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Bericht der 75. Jahresversammlung der VSP/ASP vom 21. - 23. Juni

2008 in Sion Werner Bolliger1

Bull. angew. Geol. Vol. 13/1, 2008 S. 87-100

1 Vorstandsmitglied VSP/ASP

Teilnehmer: A. Baud, P. Birkhäuser, M. & C. Boeuf, W. & R. Bolliger, P. & W. Burri, E. & V. Cartier, K. & J.de Groot, J.-P. & M. de Loriol, P. & I. de Ruiter, A. Delius, P. Dèzes, P. & S. Diebold, A. Dögel, P. Eckardt &J. Buchmann, R. & T. Eckert, A. Farzam, T. Felder, A. & E. Fischer, E. & E. Fraenkl, S. Franks, M. Funk (Vor-tragender), M. & E. Glaus, F. Godefroid, T. & J. Graedel, R. Graf (Vortragender) & H. Graf, K. & M. Grasmück,V. & F. Grossen, B. Gunzenhauser & K. Censier, R. & C. Habiger, W. Heckendorn, P. Heitzmann, H.Holzhauser (Exkursionsführer), H. & E. Inglin, A. & S. Jordi, S. Jüstrich, K. Karagounis, C. Kerez, P. Kindler,E. Kissling (Vortragender), P. & H. Knup, L. Koslik (Exkursionsführer), F. Ladner, P. & L. Lehner, F. Lonfat,M. & K. Lutz, M. Marthaler (Vortragender und Exkursionsführer), F. Martin, D. Massaras & H. Schurten-berger, A. & D. Matter, F. Mégard & J. Galli-Mégard, P. & G. Merki, H.-P. & D. Mohler, P. & H. Mohr, C. Mohr& F. Lehner, V. & A. Möckesch, J.-M. Mudry, P.A. Muñoz, H. Naef, H. & I. Niko, O. Pahud, K. Plée, G.A.Pomilio, C. Pümpin & R. Jaegher, V. & A. Pümpin, B. & E. Reinhardt, P. Riesen (Exkursionsführer), H. & B:Rothermund, H. Roethlisberger, P. & A. Rowlands, D. Ruban, L. & R. Rybach, M. Schlup (Exkursionsführer),S. Schmid (Exkursionsführer) & I. Jacobs , R. Schoop, B. & H. Schwendener, U. & R. Seemann, V. Siman-tov, J. Simantov, J. Smuda, P. & C.-L. Stalder, W. & K. Steenken, F. & M. Stumm, M. Suana, P. & R. Teumer,R. Trümpy, M. Twerenbold, M. van der Schalk, M. Velasquez, V. von Falkenstein, A. Vuillemin, E. Wegmann,C. Wißkirchen, W. & E. Witt, R. Wyss, M. Ziegler, W. Ziegler, O. Zingg & F. Masson.

21. Juni: Administrative und wissen-

schaftliche Sitzungen

Um 14 Uhr begrüsst der Präsident P. Burridie anwesenden VSP-Mitglieder im grossenSaal des Hotels Des Vignes, Uvrier-St-Léo-nard (bei Sion), wo es trotz Lage im Unterge-schoss recht heiss ist. Zu dieser 75. Jahres-tagung hat sich mit über 140 Mitgliedern,Partnern und Gästen eine Rekordzahl vonTeilnehmern angemeldet.

1. Genehmigung des Protokolls der

Sitzung vom 23. Juni 2007 in Ortisei

Der Bericht der letztjährigen Versammlung(Bull. angew. Geol. 12/1, 2007, 105-111) wirdeinstimmig angenommen.

2. Bericht des Präsidenten,

Geschäftsjahr 2007/2008

In diesem Jahr hat die Vereinigung 29 Mit-glieder aufgenommen, davon 15 Studierendeder Universitäten Genf und Lausanne undmit Addax Genf ein kommerzielles Firmen-mitglied. Damit wurde der Beitrittsrekorddes letzten Jahres (24) nochmals gebrochen.Dem gegenüber gab es 10 Austritte und zweiAusschlüsse. Auch sind 5 Todesfälle zubeklagen.

Der fünf Verstorbenen wird schweigendgedacht. Es sind:• Michel Godel (verstorben im Januar 2006)• Jean-William Schroeder (verstorben im

Juli 2007)• Hans M. Bolli (verstorben im Juli 2007)

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• Peter E. Gretener (verstorben im Mai 2008)• Willy A. Mohler (verstorben im Mai 2008)

Dieses Jahr können wir die 50-jährige Mit-gliedschaft bei der VSP von vier Mitgliedernfeiern:• Rudolf Beck• Eduard Haldemann• Lukas Hauber• Albert Stäuble

Den Jubilaren wird eine Urkunde per Postzugestellt.

Nach dem Sponsoring von Studenten derUni Basel letztes Jahr wurden für dieseTagung Studenten der Universitäten Genfund Lausanne finanziell unterstützt. Gross-zügige Mitglieder haben rund Fr. 3’400 zudiesem Zweck beigetragen. Da das Sponso-ring weitergeführt werden soll – nächstesJahr vor allem für Studierende der Uni Bern– sind solche Beiträge sehr willkommen.

Um das wissenschaftliche Engagement derVSP zu vertiefen und sie in Erdölkreisensichtbarer zu machen, wurden letztes Jahrzum ersten Mal Vorträge im Rahmen der«Distinguished Lectures Tour» der AAPGorganisiert. Eingeladen wurden auch die Mit-glieder der Schweizer Sektion der SPE(Society of Petroleum Engineers). Lecturesvon John Walsh, Ken Chew and Larry Peter-son waren ein guter Erfolg mit jeweils 50 bisüber 60 Zuhörern. Auch zahlreiche Studen-ten nahmen jeweils teil. Die Veranstaltun-gen, die auch von Addax Petroleum, von IHSPetroconsultants und der Uni Genf unter-stützt werden (durch Zahlung von Über-nachtungskosten, Essen der Lecturers undDiskussions-Apéros nach den Vorträgen),finden in Genf statt, weil dort die meistenErdöl-orientierten Leute der Schweiz kon-zentriert sind. Es bietet sich hier auch einehervorragende Gelegenheit um die VSP imGenfer «Oil Patch» und an der Uni bekannt zumachen. Die grosse Zunahme an Mitglie-dern, die meisten aus dem Raum Genf, ist

vor allem diesen Aktivitäten zu verdanken.Die VSP-Mitglieder werden ermuntert, inZukunft diese Top-Vorträge zu besuchen(zeitlich so organisiert, dass eine Rückfahrtin die Deutschschweiz am Abend leicht mög-lich ist).

Um die VSP weiter zu profilieren, liess sichPeter Burri in das «House of Delegates» derAAPG wählen (bei welcher die VSP assoziier-tes Mitglied ist). Auch Vorträge und Presse-artikel (z.B. über Erdölreserven und Geo-thermie) wurden im Namen der VSP gehal-ten und sollen das Expertisen-Potential derVereinigung bekannter machen. Die Vereini-gung wird nun vermehrt wahrgenommenund gelegentlich auch von den Medien fürBeiträge zu Öl- und Gasthemen kontaktiert.

3. Bericht des Kassiers,

Jahresrechnung 2006/2007

W. Heckendorn stellt die Bilanz und Erfolgs-rechnung des Geschäftsjahres vor:

Die Abrechnung der Jahrestagung Ortiseiendete mit einem kleinen Verlust. Zusammenmit einer Wertberichtigung des Obligations-bestandes auf dem Wertschriftendepot(Marchzinsen bei Neukäufen) führte dieszum ausgewiesenen Gesamtverlust über dasBerichtsjahr von circa Fr. 240.-. Der übrigeAufwand bewegte sich im normalen Rahmen.

Für die Sion-Tagung wird ein Defizit vonFr. 2'000-3'000.- erwartet, da die bis jetzt erho-bene pauschale Tagungsgebühr von Fr. 50.-zu niedrig ist. Diese Gebühr wird deshalb fürdie nächste Tagung auf Fr. 60.- erhöht. Umden Administrationsaufwand während derTagungen zu reduzieren, und da heute dieÜberweisungsmöglichkeiten innerhalb der

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EU und der Schweiz relativ einfach sind, wer-den in Zukunft keine Barzahlungen mehr ent-gegengenommen. Alle Zahlungen sind des-halb im Voraus auf ein Euro- oder CHF-Kontozu leisten.

4. Bericht des Redaktors

In Abwesenheit von D. Bollinger fasst P. Bur-ri den Bericht des Bulletin-Redaktors zusam-men:Das Bulletin hat in den letzten Jahren an Pro-fil zugenommen. Zum ersten Mal wurde eineneue Art Beitrag, ein Interview des Redak-tors mit Markus Häring und Stefan Schmidüber das «Deep-Heat-Mining-Projekt» inBasel publiziert.Für das zweite Bulletin 2008 ist unter ande-rem der Abdruck der Vorträge der TagungSion vorgesehen, ein Artikel über Seismik imZusammenhang mit Grundwasserprospek-tion in Aceh (Indonesien), eventuell mehrereArtikel zum Thema Felslabor Mont Terri (GVSFIG/GSGI), und von der Bodensee-Tagungder Schweizerischen/Deutschen/Österrei-chischen Ingenieurgeologen im Oktober2008.VSP-Mitglieder werden eingeladen, vor allemauch Artikel über Erdöl-Themen für künftigeBulletins beizusteuern.Ein Vorschlag, den Namen des Bulletins in«Swiss Bulletin of Applied Geology» zuändern, wird zur Zeit mit dem Vorstand dermit-herausgebenden SFIG/GSGI (Schweizeri-sche Fachgruppe für Ingenieurgeologie)diskutiert. Vor allem für Leser im Ausland istdie Differenzierung «Swiss» oder «Schweize-risch» wichtig.

5. Bericht der Revisoren

In Abwesenheit der Revisoren liest B. Gun-zenhauser den Revisoren-Bericht vor, derdie Jahresabrechnung für gut befindet. DerBericht wird von der Versammlung einstim-mig gutgeheissen und der Kassier entlastet.

6. Décharge des Vorstandes und der

Revisoren

P. Merkis Antrag auf Décharge des Kassiers,des übrigen Vorstandes und der Revisorenwird von der Versammlung einstimmig ange-nommen.

7. Tagung 2009 (Berner Oberland)

Die nächste Tagung findet vom 20.-22. Juni2008 in Interlaken statt. Der erste Tag soll sichder alpinen Geologie des Gebietes Kander-steg widmen, unter Leitung von Prof. AdrianPfiffner (Bern), der zweite Tag im Grimselge-biet (Ingenieur-Geologie im Kraftwerkbau,Kraftwerkbesuch, Kristallkluft), unter Leitungvon P. Heitzmann und D. Bollinger.Das Haupthotel der Tagung wird das Metro-pol in Interlaken sein, aber auch andereHotels sind bereits provisorisch bis April2009 reserviert. Für das Partnerprogrammist ein Besuch in Oberhofen am Thunerseevorgesehen (Schlossbesichtigung oder alter-nativ ein Besuch im Museum für Uhren undmechanische Musikinstrumente).

8. Tagung 2010 (Ivrea, Lago Maggiore)

Diese Tagung wird vom 19.-21. Juni 2010 auf deritalienischen Seite des Lago Maggiore stattfin-den. Im Val d’Ossola-Profil kann die ganzeGesteins-Serie von Erdmantel, Unterkruste,Oberkruste bis zu Trias-Sedimenten betrachtetwerden. Zudem können die Marmorbrüchevon Candoglia (unter anderem Ursprungsortdes Bausteins des Domes von Mailand) aneinem halben Tag besucht werden.Stresa oder Verbania/Pallanza bieten guteHotel-Möglichkeiten an.

9. Varia

Keine Beiträge. P. Burri schliesst die admini-strative Sitzung um 14.30 Uhr.

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Technical and Scientific Meeting

As the presentations and comments follow-ing the Administrative Meeting were in theEnglish language, it seems appropriate toalso edit this review in English.

At 14h30 P. Burri welcomes and introducesthe speakers of the afternoon, with the fol-lowing presentations:• Prof. Edi Kissling (ETH, Swiss Federal Insti-

tute of Technology): «Deep structure andtectonics of the Valais – and the rest of theAlps».

• Prof. Michel Marthaler (University of Lau-sanne): «The African Matterhorn; yes orno? A structural, geodynamical and paleo-geographical overview».

• Prof. Martin Funk (ETH, Swiss FederalInstitute of Technology): «On the outburstof glacier dammed lakes: Gornersee, Va-lais, Switzerland».

• Dr. René Graf (ETH and Spectraseis Tech-nologie AG, Zürich): «Passive low frequen-cy spectral analysis: Exploring a new fieldin geophysics».

• Dr. Bernhard Gunzenhauser (Interoil E&P,Switzerland): Details of the Excursions.

The contributions were well presented andreceived with great interest. The first twoassisted the understanding of the geology tobe presented «live» during the next two days(although some people in the audience, notparticularly familiar with alpine geology,found the abundance of geographic-geologi-cal terms somewhat confusing). The presen-tation by Martin Funk provided an insight inthe threats and dangers of ice-dammed lakesand ways of monitoring their development, atthe example of the Gorner Glacier, which theparticipants would be able to see on Sunday.The presentation by René Graf gave an intro-duction into a new «passive seismic»method, which can be instrumental indetecting hydrocarbon fill in subsurfacereservoirs, where it is invisible by conven-tional reflection seismic methods. This was

extremely interesting for oil and gas explor-ers past and present.

The papers will be presented fully, or asextended abstracts, in the Bulletin earlynext year.

Partners’ Programme: visit to the

«Fondation Pierre Gianadda»

After lunch a coach ferried some 40 partici-pants of the partners’ programme to Mar-tigny, where tours through the currentBalthus exhibition were organised (Balthus,Balthasar Klossowski, was a rather specialFrench painter who lived in Switzerlandfrom 1977 to 2001, the year of his death).The knowledgeable curator Mrs. MarthaDejacomi offered guided tours in Englishand German consecutively. While waiting fortheir turn, visitors could have a look at avariety of sculptures permanently exposedin the large park of the Gianadda museum.Alternatively, the shady cafeteria provided agood opportunity to chat with old friends.The participants were attended to by AlisonRowlands und Renate Bolliger.

Evening

In the beautiful warm summer evening Spec-traseis Technologie AG, Zürich, sponsoredpre-dinner drinks in the hotel garden, whichwas much appreciated. Peter Burri took theopportunity to also welcome officially thepartners of the participants at the conven-tion. He especially welcomed the 15 stu-dents, who, as new members, participatedat this year’s VSP convention.

Due to the large number of guests, dinnerwas held in two rooms. The restaurant’scapacity was stretched. This was particular-ly felt when the guests had to queue for theirentrées and the dessert in front of a single,huge buffet. However, the dinner was nice

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and the atmosphere loosened by a humor-ous account of the history of the Valais bythe oldest «Valaisan» among us: Peter Lehner.

Field Trips

Field Guides:• Prof. Dr. Michel Marthaler (Geographical

Institute of the University of Lausanne VD)who gave the regional geological introduc-tion on Saturday, has worked and pub-lished on the Penninic realm for manyyears. His most popular book is recom-mended: «Le Cervin est-il africain?» Edi-tions L.E.P. Lausanne 2001, and its transla-tion into German by Matthias Geyer: «DasMatterhorn aus Afrika – Die Entstehungder Alpen in der Erdgeschichte», Ott Ver-lag, Thun (2002), ISBN 3-7225-6768-8. Atranslation in English is now also availableand was for sale at the convention (ISBN978-2-606-01155-0);

• Prof Dr. Stefan Schmid (Chair of the Geo-logical Institute of the University Basel)has also worked in the area of the fieldtrips for many years and has edited anexcellent hand-out for the geologicalexcursions. Prof. Schmid is a member ofthe Committee of the VSP/ASP. He wasawarded the Gustav-Steinmann Medal on3.10.2007 and the «Humboldt Forschungs-preis» on 07.11.2007 by the GermanAlexander von Humboldt Foundation;

• Prof. Dr. Hans Röthlisberger (hydrologistex ETH) was a glaciological expert duringthe trip, as was Patrick Riesen (glaciolo-gist ETH);

• Dr. Hans-Peter Holzhauser (glaciologistETH), was to guide this part of the excur-sion, but unfortunately was suddenlytaken ill and had to leave earlier in the day;

• Dr. Micha Schlup and Mrs. Lenka Kozlik(both from the University of Lausanne)assisted Prof. Marthaler in guiding.

The following account of the field trips willnot attempt to give a thorough geological

exposé, or even discuss the sometimes con-troversial palaeo-geological origin of units inthis complex alpine region (which wouldanyway be beyond the author’s expertise). Itwill only give cursory geological commentsand leave a more detailed description of thegeological background to the forthcomingpublication of the Sion lectures in the nextissue of the Bulletin. Emphasis in this storywill be on the more touristic aspects of thefield trips, interspersed with memorable pic-tures.

22nd June: Excursion to Gornergrat

The large field party (with some 140 partici-pants) had to start early to accommodatethe long programme of the day. The partici-pants were collected by coaches from Sionand Uvrier-St-Léonard before 8 o’clock andbrought to Täsch in the valley of Zermatt,where the end of the drivable road wasreached. The next stages had to be negoti-ated by train, first to Zermatt and thenonward with the «Matterhorn Railway» tothe Gornergrat, at 3090 m a. s. l. This lastpart of the rail trip was breathtaking, as thetrain wound its way up the mountain andthrough tunnels, showing the splendid Mat-terhorn on either side in a near-cloudlessbeautiful summer morning.In order to accommodate the large numberof participants, they had to be split into fourgroups and separated from the crowd of(other) tourists. This was no simple task,but could be achieved by herding the VSPpeople (who were issued with name platesof different colours) away from the moun-tain station. Henceforth Michel Marthaler,Stefan Schmid, Micha Schlup and Lenka Koz-lik took over the four groups. All of themcould admire the breathtaking panoramicview across the Gorner Glacier to – from SEto NW – the Monte Rosa (representing Bri-ançonnais continental basement), the Breit-horn (part of the Zermatt-Saas Fee-Zonewith ophiolites of the Piemont ocean), and

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Fig. 1: Splendid view from Gornergrat of Monte Rosa and Lyskamm with Gorner Glacier (Photo WillemSteenken).

the row of impressive peaks from Matter-horn to Weisshorn (the Dent Blanche Nappe,containing Austro-alpine basement from amicro-continent attached to the AfricanPlate) and, at the north-eastern end of thePanorama, the uplifted Mischabel Nappe,supposedly originating from the Europeancontinent (Figs. 1-3).On a short walk along the Gornergrat, partlywading through deep spring snow (Figs. 4,5), one group could lay their hands on out-cropping ophiolites and «Schistes Lustrées»(of the Zermatt-Saas Fee-Zone), and «cor-nieules» and marbles (of the Cime BlancheNappe - Mont Fort Nappe).The same group then descended by train tothe Rothenboden station and walked down,over a variety of ophiolites of the Zermatt-Saas Fee-Zone, to the Riffelberg (Fig. 6).We enjoyed lunch on the terrace of the Rif-felberg Hotel, still with the splendid view ofthe Matterhorn, that by now had started to

cover itself by rising clouds from the southflank.

In the afternoon a level walk of less than halfan hour brought a now single group of allparticipants to Gagenhaupt, where a closeview of the Gorner Glacier was on offer. Theassigned field guide, H. P. Holzhauser, whohad been planned to give a discourse of theglacier’s history, was unfortunately nolonger among us. He had been taken ill andwas in Zermatt by now. In his place, HansRöthlisberger talked briefly about the meth-ods used to unravel the glaciers and gave anaccount of his own hydrological experiencewith the Gorner Lake (Figs. 7, 8). It should benoted here, that two articles by Holzhauserwere handed out to the participating VSPmembers on Saturday: One about the specif-ic history of the Gorner Glacier between1791 and 1859, and a second about the cyclicdevelopment of Swiss glaciers since the last

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Fig. 3: Stefan Schmid: «How African is its top?» (Photo Pierre Dèzes).

Fig. 2: Stefan Schmid, one of the field guides, with Breithorn in background (Photo Pierre Dèzes).

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Fig. 5: The field guide Michel Marthaler explains the contact between ophiolites/schistes lustrées of theZermatt-Saas Fee-Zone and evaporates of the Mont Fort Nappe (Photo Willem Steenken).

Fig. 4: Walk of one group over spring snow to the outcrops of the Gornergrat (Photo Willem Steenken).

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Fig. 6: Michael Marthaler on the serpentinites of the Zermatt-Saas-Fee-Zone (on the way down to theHotel Riffelberg) (Photo Willem Steenken).

ice age, based on dendrological analyses offossil woods released by now receding gla-ciers. Alternating phases of retreating andprogressing ice reflect quite pronounced cli-matic changes in the past. We hope to beable to reprint both articles in the next Bul-letin.By now it was time to board the «MatterhornRailway» again for the descent back to Zer-matt, and subsequently the train to Täschand the coaches to Sion. It turned out later,that eight participants of the trip were leftstranded at Täsch and could only get toUvrier-St-Léonard, Sion (to the hotels) orSierre (for the wine tasting) much later aftersome hassle. This was the result of an unfor-tunate combination of circumstances: thedeparture times of the trains had beenchanged after the issue of the written excur-sion programme, and corrections were onlyannounced by megaphone on the Riffelberg

(which was obviously insufficient). Laterattempted telephone communications bythe stranded people with the organizersfailed. The committee apologizes for thismishap and will certainly take measures toavoid similar problems in future.

Wine tasting and dinner at Château de

Villa at Sierre

Nearly 120 participants were ferried toSierre to the picturesque Château de Villawhere they were welcomed by DominiqueFornage, the director of the Château and arenowned oenologist (Fig. 9). Parts of thebuilding go back to the 16th century. It isnow owned by the Commune de Sierre andis a museum of viticulture and wine making.Tasting of several wines from the Valaisregion (out of the 500 varieties stored in the

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Fig. 8: Hans Röthlisberger’s discourse on glaciers and Peter Burri (in background Matterhorn once again)(Photo Werner Bolliger).

Fig. 7: Hans Röthlisberger and audience in front of Riffelberg (Photo Bernhard Gunzenhauser).

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Château cellars) was enjoyed by everybody.With the wines an assortment of dried meatand Valais bread was offered in the «senso-rama», a purpose-built large room in thebuilding.The following meal was under the openevening sky on the Château terrace in veryagreeable warm summer weather. Nobodywas left hungry after 5 courses of differentregional cheeses had arrived on the tablesas «raclette», the ancient Valais speciality(melted cheese, served with boiled pota-toes).This evening party was organised by PierreStalder, a VSP member from Sion, whosecontribution was much appreciated.

Fig. 9: Listeners to the reception speech by oenologist Dominique Fornage in front of the Château de Vil-la, before wine tasting. (Photo Jean-Marie Mudry).

23th June: Lac de Moiry

Nearly 100 participants, still a large numberfor a VSP Monday excursion, were ferried tothe Val d’Anniviers and Lac Moiry. Particu-larly the last part of the trip, from Grimentzto the lake, was a narrow road with hairpinbends that required good driving skills fromthe three coach drivers and caused quitesome anxiety among the passengers…At the west end of the wall enclosing thenearly empty lake (water level low forrepairs) the participants could study out-crops of quartzite and quartzitic conglomer-ates of the Siviez-Mischabel Nappe, of Per-mo-Triassic age, overlain by «cornieule» ofevaporitic origin (Figs. 10, 11).

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Fig. 11: 15 Students have joined not only the convention, but are also new members of the VSP. A group ofthem at lake Moiry is shown on this picture (Photo Werner Heckendorn).

Fig. 10: The president calls the flock to lunch at the Moiry restaurant (or the students to a group photo? –see below) (Photo Pierre Dèzes).

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Fig. 12: At the end of the trip Rudolf Trümpy addresses the party at lake Moiry and expresses his thanksand compliments to guides and organizers, whose task reminded him of the riddle of ferryingwithout loss a wolf, a goat and a cabbage over a river. (Photo Pierre Dèzes).

Lunch was served on the terrace of theMoiry restaurant (persisting good weathermade it fortunately unnecessary to eat inshifts inside). However, the restaurant at thelake was too small to accommodate morethan 70 people, so one coach-load had to godown for lunch to Grimentz.After lunch all participants had an opportu-nity to look at the ophiolites of the «Tsatéaccretionary wedge» (metabasalt, prasiniteand serpentinites alternating with schisteslustrées meta-sediments) of Piemont-Liguriaoceanic origin. At the southern end of thelake metagranites of the Dent Blanche Nappeare overlying the Tsaté series (Fig. 12).At 15h30 the coaches returned down the Vald’Anniviers into the hot Rhone Valley andback to the hotels in St-Léonard and Sion. Asthe Hotel des Vignes could not accommodateany VSP guests for an additional night it wasnow time to say farewell, or rather: «See youagain next year in the Bernese Oberland».

Final comments

Although the organisation for this year’sconvention had been nearly as complex asthe geology to which it introduced its partic-ipants, it was affected only by minor inci-dents, mainly due to the record number ofparticipants. There is a limit to which asmall team working on a purely voluntarybasis can cope, and this limit was reachedthis year. However, the Sion-Convention wasa great success, not least because of themagnificent scenery and the ideal weatherfrom which it benefited! Most participantswill keep a good memory of the convention,as was expressed by various letters ofappreciation after its close.