Matterhorn - The Swiss Berg

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We were looking forward to this trip for a long time since we came to Switzerland. Its THE swiss berg like Mt. Rainier is for Seattle. A Meetup group was going for a multi-day trip to Matterhorn and we hopped on the opportunity. It was a big group around 30+ people and our first time meeting most of them. Finally the day came and we were all ready. We took a 3.5 hour train to reach there. The group had booked an entire hostel so we were the only ones there. There is no reception or anything just the group and it has the responsibility to clean up before leaving the place.

Zermatt - the town at the foot of Matterhorn is a small car-less village. After reaching Zermatt we hiked around 20-25 minutes to reach our hostel on a small hilltop. It was a almost full moon night and clear. From our room window we saw the first glimpse of Matterhorn. It was gorgeous but nothing like Mount Rainier. Mount Rainer is far bigger in width and a single mountain. Matterhorn is rocky, tall and part of the mountain range.

Next morning we started early and were off to hike to hutte nearest to Matterhorn. It got really cold on the hike and scary at some parts as the path was narrow and steep but it was fun. Along the way there were spectacular views of Matterhorn. On reaching the hutte we had lunch but couldnt see Matterhorn from here as it had gotten all foggy. This is the place from where people start their climbs up the Matterhorn. Switzerland has these great network of huts at high elevation where you can get a bit to eat (hot cooked food) and also sleep in the night. Most places camping is not allowed on the mountains so this is a great alternative. We came down using the ski lifts and were tired.

Next day was cloudy but we decided on doing on a smaller hike. This time less than half the group joined in the hike. It was a great hike (no matterhorn views but loads of flowers). In the evening we took the Zurich train back home.

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Photos

Hutte
Hut where we hiked to - closet one can get to matterhorn without actually attempting a climb