Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 10

Höhbalmen & Trift – 12.75 miles / Ascent = 1,040m / Descent = 1,911m

Our last full day in the area was marked by a slight change in the weather: nothing too awful, mind, just a gradual thickening of the cloud as the day went on, and a hint of rain in the air that never properly materialised.

We wanted to finish our holiday on a high note, or at least with a memorable day out that would leave us pining for more, so we planned a route from the Schwarzsee via Höhbalmen and Trift back to Zermatt. I’d been looking to work Trift into a suitable route for some while, but had been struggling until the revelation of using the Schwarzsee as a starting point for this side of the valley a couple of days ago had provided the key to unlock this particular mystery as well.

This time there was no breakfast party to hinder our progress up the mountain, and we stepped off the gondola at a much more promising 9.15am. Our aim was to walk the high level contour path over the Höhbalmen below the peaks of the Gabelhorn (a line roughly following the base of the scree fans in the picture below).

The first part of our route was as before: down the hill to Stafelalp, across the valley past the Hydro scheme, and up beside the waterfall to Arbenbach. This morning, though, we had time for coffee at Stafelalp: no cake, mind, as we were “too early” – a disappointment we were later to get over big style.

From Arbenbach, a steep path zig-zags up the hillside for around 400m before the gradient eases to eventually gain the 2,700m contour. Behind us, views opened up towards the Schönbielhütte and the glaciers at the end of the valley. As the path levelled out, we stopped for lunch – not a bad viewpoint, it has to be said ……

Having reached the level path the going was much easier, the next hour’s walking being quite straightforward. Not that we could afford to lose concentration, though: the yawning chasm to our right providing ample reminder to watch our footing, and we always checked the stability of the stony gullies before swiftly crossing.

As there are no lifts servicing this side of the valley it is generally much quieter, and we saw few other walkers on this stretch. Those we did see were coming from the direction of Trift – a good omen, we thought, for the restaurant being open this late in the season.

Besides the actual walk itself, there are three good reasons to endorse this route. One is the fact that it overlooks almost all of the other areas you may have walked: you can see all the big summits you have gazed at in awe over the past few days, and trace the routes you have taken up the mountains and across the hillsides. The second is one of scale: looking at the enormous drop into the valley somehow allows your mind to calibrate the size of the geography more easily than when you are standing on it. From the small building in the bottom left of the photograph below (actually Stafelalp) to the summit of the Matterhorn is a vertical elevation gain of some 2,300m – that’s 7,500ft in old money.

Eventually the path begins to swing north (passing the junction with a steep path down to Alterhaupt) to enter the huge, glaciated cirque of Trift. And here we find the third good reason to do this walk: the Hotel du Trift.

It took a good half hour to reach the Berghaus after it first came into view, the descent of 300m gradually becoming steeper until a slippery zig-zag path deposited us on level ground once more. We ordered beers and huge wedges of apple cake, and sat on the terrace to admire the view as we consumed them.

We got talking to Hugo and Fabienne who run the Berghaus. As there are no lifts servicing this side of the valley, it is run as a summer-only concern, from early July to late September, accommodating walkers and climbers who want to explore the cirque and it’s surrounding peaks. In a couple of day’s time they would shut up shop and move on to other lives for nine months, until next summer when, in late June, they would make the climb out of Zermatt, dust everything down, and welcome visitors to the quiet side of the valley once again. Sounds awful, doesn’t it?

All that remained for us to do was follow the steep path down beside the Triftbach gorge, passing through the area known locally as Edelweiss, to reach Zermatt some 90 minutes later. Bar a bit of pottering about in the morning, we had finished our walking for the holiday. And, despite the low-key nature of today's walk – given the all-star billing of the area in general – we were happy to have ended it this way, experiencing the quieter side. Somehow we felt we had got a deeper understanding of the area as a result.

There was just time for a final bit of shopping: lunch for tomorrow, souvenirs, Toblerone* for the troops back home: that sort of thing. Then it was back to the apartment to begin packing. We’d had a fantastic time, and managed to cover a fair bit of ground over the course of the ten days: without doubt, these few pages in our “Lebensbuch” would be well written.

Which I guess is a good sign.

(*Other Matterhorn-shaped, chocolaty comestibles are also available. Er … possibly.)

Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 9

A Leaf Every Day – 10.00 miles / Ascent = 670m / Descent = 637m

After yesterday’s exertions we decided on a bit of an easier day today. A gentle amble round the low level, picturesque villages of Blatten, Furi and Zmutt (eschewing the various lifts) would be followed by time in Zermatt for shopping, reading, generally tidying up – and planning another full day for tomorrow, our last full day.

So it was slightly later than usual that we trundled through town, the early cool having already dissipated. We chose a different way up to Furi this time: via the hamlets of Blatten, where the small chapel is worth a look inside, and Zum See. It’s no more than a steady climb, but even without rushing we were pretty warm by the time we’d reached Furi, and down to shirt-sleeves already.

As we’d promised ourselves an easy day, we stopped for an early coffee break at the Restaurant Furi. It’s surprising what sort of a thirst you can build up if you try. We’d considered aiming for Stafelalp, but a sign informed us that “Montag ist Ruhetag”: closed on Mondays.

Instead, we took the easy road trail towards the dam above Zmutt, crossed the stream over the dam itself, and turned for home. Our lazy start and relaxed pace meant it was already nearing lunchtime, so we picked a grassy spot at the side of the path and sat in the glorious sunshine to eat our sandwiches.

Fifteen minutes further on, we pottered into the charming hamlet of Zmutt. The opportunity to catch a bit of shade in delightful surroundings proved irresistible, so we quickly rustled up another thirst and pulled in for a beer.

Although Zmutt is little more than a chapel, a couple of nice restaurants and a few wonky, wooden houses, it’s a hub for many of the area’s paths that seem to radiate out in all directions. For example, there are four different routes to Zermatt alone.

Today, we picked one we hadn’t used before – and what a revelation it proved to be: plenty of interest; good views; part woodland, part open hillside; an interesting narrow bit with a drop off to the side; even keeping to a high line right until the last minute descent into Zermatt.

One unusual point of interest: we passed by a house sporting a number of poems hanging on the outside walls. This one is entitled “The Book Of Life”.

My translation skills are not great, but roughly speaking it appears to say the following:

When we are born, God gives us all a special book – a diary, so to speak – to record what we do each day. Each day has a clean page, and through our actions we write clearly what we have thought or done, each in our own way. And, when the time comes and we are called to account, God will judge each of us according to what we have written. So don’t waste the pages: and make sure you write well – a leaf every day.

We liked the sentiment in this: each day is precious, a clean slate waiting to be filled with words and deeds. So make the most of it, stand by your principles and live life to the full.

Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 8

The Schönbielhütte – 16.50 miles / Ascent = 955m / Descent = 1,917m

In line with planning bigger walks for better days, we had a decent trip lined up for today. I’d been looking into the possibility of walking to the Schönbielhütte since the beginning of the holiday but had been unhappy about taking a simple there-and-back route for fear it might lack a bit of interest in one or two places.

Then an odd idea popped into my head: could we tackle it from the Schwarzsee? A quick look at the map seemed to confirm the prospect, and the rest fell neatly into place.

We set off nice and early to catch the gondola, but lost a lot of time getting mixed up with some breakfast event that had commandeered two out of every three gondolas. It was very busy, rather chaotic, and not very Swiss at all. A large queue had formed as a result, and in the end it was 10.45am before we reached the Schwarzsee, putting us some way behind schedule.

Clearing the gondola, we headed downhill towards Stafel on a wide track, soon leaving the crowds behind who were mostly aiming for the Hörnlihütte. Part way down we got chatting to a German chap who asked if we could spare any sunscreen. He was studying for a PhD in Neurobiology at the University of Geneva but had come to the area for the weekend and stayed at the Schönbielhütte overnight. He said today was to be their last day, and that they were closing for the end of the season.

With this information filed away we carried on downhill, leaving the track to pick up a pleasant path over undulating ground to Stafelalp. With its sunny terrace and good location below the north face of the Matterhorn, the restaurant looked a good place for a stop. But we had a long way to go and time to make up, so we passed on by and began to pick our way between the Hydro scheme workings across the valley bottom.

Our target was an obvious waterfall on the opposite side of the valley. A narrow path zig-zagged up the side of the falls before opening out at the top to run beside the bubbling stream of the Arbenbach.

We stopped for lunch amid a gaggle of path junctions. Around here, routes lead off in several directions, and we could see people heading to Zmutt, back to Stafel from where we had come, and high above the valley towards Trift. Our route led westwards, though, towards the Schönbielhütte.

Because of the earlier delays we were mindful of the time, especially as the walk back to Zermatt from the Schönbielhütte is around 4 hours. At this time of year it begins to go dark after about 7.30pm, and we wanted to be sure we could reach the hut and make it back to town with at least a modicum of margin for error.

Soon we could see our goal perched on a rocky promontory up ahead, and decided – having got this far – to give it a shot. The sting in the tail was the steep, zig-zagging 170m climb to get there, but we made good time were soon sitting on the terrace in the warm afternoon sunshine enjoying a Cardinal “blonde” moment.

There was an end of term feel to proceedings: the remaining food was divvied out between us and two other parties (we got the last pieces of apple cake!), all the hut slippers were being collected up, and there was much dusting and sweeping in progress.

It was a pleasant half-hour, though, and we thoroughly enjoyed our rest. Surrounded by glaciers and high peaks, the quiet broken only by the occasion crack and boom of an avalanche, it was a privilege to be here in this special place – if only for a while.

Sadly, we couldn’t linger. The route back was simple to navigate and easy going, but there were still some miles to cover before we could call it a day. At one point our intended path had been land-slipped away, but the diversion through re-colonised moraine was very enjoyable and we didn’t begrudge the extra half-mile.

On we went, past the (now closed) cabin at Chalbermatten and on towards Zmutt. By now there were few other people around; just us, the peace and quiet, and our own lengthening shadows. It felt like we had the whole valley to ourselves.

Beyond Zmutt there were a few more people about. We were in need of a brief rest, and found a bench on which to sit for a few minutes: we could afford the time now we were near town on known paths. A man and his dog came by. In response to our greeting the man said nothing, while the dog carefully lowered it’s hindquarters and unhurriedly deposited a long turd on the path in front of us before moving off. It was difficult to keep the smiles off our faces – especially when we encountered this sign a little later.

Dinner was simple: pasta with ham, broccoli and cheese sauce, quickly rustled up – and equally quickly dispatched. We’d had a long day, but enjoyed every minute of it, and were very glad to have pushed ourselves a bit in order to reach our goal, pleased that our fitness seemed to be up to the challenge.

Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 7

Five Lakes, Flue & Findeln – 11.00 miles / Ascent = 562m / Descent = 1,519m

Today was a special day for us: our 22nd Wedding Anniversary. So we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, combining two of our favourite things: a good walk and a nice lunch!

It was another beautiful, bright morning – a little on the cool side, perhaps, but full of promise for warmth to come. Our plan was to do the Five Lakes Walk (5-Seenweg) from Blauherd, but to add a bit on mid-way round, get something to eat at our favourite mountain restaurant in Findeln afterwards, and then round it all off with a walk back to town.

We caught an early trip up the Rothornbahn to Blauherd (the middle station, at a relatively lowly 2,570m) and picked up a wide track towards the Stellisee – the first of the five lakes. It can get quite busy round here, but at this time of the morning there were few people around, the lake was calm and still, and the air quality crisp and clear. All of which helped in getting photographs like these.

From here we left the “official” Five Lakes route, heading further up the valley towards the mountain restaurant at Flue where we planned to have coffee. Just coffee, mind: in no way were we going to have any cake. No, sir! We didn’t need it, and we hadn’t earned it yet, so we wouldn’t have any.

I think it was Oscar Wilde who claimed he could resist everything except temptation. As we were waiting for our coffee, three enormous plates of freshly baked, still-warm-from-the-oven cakes were paraded past us, flaunting their charms. Sad to report our willpower crumbled in the face of such provocation as readily as the subsequent cake did.

As penance for our sins, we decided to push on a little further up the valley before connecting to a wonderfully narrow and insubstantial path running along the crest of the lateral moraine high above the Findeln Glacier. Care is required, as the path has a habit of crumbling away as easily as willpower does when confronted by cake. Here, Missy G estimates how big a chunk has collapsed into the void since our last visit.

Soon we were heading for the Grindjisee, the second lake of the day. Like the Stellisee, it is famous for reflecting the Matterhorn in it’s still, clear waters, but the reed-fringed, tree-lined pool has a very different character to the open aspect of its predecessor.

It is rare to get such a stunning combination of still waters, sunny weather and clear, cloudless blue skies, but today conditions were nigh on perfect, and we spent a few minutes taking photos as we circled the pool.

Lake three – the Grünsee – was reached after about half-an-hour of easy walking on stony tracks. Looking back, we could see the face of the moraine we were traversing earlier in all its insubstantial glory.

By now, the fine, warm morning had drawn people outside. With walkers and picnickers out in their droves, the beauty spots were fast becoming crowded – like here. We stopped for a quick rest on a handy bench then hurried on, past the busy Berghaus Grünsee and into the woods, where a fine path descended towards lake number four.

The Moojisee is blessed with waters of the most gorgeous turquoise-blue: the kind that usually can only be found in glacier-fed lakes, and that glitter alluringly through the trees on the descent. Unfortunately, the lake itself it is a man-made concrete-and-metal affair of considerable unloveliness, and not really worthy of a photograph.

So we carried on along a track contouring the hillside towards Findeln. At Eggen, we cut up towards the Sunnegga gondola station (where the walk officially ends) to find the fifth of the five lakes, the Leisee. Sadly this is now a theme park, dedicated to the cartoon sheep we encountered a few days ago, Wolli. It’s busy, noisy and messy, and we didn’t like it: the camera remaining pocketed once again. A “gondola” lift descends all of 15m from the Sunnegga area, so we secretly re-christened the lake “lazy” and turned quickly away.

Having completed the Five Lakes walk, we now had a new goal in mind: Findeln. Findeln is an attractive, traditional hamlet widely spread across sunny hillside about a twenty-minute walk below Sunnegga. More specifically, it is home to Chez Vrony, an excellent restaurant in lovely surroundings, serving good food and with a wonderful view from the terrace.

We had set our hearts on eating here, although information we had was ambiguous as to whether it would be open. As we approached from the rear we could see building work being carried out, and feared the worst. But we needn’t have worried: the place was open and buzzing, and we quickly snuck into one of the few remaining available spaces.

Missy G opted for ravioli of goat’s cheese with caramelised pear and thyme nut butter, while I followed the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall approach of “see the wildlife, eat the wildlife” and opted for jugged Chamois with red cabbage and noodles. Both were excellent, and made for a memorable meal on our special day.

By now it was 3.45pm, so we trundled back to town through the woods alongside the Findelbach. All in all, we’d had a fantastic day – just as we had planned, perfect in every detail, and a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.

Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 6

The Oberrothorn – 8.50 miles / Ascent = 746m / Descent = 1,502m

A change in the weather again today as we entered into a more settled spell that would predominate for much of our remaining time in Zermatt. In practice this meant generally clear, bright days, but cooler than at the start of the week with temperatures around the mid-to-late teens of degrees Centigrade – ideal walking weather, really, as long as an assortment of layers were carried.

Given the promise of good, stable weather conditions, we decided today’s objective would be the Oberrothorn, a fairly non-descript lump on the east side of the valley reached by taking all three stages of the Rothornbahn to the Rothorn Paradise at 3,100m and walking from there.

As mentioned, the mud-coloured, pudding-shaped Oberrothorn is nothing special to look at, but it does hold one notable distinction: the 3,415m summit is a superb vantage point encompassing views of no fewer than 38 four-thousand-metre peaks, and is gained by what is claimed to be the highest hiking trail in Europe. I didn’t count each of the summits and I haven’t checked the highest trail claim, but knowing the Swiss penchant for accuracy I’m not rushing to quibble these figures.

Plain it may be from a distance, but the switchback route proved to be an interesting walk with some amazing views on offer. Obviously, as we were undertaking a mountain climb, it was only natural to set off walking downhill from the gondola station – a descent of some 130m before the climbing began. We were heading for a junction of paths at small saddle marked on the map as Furggji, and all the while a helicopter buzzed disconcertingly close overhead, delivering building materials to the gondola station.

The route from the saddle to the summit of the Oberrothorn is another themed way – the Weg Zur Freiheit (the Freedom Path) – a clear path dotted at intervals with a series of stained-glass “eye” sculptures, each of which was adorned with information on different aspects of the philosophy of nature. Physical nature was also on display, as can be seen in this picture showing the valleys radiating from Zermatt.

From the saddle the route zig-zagged upwards almost without respite. Generally, though, the gradients were not too bad, the path was clear, and loose rock and scree provided few problems. In one or two places – avoidable viewpoints, in the main – there were some long, steep drops worth being wary of where a fall is definitely not recommended, as it would likely end your holiday there and then.

At our usual dawdling pace it took us about 1hr 45min to reach the top – a small, rounded rocky summit with 360° views and a fearsome drop off to one side. Many of the mountains around here are so high and difficult to reach they are outside the compass of most walkers, so it was quite nice to be standing on the actual summit of an actual mountain for the first time all week. It was also (we think) the highest point we have ever reached on foot.

It was pretty cold and windy on top, so we stayed for a few minutes to take in the views then dropped down a little way to find a more sheltered spot for lunch.

Afterwards we retraced our steps as far as the saddle at Furggji, then instead of returning directly to the top gondola station at Rothorn Paradise, we took the lower path towards the middle station at Blauherd – about another 45 minutes walking – before heading down to Zermatt.

We were back in town by mid afternoon. Although we had enjoyed our walk very much, we felt we had not made full enough use of the day. As the weather was good we decided to ride the gondola to Furi, have a drink, and walk back to Zermatt: a few extra miles added to the total, and a gentle warm-down in the late-afternoon sunshine.

Walking Matters: Zermatt 8th – 19th Sept 2012 – Day 5

The Matterhorn Glacier Trail – 6.50 miles / Ascent = 174m / Descent = 494m

Like yesterday’s predicted rain, today’s predicted cold snap arrived bang on schedule. And how: after basking in summery mid-twenties temperatures only a couple of days ago, we got off the gondola at the Trockener Steg to be greeted by minus 9°C. That’s right, over 30°C colder! It was like we had experienced some kind of reverse hibernation – sleeping through the warmth to emerge, blinking into a crisp midwinter.

We guessed this might happen, and made plans accordingly. We’d take the three-stage gondola from Zermatt all the way up to the Klein Matterhorn, have a look round, assess conditions and decide again from there. Unfortunately, the final stage gondola proved to be out of action – today of all days! – but conditions at the Trockener Steg seemed reasonably good for walking if a bit on the chilly side. However, we’d donned plenty of cold weather layers and packed more in our rucksacks, so we thought we’d give the Matterhorn Glacier Trail a try and see how we got on.

This trail – another themed walk – runs between the Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee along the edge of the Theodul and Furgg glaciers, and proved to be the “new” path we’d spotted a couple of days before on the way up to the Hörnlihütte. It’s not shown on our copy of the map, but is on newer editions.

We set off well wrapped up against the bitter cold on an undulating path across rocky moraine that wound it’s way between small ponds and the foot of the glaciers. Yesterday’s dusting of snow had frozen hard, cementing the loose stones together and covering the trail.

But painted markers helped guide us through the maze of bumps and troughs, as did the occasional information board outlining the geology and wildlife of this inhospitable-looking landscape.

As we climbed higher, the skies cleared a little and the views steadily improved. We pottered along enjoying the cold and the stark terrain, whilst ahead of us the Matterhorn and the Hörnli ridge dominated the skyline.

The type of ground shown in the forground of the picture below is a common sight in glaciated areas. Although it looks more like the workings of a gravel pit or quarry, it is actually ice. Obviously not the nice, clean shiny ice and snow favoured by photographers and seen in the hanging glacier near the top of the picture, but ice comtaminated by millions of tons of rock flour, gravel, stones and boulders scoured out of the earth by the relentless pressure and unimaginable forces generated when glacier meets mountain - and mountain loses.

As we got closer, the path dropped down a rocky slope to reach the outflow of the glacier nestled tight below the Hörnli ridge. A functional metal bridge crossed the stream – the infant Furggbach – before a steady climb brought us out above the Schwarzsee.

We headed towards the gondola station, parking ourselves on a bench overlooking the lake where we huddled together against the cold to eat our lunch. It was a short, interesting walk, but we were happy to call it a day.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering round town, poking around the shops in search of gear and souvenirs, hoping (and failing) to find an elusive bargain. When the gear on display in the shops comes from manufacturers like Arc’teryx, Haglöfs, Mammut, Mountain Hardwear and Schöffel, and you are shopping in one of the most expensive towns in one of the most expensive countries in Europe, bargains are at a premium. Still, it’s nice to indulge in a bit of aspirational window shopping