Zermatt and the Matterhorn

One Bucket List item partially completed… I have longed to see the Alps, but in particular, the Matterhorn and the Eiger. Part one complete, the Eiger in two days.

The village at the base of the Matterhorn is Zermatt . It has approximately 5,800 fulltime residents but seems much larger. This is due to a steady influx of tourists who come for the skiing in winter, mountaineering, hiking, and the sheer beauty of the area. Zermatt sits at 5,300 feet above sea level. It is a car-free town, but still seems busy because of the number of vehicles delivering bags to hotels and raw materials to building sites. But Zermatt is best known for the Matterhorn, which looms over the town as if it is their protector … and in a way, it is because the Matterhorn and its surrounding glaciers are what bring the tourists and their Euro Dollars to Zermatt.

We took the Gomergrat cogwheel train to over 10,000 feet which almost gives an eye level view of the Matterhorn and its glaciers. We walked up to a 360 degree vista of the surrounding peaks. It was an achievement to make it up to the viewing area because the elevation is a challenge.

All too soon it was time to head back down. We were told that Mark Twain stayed near the top of the railroad in Zermatt’s second oldest hotel, the Monte Rosa. He had to climb up the Riffelberg because the railroad was not built for 20 more years. Twain was reportedly enamored by tales of the “crazy mountaineers” who were attempting to climb the surrounding mountains on the 1870s. Twain wrote a series of short stories about his own experiences during his stay.

I rode down with my younger cub and we toyed with the idea of riding back up the mountains via a gondola system or heading back to the village for a beer and a swim at the hotel pool. We opted for the beer. Meanwhile, Mrs Bear and elder cub walked part of the grade down and provided this great picture to end this post

I snapped this one from our hotel … this is a trip everyone should make