Alpine Trip Report - Part 1: Zermatt

In 2004 Susan and I met walking the Haute Route between Chamonix and Zermatt. Since then we've visited Chamonix four times and Zermatt twice. They've become 'favourite' places and this year we decided to have a week in each resort.

We left for Zermatt on Saturday 2 September very early in the morning - driving from Cumbria to Manchester Airport. Our EasyJet flight to Geneva was delayed by fog but we arrived before mid-day and travelled on to Zermatt by Swiss Rail. We had booked an apartment we'd stayed in before so quickly checked in and went for a wee explore. The town is dominated by one mountain - the Matterhorn and it was great to see it again after 4 years.

The Matterhorn from our apartment.

Sunday 3 September - We got up to see the Matterhorn in sunshine from our apartment balcony which inspired us to catch one of the first 'trains' up to Sunnegga to complete the 5 Lakes walk. This route gives fantastic views of the Matterhorn and is ideal for a first day above 2000m. 

Catching the 'train' to Sunnegga.

Easy navigation !!!

The Matterhorn reflected in 'Lake 1'

A cool start to the day above 2000m

Reflections in 'Lake 3'

A beautiful alpine day.

Taking a break on route to 'Lake 4'

3 pics from 'Lake 4'

The last lake and that mountain again !!!

Heading up to the hut at Flualp.

The Matterhorn from Flualp.

Happy to be back in the Alps.

Descending to Zermatt

Cloud building in the afternoon.

A great day out in sunshine and with stunning views dominated by an iconic peak.

Monday 4 September - We looked out to see low cloud but with no heavy rain forecast we stuck to plan A - a walk up to the refurbished Hornli Hut on the Matterhorn at 3260m. The first part of the day was easy as we climbed on-board the cable car to Schwarzsee but from here the hard work began. We adopted an 'alpine plod' and made good progress despite the cold and thinning air. Although the views were limited it was good to revisit this route and it was clear that improvements had been made to the path in several places.
We reached the hut in less than guidebook time and were impressed with the renovations. We couldn't resist going in for a hot drink and a shared 'tart with cream' before going higher to the start of the technical climbing on the Hornli Ridge. After a few photos it was then time to descend and warm up a wee bit. As we dropped down we passed several guided parties who were clearly going for the summit the next day. This pleased us as it suggested the forecast was good.

Catching the cable car.

Schwarzsee Lake above the cable car station.

Looking up to the Hornli Hut and ridge.

Cloudy but still great to be in the high mountains.

Moving up on to the lower slopes of the Hornli ridge.

Atmospheric views

'I thought this was my summer holiday'

Some protected sections on the path.

The final steps up to the hut.

Made it - 'now can we go inside?'

The final section of the ridge starts to clear.

Having ago at the first moves of proper climbing!!

Looking down on the hut extension.

Time to head down.

Views on the descent.

Schwerzsee Lake and Chapel.

Old Zermatt

The modern main street.

Despite the weather we'd enjoyed another great day out.

Tuesday 5 September - The guides had been right - we woke to a superb morning and headed out on a long route which would take us up to Trift and then on a stunning 'balcon' below the north face of the Matterhorn. It was a warm day and the views were amazing.

A warm 'shirt sleeves' day from the start.

The Eddelweiss Hut at 1961m

The beautiful Trift Valley

Trift Hotel 2337m

A wide choice of routes from Trift.

Climbing above Trift on to our Balcon route.

Looking to the Breithorn from the start of the Balcon

High above Zermatt now.

A quality path made the going easy.

The Matterhorn dominated the view and I couldn't resist taking pictures:

This was taken by an elderly lady - we thought she was going to drop the camera and miss us out - some how she didn't.

Looking at the head of the Zmutt valley

The full north face

Zmutt.

We cheated and took the cable car down from Schwarzee - to protect the aging knees!!!

Heading 'home'.

A superb day was rounded off by the stunning sunset shown above.

Wednesday 6 September - Before we travelled to the Alps Susan discovered that the World's Longest Suspension Footbridge had been opened in July on the Europaweg hiking trail, between Grachen and Zermatt.  We had to go and walk it so headed down the valley by train to Randa to climb up to the trail, which forms part of the Tour of the Monte Rosa.  It was a cloudier day and it felt warmer as we climbed steeply out of the valley for about 2 hours. On reaching the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge we realised that we'd have to cross and then re-cross it to walk back to Zermatt. 

The first crossing was a little nerve racking for me as the bridge swayed considerably but coming back wasn't as bad despite the fact that the Tour of the Monta Rosa was taking place and large numbers of runners were crossing at the same time.

The Europaweg back to Zermatt was a stunning route with great views and interesting terrain. It was hard work with a lot of up and down, so on reaching Sunnegga we took the 'train' into town. 

Heading down the valley to Randa.

The bridge is newly signposted.

Old buildings on the steep climb out of Randa.

The bridge information board - 494m long and 85m above the ground.

Susan about to start the first crossing

Not much room for passing.

On the other side - I needed a seat!!!

On the second crossing.

Lots of interesting terrain on the Europaweg:

In places rock avalanches are a danger so protective sheds have been built:

Dropping into the village of Taschalp.

Lunch

An improving day as we head for Zermatt.

More rock fall danger.

Looking back to Randa.

The Matterhorn starts to dominate the view again.

But great views in all directions.

Tufteren

Going to catch the train down

This was another long but rewarding day and well worth the effort.

Thursday 7 September - We woke to grey skies but with a good forecast stuck to Plan A again. We took the cable car back up to Schwarzee and then walked up to Gandegghutte below the Breithorn. Soon we were above the cloud and had amazing views. This made the climb much easier and very enjoyable. From the hut we headed back to Schwarzee via the  Glacier Trail route which passes close to the Matterhorn's east face. Evidence of glacial retreat was everywhere and again the views were superb despite building cloud.

Early morning views on the walk up to the Gandegghutte - the lifting cloud was amazing:

Two views of the Breithorn which we climbed on our last trip to Zermatt:

Looking to Gornergrat.

The Hut.

The east face of the Matterhorn and start of the Glacier Trail .

A great spot for lunch.

Photos from the walk down to Schwarzsee:

Back down on the cable car:

Friday 8 September - Our final day started with a great sunrise view of the Matterhorn from the apartment :

We wanted to re-visit Gornergrat so took the 'train' back to Sunnegga and walked up via 3 of the 5 Lakes. The weather was again superb but it was a bit hazy for photos. For much of the climb  we were on our own so the Gornergrat crowds were a shock to the system. The views were, however, worth the trip and the walk down to Riffelalp was a pleasure once we'd escaped the masses. 

We finished in style taking the Gornergrat train back into town.

The first Sunnegga train of the day.

More great Matterhorn reflections in 2 of the Lakes.

A calm sunny start to the day.

Photos from the climb to Gornergrat:

Above Gornergrat looking to the Breithorn.

Looking to the Monte Rosa

Gornergrat and that mountain

The Breithorn

The Rifflehorn and the Matterhorn.

Looking back to Gornergrat.

Photos from the descent to Rifflealp:

The train to Zermatt

Traditional Zermatt transport.

Another fantastic day above Zermatt and we wished that we could stay for longer as there is so much to do in the area.  Hopefully we'll be back someday.

Saturday 9 September - We left for Chamonix at around 9am taking  trains to Visp and then Martigney and Chamonix. The Zermatt week had been blessed by good weather but we arrived in Chamonix in pouring rain hoping that the next week would see some improvements.