaps a resting place for the many mountain workers? Either way the scenic location and what it offers in terms of isolation and excellence inspired the rich a famous to climb the iconic road. Just adjacent is the Rhone glacier, as seen in my last Switzerland post. It used to be a mere 20 steps away from the hotel. Offering close up icey views like no other place on earth! Morning coffee could be sipped on the balconies as guest took in the iconic scenery. Sean Connery was even a regular customer who adored the location and insisted that a scene from Goldfinger was shot here.. which it was! 140 years ago the glacier came right up to the hotel terrace and would have been directly underneath my drone during this shot! Now, a sad empty car park. A distant memory of the glorious past times. In fact the 11,000 year old glacier has retreaded well over a mile in the past 100 years. Loosing 10cm each day! Not only it’s length but it’s thickness has dramatically reduced due to rising temperatures and thus the hotel itself has also become a victim of climate change. Officially closing its doors in 2016. It’s said the glacier could be completely gone in the next 50-80 years. What a terrifying thought that is. Alongside this glacier, many more will be gone too. The effect will be catastrophic.