Zermatt! Day 6 & 7
Zermatt!
Zermatt is no Saas-Fee! I mean I have known about Zermatt since I was a kid. Toblerone was even available in India when I was a kid and it symbolized Matterhorn, Zermatt and Switzerland for the world. So it is a famous place and it shows. I am in fact surprised that it is not completely destroyed by over-tourism. I am glad it kept its charm over centuries and I think there is a lot to learn about sustainable living from the folks at Zermatt. That said the place is crowded even in the shoulder season but if you stay away from the train station you will feel the charm.
I stayed about 1.5 Km up the river at the southernmost end of the town, which was a great choice. When i arrived at my hotel from my balcony I am supposed to see Matterhorn but all I saw was clouds!
So the experience was similar to Saas-Fee that day. I checked MeteoSwis which is the official weather app for Switzerland and it promised good weather in the morning the next day. So I put my rain jacket on and headed out.
Yes, even in the driving rain there was plenty of traffic. After I had another Valais wine I decided to tuck in and promised myself to wake up early,
I opened my eyes the next day exactly at 6:18am. I know this because I kept my windows wide open and the first thing I did after opening my eye was to look at the time on my phone and looked outside. It was before sunrise and I saw clear sky and big almost uncanny Matterhorn in the twilight! I thought great, let me sleep 5 more minutes and I will get up and take a few pictures! I open my eyes in 5 minutes and there was nothing!! I said to myself.. shit! Without a picture nobody will believe me! What if I don’t get to see Matterhorn at all!
Well, lucky for me the clouds cleared for a bit and I have been able to capture the sunrise on Matterhorn. However just after low fog/cloud covered everything. This is due to temperature inversion. Due to temperature inversion the valley reaches dew point but further above dry warm air persists.
So from the valley floor it looks gray and gloomy, but if you take a cable car or hike up, you suddenly emerge into bright sunshine above a “sea of clouds.”
In Switzerland this is really common in autumn and winter — locals often say “Geh in die Berge, über den Nebel” (“Go into the mountains, above the fog”). That’s what I was told at my hotel anyways. I also checked the webcams above and it looks perfectly sunny at Matterhorn.
Here it is above the clouds at Schwarzsee. This is the most amazing view I have experienced in recent times!
And as I turn around, there is Matterhorn up the valley, much closer now.
I did some geology here but I am not going to bore you with the details:)
Further up, I went up to Matterhorn glacier paradise.
People climbing Breithhorn here. This is a hiking peak and on good days like today, it is an easy climb.
Matterhorn looks different from here.
There are some ice tunnels and ice sculptures to look at here also. Kids will love this.
Then after this, it is time for me to head down and out of the valley. As I finish writing this trip this is something I have never done before. I mean writing as I was traveling. It was a lot of effort but a lot of fun too. Now as I finish this my boarding is closed and I am heading to New York on my way home.
If you haven’t heard of Cat Power, now is the time. Nothing can be more appropriate!
See you on the other side!
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Wow! What a view especially the one above the fluffy clouds, and great music to go with your first vid. It's a shame with the rain, very annoying when we go away but sadly nothing that can be done about it.
So that's what geology is all about 😄
Yeah that kind of temp inversion and anabatic cloud is rare in US. I have seen it in Grand Canyon once and also in San Francisco frequently but those are special case. Here people said this is very common.
Yes, identify thrust faults over coffee!
I never made it to Zermatt or the Matterhorn on either of my trips to Switzerland so it's nice seeing it in your post. During our second trip to the country we got rain for 5 out of 7 days so most of our views were looking at dense fog lol.
That view from your hotel is unreal with the sun hitting the peak. Amazing!
Well I never have myself before this trip and I highly recommend it.
If I ever make it back to Switzerland I'll definitely make sure that I go
Even though there are a few clouds covering it, it's really beautiful! Exploring nature like this in Switzerland and it looks really fun.
Thank you.
Please consider improving your KE ratio.
You can do that by powering up some hive. It's very easy.
I find that almost everywhere getting away from the rain station is a good move.
The Matterhorn looks like quite the peak! Still loving the hyperlapse videos!
I battled a lot of rain in the last 3 days but it's amazing it all worked. Sometimes geology is better in rain.
Rain isn't totally annoying then 😀
I think my missus has the fever to return to Switzerland after seeing your pics!
Do it man!
I recommend Bettmeralp and Saas-Fee if you want to escape crowds.
Yeah, they look grand and less crowds is always a bonus
But that said Zermatt have the absolute glamour and it is probably the easiest to get to.
Lily confirmed that the ice sculptures are beautiful, she likes wolves.
Cat power Sound spretty cool, I'll add that to my list when I have more reliable internet. I like that style of music. Oh, and it's Saturday, so I can see if I manage to make a post for the selections.
Keychain browser is working so great with peakD, I'm impressed. I'm kind of writing here and there, uploading to my WhatsApp, and then copy it all into a post while sitting in the one spot that has two bars of 4G internet. Still getting quite a few failed to upload, but it's okay. No pressure here ☺️
Though it's good that I'm not uploading many pictures. That might become frustrating.
In that case she will like this one :)
of course she will! she's in the shower now, getting off the salt crust. Thanks to the keychain tip, I didn't open the laptop once on the vacation. I read in books, but mainly just had a relaxed time with Lily. But the fingerprint-reader of my cellphone stopped responding, so I couldn't enter KC anymore. Well, now I'm home, and can answer and see :-D
for the adventure' seekers
Do the amazing views get old after a while? Asking for a friend 😀
lol it doesn't, but time does run out :)
Oh my, what a delightful photography show, but I was ecstatic looking at this one (below) especially... It's a street photo full of harmony and eloquence... Sending a big round of applause!... Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you for the compliment. I used to be a photographer once, now just a slob :)
I feel as though I was there! I may go to Europe again (doubt it, but you never know), but certainly will never go to the Swiss Alps. Years ago, 1972, I took the train from Venice to Vienna and had some spectacular views of the Alps. But it didn't feel close, like this.
The music at the end was a bit of a surprise. I guess that represents the cultural shock you will experience as you go from mountain country to urban NYC. I like Cat Power very much. New to me. Listened to a bit of her music on YouTube after checking out your video.
Yeah music at the end is a bit of home coming! You know the country is so much more than our politics and "leaders in power". We must remind ourselves of that. Call me an escapist :)
Oh yes. We have to have our own little bubble that is a refuge.
Have you read Ferdinand?
The bull who love to smell flowers? We all need some of that sometimes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Ferdinand
😇 I just read it on Project Gutenberg. My husband would say (and most people who know me would agree) I have a large dose of Ferdinand in me...and I'm really, really happy about that.
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Seeing the Matterhorn in person must be spectacular. Your pictures remind me of being at Disneyland, the mini version there is beautiful to see.
Thank you. It's over though. Did have a nice night at Geneva but all good things end eventually :)
Man great to see these posts... even got a YT up and running for it 👍
Makes me want to travel more....
And I did all these from just my phone :)
Really wanted to travel light with just a small backpack
Not quite this guy though! I don’t have two phones! :)
Such an iconic mountain. Even more atmospheric with the clouds and fog rolling.
I like your geological observations!
Love Cat Power. Moonoix was one of my fave albums of the 90s. I've seen her live years ago and the backdrop was the old black and white Joan of Arc film playing.
I like how you said "atmospheric". Not a word most people would have chosen but very apt. In fact that is probably the best word to describe Matterhorn at least on this trip.
I am glad you like Cat Power. Wonderful voice.
Wow, Switzerland is simply magical and majestic. All the photos and views are so gorgeous, straight from a film. I loved every bit of it! The mountain looks so great, and so literally everything does. The snow looks so thick and soft, and the mountains and views hypnotise me 😍.
Those photos from the city in rain are something, i love the scenery. This post about your trip is probably my favourite one in the latest time. The ice wolfes are something incredible, such detailed and beautiful sculptures.
this is hilarious, lol
As they say, just in case, right? 😂
Just amazing! I am very curious about the experienced temperature, would you say that the above the mist it was warm(er) again? Is that experienced temperature (due to closer to the sun) or actual higher degrees? I would expect a 5 degree (C) drop every 1000m climb. (I am trying to find the correct clothing / number of layers for the Jungrfrau Marathon xP)
Matterhorn is also on my to do list (as an ultra run - hopefully in 2027).
Wow these figures in the caves looks definitly like something my kids would like!
Have a great trip!
Yes above the cloud it was slightly warmer, if nothing else just due to bright sunshine.
While I was there, it was ultra marathon season there. I wouldn’t worry about temperature that much. It is the steepness of the terrain that you will need to train for. My wife runs and some of her friends were participating and that’s all they talk about.
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It's a great view, I hope you enjoyed it very much, I walked above the clouds, thanks to you my friend @azircon
Just wow😍
swiss and france have amazing mountains.
they all have the same vibes and so many lakes too