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First trip to Switzerland.
Spent three days at Grindelwald at the foot of the Eiger.
Weather was very kind, blue skies and gentle winds, views were fantastic.
North Face of the Eiger
On the last night in Grindelwald the weather turned and I was treated to a thunder and lightning show on the peaks high above, it was very impressive.
The next morning I travelled down to Zermatt by train, cracking journey, three changes and a 20 mile tunnel through the Alps.
The highlight is the final stretch up the valley from Visp to Zermatt, sit on the left of the train for the best views.
Day three in Zermatt and I awoke bright and early to be greeted by this view from my hotel balcony.
Morning Matterhorn
Ate as much as I could at the breakfast table and made the short walk up to the Matterhorn cable car station and bought a return ticket to Schwarzsee, 25 CHF with a Swiss Travel Pass. The ride only takes 12 minutes. If you are feeling fit you can always walk up.
Once you get off the cable car the scenery is fantastic, helped by the good weather.
Matterhorn towering over Schwarzsee ( Black Lake in English )
Mist in the valley, Gabelhorn and Zinalrothorn behind
I've tried my best to identify mountains in my photos, sorry if I've got them wrong or not been able to name them.
Any corrections would be appreciated.
Klein Matterhorn ( right ) and Breithorn
Zermatt in valley, Dom and Taschhorn behind
Resturant at Schwarzsee
I wandered round to the side of the restaurant and I saw this gang lying in the shade
I seriously thought they were statues until they began to move.
Schwarzsee sheep
Once I had taken about a hundred photos it was time to go.
The area is very well signposted and there are plenty of people heading up the path to the Hornli hut.
As soon as you begin to climb the altitude affects your breathing, take it nice and steady, why would you want to rush anyway.
Black lake and Maria zum Schnee ( Lady of the snow ) chapel.
Path up from Schwarzsee
Happy chap ( check out the W.H. badge )
Dom range over Schwarzsee
Path up
Nice place for a seat
The first part of the walk is fairly straightforward.
It consists of two grassy rises with a fairly flat section in between.
A series of switchbacks means that you gain height quite quickly.
Then you come upon a ski lift station out of use for the summer season I assume.
Good place to have a break and take in the surroundings.
View from ski lift station above Schwarszee
Then its along the scree slope on the south side of the ridge proper.
A metal walkway and stairs take you safely over the most eroded sections.
Metal walkway, south side of ridge
Across the scree slope again and then more switchbacks take you up to the top of the ridge.
Bit more exposure on this section.
Path, south side of ridge
Bit of exposure
Then the path switches onto the north side of the ridge and there is a long flat section to the bottom of the final steep pull up.
View from north side of ridge
View from ridge.
Then the fun really begins.
A series of metal stairs.
Stairway to heaven
Then more switchbacks with roped handrails at the more exposed sections.
A long way down
If you have a problem with heights then this might not be the walk for you, but it was great fun.
Felt a bit short of breath on some of the steep bits.
I have never taken as much go pro footage.
After the scary section, you catch sight of the hut and a last set of switchbacks takes you onto a set of stone steps and then onto the terrace.
Hornli hut, almost there
Hornli hut
Look whats behind the hut.
Matterhorn from Hornli hut
Fantastic.
A wooden staircase takes you up from the hut and along a short ridge to the base of the Matterhorn.
Matterhorn
I had to do this.
Me in front of rock wall
I sat for a while here and was lucky to see three climbers coming off the Matterhorn and giving high fives all round.
It looked like a guide and two climbers, boy were they happy.
If only.
I took some more photos of the views.
Panoramic view 1
Panoramic view 2
Dom and Taschhorn view
View to Monte Rosa
Panoramic view 3
Apologies again for not knowing more of the mountain names.
Then it was time to head back down.
I took my time and really enjoyed the walk.
You are really aware of the exposure on the way back as you are looking down most of the time.
Very busy route as well, lots of people on the way up.
You could tell the serious climbers making their way up to the hut before scaling the Matterhorn the next day.
They were carrying a serious amount of kit and taking it very slowly.
Good luck to them.
Zermatt from descent route.
You could walk all the way down to Zermatt if you want.
I took the easy option and got the cable car back from Schwarzsee.
Bit of a reward at the hotel.
Zermatt beer
My hotel was next door to the mountaineers graveyard at Zermatt.
Zermatt church and mountaineers graveyard
I walked round it a couple of times and shot some footage.
Every grave has a story to tell, all nationalities and all ages, mostly young people though.
I had tears in my eyes reading some of the inscriptions and poems.
It really was a very moving experience, maybe because so many were buried here, its hard to put into words.
I will post this photo.
This is the grave of the unknown climber and it is to remember those who died on the Matterhorn and surrounding mountains and were never found.
Unknown climber grave
The attachment $matches[2] is no longer available
![Schwarrszee to Hornli Hut 1.jpg]()
- Schwarszee to Hornli Hut 1
