As we are full-on skiing (!!!) and haven’t hit the hiking trails for some time, it seems like a timely moment to summarize the hiking season in Zermatt. First of all, we lucked out weather-wise with a serious lack of rain. This, obviously, benefitted us, but is concerning long-term for a place that depends on rainfall. I definitely revisited plenty of familiar trails, but I also explored new ones – both in and around Zermatt and also on some of the overnight trips. There are still PLENTY of trails or summits that I missed, and while a part of me would love to hike to the Hörnli Hut and touch the base of the Matterhorn, I don’t have a deep, pressing need to make it there (unlike one of my colleagues, whose efforts have now been thwarted at least three times!) or a few other places.
We marked our first two weekends (back in September – eek!) with two overnight trips – for the first one, we hiked from Zermatt to Täsch Hut, spent the night, and then returned, hiking a pretty tricky trail over a pass.
After that overnight trip, we had another week of classes before we headed on our Bernese Oberland trip. To my great dismay, I had to ‘lead’ the group, which I realized that I kind of hate doing, especially when it’s a new trip for me – a bit of the blind leading the blind! But we all survived – although this was the trip when I lost 5 students. We stayed in Golderli – or Griesalp. Okay, we took the bus to Griesalp (most terrifying ride of my life!) and then walked to Golderli, just a quick jaunt from the bus ‘stop’. Our hut or refuge, the NF-Hostel, was super comfortable, and they made the bread right there, so it was, to say the least, amazing. We could have eaten 10 loaves between the 18 of us, but we had to make the loaves stretch out over dinner AND breakfast. Just like Täsch Hut, the lodgings weren’t fancy, but they were clean and comfortable. I also slept so well on BOTH of these trips – it was amazing! The hike on Saturday was from Golderli to Murren over Sefinenfurgge, one of the highest passes in that region. It was tough in some sections, but also beautiful! We started the day in a dense fog, but once we hit a certain elevation, it cleared, and we suddenly enjoyed views of all of these peaks – which we probably appreciated even more! The hike wasn’t THAT bad. There was a push up to the pass, followed by a steep descent, but the views were beautiful. Once we hit a certain point coming down, the incline leveled out, and we just enjoyed the trail.
There were also two climbing experiences, both on Breithorn which is the closest 4,000 meter mountain around Zermatt. It’s also a fairly straightforward climb if you just go up and back, which our entire group undertook successfully the third week of the program. This was my second time summiting Breithorn, so I guess I can add another notch somewhere? My only complaint with the summit, and I probably felt this more the second time around – it’s an active experience in that we are hiking, but we definitely don’t leave with any more climbing or mountaineering skills, which is a bit of a disappointment as I reflect on it. It’s more of a pay-a-guide-to-take-you-somewhere experience. For the students, who are 15 years old, I think that it has a definite impact, but I’d rather walk away feeling that I learned something. Still and all, the views were great, and we were all safe – which is not a given.
About a week later or so, I returned to Breithorn with a MUCH smaller group of students – 6 of us altogether, plus three guides – and we summited again, but climbing the traverse which was WAY more of a challenge physically. Leading up to the activity, I was pretty nervous and questioned whether I could even do it – not just for the physical challenge, but one of the teachers talked about the very steep drops, so that didn’t give me much comfort. However, once I picked up my ice axe and crampons (!!), it felt more like an adventure. While I wouldn’t have said that I was “ready” for it, I *was* excited.
We met our guides at 8:00, took the lift up to Klein Matterhorn where we started – roped up there but didn’t put the crampons on until we were on the glacier. It felt like a pretty quick walk to where we then began to climb, first with the ice axes and then traversing. I didn’t *love* climbing with the ice axes, but it’s also kind of fun because you just create your own pitch. It is, however, physically hard as it does take a decent amount of upper body strength. Once we climbed above that section, we took off the crampons and then traversed. There were parts that were challenging and a few sections that did leave me a little breathless if I looked around – both from how beautiful and how daunting it was. I wish that I could have stopped a few more times, taken it in a bit more, but we kept moving along until we hit a place where we could rest. Also, we had to put the crampons back on for the descent which was on snow and ice.
Did I mention that it was just a little bit pretty?
Once we finished, we rode the gondola down as a group and everyone was EXHAUSTED. It was one of the most challenging experiences I’ve had – different from endurance events since some of the work required serious power moves, and it was mentally draining. It also served as a good reminder that even when you’re not sure about something, you are often rewarded by taking risks and pushing yourself.
While I enjoyed these adventures and how different the experiences were – and appreciated that I had these opportunities, I can’t deny that my favorite part of ‘hiking season’ was, well, hiking! I ended with two pretty long hikes which were amazing. Our usual hikes were between 11:30-4:30, which gave us time to cover some serious miles but was also a serious limit, especially when hiking with a group (and knowing that classes began EXACTLY at 4:30). So, a few longer time pockets opened up, and I tried to take advantage – going for longer runs, but also tackling two pretty awesome trails.
The first epic hike was from Zermatt to Rothornhütte which is definitely up, up, up and up! I hadn’t spent that much time hiking on the western side of the valley, so I really enjoyed the hike for that reason. Also, it was an absolutely gorgeous day! I started out early (before 8:00, which isn’t terribly early, but it was mid-October, so it didn’t get light until after 7:00) so that I could return by 2:30 or so. I didn’t have the entire day to myself, but I was confident that a 6-6.5 hour block would give me enough time. Fall came late to this area – and still seems to be lingering – so in a more ‘normal’ year, I wouldn’t or shouldn’t have been able to hike to this particular hut so late in the season. But the dry weather helped me out here, and the trail was dusty but clear of any ice or snow. I definitely had the entire trail to myself for the ascent, although I met one gentleman who had spent the night at the hut and we exchanged greetings. But, other than that one encounter, I enjoyed the solitary nature of the hike and loved how the light slowly crossed over the valley, touching peaks and then trees and finally spilling over the landscape.
I hadn’t been to Trift since 2015, so I was delighted to see the hut and think about spending the night there. Hugo, who runs it, also works as a climbing and ski guide and is such a nice person. Pushing past Trift, the landscape changes dramatically and becomes more of tundra. It’s pretty sobering because you also see the glaciers retreating. The trail initially levels out around Trift, which is a welcome relief, but it then pitches up for the climb up to the hut which probably took 1.5 hours. It wasn’t the hardest hike I’ve done, but it was quite an uphill push at that point. I gave myself until 11:15 or so, and decided that if I hadn’t reached the hut by then, I would have to turn around. Fortunately, I came around a bend and – voilá! There it was! I probably arrived a bit right around 11:15. I spent a few minutes enjoying the views, eating a snack and trying to take it in before heading back.
After too-quick-of-a-rest, I began the descent which, I’ll be honest, wasn’t super fun for me. I have a hard time with downhills as it is, but I was also prepared for it. More or less, at least! And, while I prefer a loop hike, there is something about covering the same territory from a different perspective and taking in a shifted view, because the light has changed or even because you are more or less tired. The trail was still completely mine until I reached Trift, and then, heading back to Zermatt, I bumped into several different groups, returning down or heading up.
My final long hike in Zermatt was actually just a few days after the hike to Rothorn Hut, when four of us (faculty members) headed to Schoenbeil Hut. We knew that it would be tight, but the schedule on that day had shifted, so we had the time. I had no idea how long the trip was, but a student later said that it’s a 14 mile trip. The trail does not, however, climb as much as other ones around Zermatt, so while it was long, it was only steep in some sections. For this trip, we headed directly south, through the hamlet of Zmutt and then pushing further south, the Matterhorn almost always in view but moving more to our left as we headed south. It was a pretty hike, and a nice trail with friends or colleagues since it wasn’t THAT difficult so we could talk and take in the views. One of the other teachers and I ended up turning back just before the actual hut. We were pressed for time as we had to return to teach and did NOT want to return late. So, it was somewhat frustrating but not the end of the world. At this point in my life, I’m not necessarily chasing those “I made it exactly to X or Y”. I enjoyed hiking what I hiked, and it wasn’t the end of the world to me to turn around when we did. Maybe I’ll return? I realize that I might not return, but I feel okay about that too. I was able to do and see quite a bit on this trip – not everything, but checking ALL the boxes seems impossible at this point in my life. I’d rather focus on quality of experiences and trips rather than cramming in every single thing possible. I’m hoping to return to Colorado with a renewed love for hiking. Every year, I promise myself to get out and hike more, and yet I fall short. So, I’m looking at 2019 as the year to do some serious trail exploration – I’m coming for you, Colorado trails!
Before I jump ahead, I will say that hiking in Switzerland is a very different experience. It feels less rugged, not because of the terrain, which IS challenging, but because there are always other people and because of the trail system that connects to so many different places. It is pretty awesome that you can take a train or bus and then suddenly you are on a trail and you can hike to an overnight hut or hike from one town to another. One of these days, I’d love to do a serious hut-to-hut trek in the Alps. It’s so well-organized and gives people the opportunity to travel lightly and cover quite a few miles. And a final note – at times, leading groups has been SO STRESSFUL, but, on other occasions, I’ve really enjoyed the experience. I always learn something when I am leading, and I try to keep in mind that my interests are not the priority. Student safety always comes first, and, after that, supporting them and challenging them.
And, since hiking is over, this is what we’re up to for the final weeks:
Winter is here!
Elevated tales and trails 
Gosh, the views from the hikes are just stunning. I imagine the students know they have to be ready to hike? Are they mostly enthusiastic about it?
I would find downhill to be nerve wracking, too! Why can’t there be a gondola at the top of each hill? Ha ha, just kidding.
The trail systems sounds amazing. It would be nice to get that solitude of a solo hike, but run in to people from time to time, and see where they are headed!
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So, it’s pretty funny because the program definitely doesn’t hide the fact that YES, hiking is a HUGE part of the program, but somehow students still seem surprised or unprepared for it. Quite a few of them never really “take” to hiking, either, but I also give them credit because despite not liking it, they have to get out there and DO IT! I do love the trail system here, although there is also something to be said for those backcountry routes in the US.
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