Zermatt: Matterhorn from Rotenboden

Beware… lots of photos of the Matterhorn in this footprint … though I am giving you a break and not sharing too many from when the backdrop was overcast.

Our plan for today was to wander around Zermatt after storing our luggage at the train station, have a late lunch, check-in at the apartment at 4:00p, and shop for a couple of self-catered meals. Tomorrow we would go up to Gornergrat and the Matterhorn.

A check of the weather on the Swiss Meteo app, however, had us considering flipping our plans. Seeing the Matterhorn wide open on the Gornergrat webcam sealed the deal. We walked over to the Gornergratbahn, purchased our tickets, and got on the next train going up. Scoring starboard seats, we had great views of the iconic pyramid-shaped Matterhorn most of the way up, and even managed a selfie when the train stopped at one of the interim stations.

Including the train station in Zermatt, there are seven stops on the Gornergratbahn. As long as you continue to travel in the same direction — always up or always down — you can get on and off at as many stations as you wish. We knew that there was the potential for reflection views of the Matterhorn if we got off at the Rotenboden Station (elevation 9,235 feet (2,815m) … one before the last station. So, that’s what we did.

After stopping a few minutes for photos from near the station, we started our short hike down to Riffellsee … going through the Alpine Garden. The botanist who was checking the plants suggested that we take the slightly longer but less steep trail down to the lake … good recommendation since the pebbles and rocks underfoot were loose.

Even from high on up, it was apparent that we were going to be rewarded with a reflection of the Matterhorn on the still waters of the lake. True, the backdrop was not the hoped-for clear blue sky. But there was not a ripple on the lake (except when some idiot threw in stones); the air was crystal clear; the Matterhorn was showing off its iconic shape … the other peaks were vying for our attention as well. We got beautiful reflection shots from several different vantage points.

After about 50 minutes, we hiked half-way up the trail to check out the scenery in another direction … glaciers streaming down from between the peaks, several of them clearly in retreat. Grenzgletscher (Border Glacier) on the other hand, flowing around the right side of the Monte Rosa Massif, was clearly still feeding Gornergletscher, Switzerland’s second largest river of ice … even though the retreat of the latter has caused the connection of the two glaciers at the base of the massif to be replaced by a moraine.

We spent about 20 minutes enjoying the scenery of the mountains and glaciers. We were so entranced by the view that we almost didn’t notice the changing sky behind us. Patches of blue were starting to make an appearance … the light was getting brighter … the sun was coming out.

From our vantage point at the glacier overlook, we could not see the Matterhorn, but there was a good chance things were changing behind it, too. Walking around the side of an outcropping, we confirmed the change. Of course, we had to go back down to the Riffellsee for more reflection photos.

The sky never cleared entirely, but we didn’t mind the ‘character clouds’ that actually made for more interesting photos IMHO. That said, we could have done without the one filmy cloud that stubbornly parked itself on the face of the Matterhorn.

By the way, no Toblerone shot! We neglected to buy a chocolate bar to take with us when we impulsively changed our plans.

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*** SHFC Reconciliation (PER PERSON): CHF 120 outlay … we added to our credit balance with the CHF 66.00 R/T Gornergratbahn ticker purchase. We are now ahead of the game by CHF 114.30/person.Read more