What do you get a women who has almost anything for her birthday? I'm sure I'm not the first guy who has wrestled with this challenge but I am probably the first who decided that a week trekking in the Swiss Alps was the answer. Little did I know that by giving this gift to my Mom, we would spend one of the most spectacular weeks of the summer well above 2500 metres. You see, Switzerland is spoiled with having so many fantastic trekking destinations that it's almost impossible to decide where to take a "foreigner" for their vacation. Finally, it was decided. We would check off as many destinations in the Kanton of Valais as possible.
What trip to Switzerland is complete without a view of the Matternhorn? So, our first port of call was the town of Zermatt. We found a wonderful little apartment just steps from the train station and made it our home for the next two nights. The plan was to climb from Sunnegga Paradise (2288m) to Gornergrat (3089m) on the first day and then head up the Matterhorn to base camp (Hornlihutte, 3260m) on day two.
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| This is the start of the hike from Sunnegga. The trail offers stunning views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn |
The first hike was a pretty grueling up hill but the views from the top are spectacular and well worth the walk. It goes without saying that the bigger the effort the greater the appreciation of the destination. One must always remember this when at Gornergrat because it is possible to access this place via train from Zermatt.
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| This photo was taken after a particularly steep uphill. The view is looking back towards Sunnegga. I'm always amazed at the distance one is able to cover |
The walk from Sunnegga offers some stunning views across to the Matterhorn. We were extremely lucky to hit it on a picture perfect day. In particular, there is one lake that offers terrific photo opportunities of the Matterhorn. Even though I've been here before I can't resist going a little photo crazy.
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| I can't help myself from taking a million photos in this location. The way the trees frame the Matterhorn and create a series of "pyramid" shapes. We were fortunate to see the Matterhorn without it's customary cloud "hat" |
After a few Snickers bars, bananas and other calorie laden snacks we finally arrived at Gornergrat. The view from here is impossible to a capture in words (or photos for that matter!) It is said that you can see 7 different glaciers from this vantage point with the Matterhorn standing talk in the background. If that isn't enough, Gornergrat is the starting off point for an ascent of Monta Rosa, the second highest mountain in the Western Alps.
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| The view from the top of Gornergrat. The mountain to the left is Monta Rosa the second highest in the Western Alps |
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| 3 of the 7 Glaciers that can be seen from Gornergrat. It really is one of the most spectacular views in Switzerland |
Unfortunately, due to weather and a little residual fatigue we decided to cut short out hike to the Hornlihutte in favour of a more "educational" walk. We left from Schwarzee (2563m) towards Trockener steg (2939m) along the Glacier route. The decision to switch plans wasn't made until about 250m vertical shy of Hornlihutte. Fortunately for us, the clouds were rolling in and all views from the hut would have been lost before getting there. Needless to say, the Glacier route still offered some fantastic views across some pretty barren high alpine terrain.
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| The view looking across the valley from the Matterhorn. We made it this high before deciding to change routes and descend back to Trockener steg. |
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| This photo was taken looking back up the Matterhorn towards the Hornlihutte (middle of the shot). As you can see, the clouds were rolling in starting to impede the view of this incredible mountain |
We also had the good fortune of spending August 1st (Swiss National day) in Zermatt. As only the Swiss can, we watched an incredible firework display over the city of Zermatt. For the first time in my life, the fireworks were designed in a way to accentuate the mountain surroundings, lighting up the rocks and cliffs as they went off. It was truly an experience I will never forget and one that I don't think could be replicated anywhere else in the world.
Our visit to Zermatt was the first stop in our week long hiking adventure. What started out as a selection of random destinations quickly took on a theme for the week. We dubbed this week the "Swiss Glacier Tour" which can now easily be replicated by others.
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