I had the good fortune of spending four summers (1947-1949, 1951) in Switzerland as a schoolboy, and on each of these trips I spent about a month with a Swiss family. We often went for hikes, and I enjoyed both the hiking and the views immensely.
Events in my country prevented me from returning to Switzerland for more than two decades. In 1974 I emigrated to the United States, and soon thereafter started spending a couple of weeks with my mother in Geneva every summer until her death in 1996.
Then, in 1987, I had my first hike as an adult in Switzerland, followed by a bit (later a lot more!) of hiking in New Hampshire.
This blog will focus almost exclusively on my Swiss hiking, though I spend eleven months of the year hiking in New Hampshire!
Events in my country prevented me from returning to Switzerland for more than two decades. In 1974 I emigrated to the United States, and soon thereafter started spending a couple of weeks with my mother in Geneva every summer until her death in 1996.
Then, in 1987, I had my first hike as an adult in Switzerland, followed by a bit (later a lot more!) of hiking in New Hampshire.
This blog will focus almost exclusively on my Swiss hiking, though I spend eleven months of the year hiking in New Hampshire!
Zermatt
I have avoided Zermatt because of its crowds and mechanical devices, but decided to visit this year because of its mountains. The town (it certainly is NOT a village!) is as crowded, and has as many fake folklore events, as I feared. But the mountains!
From the south porch of our apartment we can see most of the cone of the Matterhorn, while from the north bedroom we can see the Dom and the Taschorn. Nice, but nothing special. But once you get over 2,200 meters or so (we went quite a bit higher on each hike) the views become really spectacular.
Yesterday we went up to the Gornergrat, taking the train to Riffelalp (saving 600 meters of elevation gain) and hiking the rest of the way. The higher we got, the more we saw. At the top there is a 360 degrees view, from the Dom and the tips of its more northern neighbors all the way round to the Weisshorn, plus the Bernese alps in the distance.
I shall return!
From the south porch of our apartment we can see most of the cone of the Matterhorn, while from the north bedroom we can see the Dom and the Taschorn. Nice, but nothing special. But once you get over 2,200 meters or so (we went quite a bit higher on each hike) the views become really spectacular.
Yesterday we went up to the Gornergrat, taking the train to Riffelalp (saving 600 meters of elevation gain) and hiking the rest of the way. The higher we got, the more we saw. At the top there is a 360 degrees view, from the Dom and the tips of its more northern neighbors all the way round to the Weisshorn, plus the Bernese alps in the distance.
I shall return!
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Recent Blog Entries by RetiredInNH
- Zermatt (14.08.2008)
- Gemmi Pass and other things (06.08.2008)
- My first Swiss 3,000 meter peak (01.08.2008)
- A real combat de reines at Lac Bleu (30.07.2008)
- Musings on the trail ... (30.07.2008)
