27/08/08 - Matterhorn - majestic, marvelous, magnificent, magic, massive.

There are enough alliterative superlatives this time - Wow!! Our wish
has come true. A clear blue sky day when we need it most!!

We weren't about to trust that it would last though so we were up and
about, bright and early. We took the train up to Zermatt, then a
funicular, gondola, and finally a cable car to 3,103m.

In one word - magnificent!!! The Matterhorn is not actually the
highest peak around, but at 4,478 it's not far off. It sticks out
dramatically above the surrounding ridges, and the two faces on the
Swiss border side are just sheer cliffs reaching for the sky - it
really is an unbelievable peak!!

After giving the camera a good workout, and with the Matterhorn in
sight allmost all of the way, we began the long walk back down to
Zermatt. Our first port of call on the way was the Findelgletscher
glacier, where our track wound up to a steep ridgeline. At the top we
found ourselves peering straight down to this very clean glacier.
Then as we walked down along the ridge, we started to theorise about
what geographical events had shaped it as the glacier grew, retreated,
then grew again.

Leaving the glacier, behind we came to a hamlet of farmhouses sitting
on the side of the hill. After a drink in the sun, watching the
Matterhorn attracting a few clouds, we headed through the hamlet
where the only traffic on the 'streets' were walkers and sheep
sheltering from the sun.

Finally, after a wrong turn we made it back down to Zermatt. Zermatt
is surprising peaceful considering the number of tourist because there
are has no gas powered vehicles racing around, only electric buses
and service vehicles. Unfortunately these can be too quiet at times,
and one is often prompted to jump out of the way by a loud beep!!

We had a little problem as our time was ending in Switzerland. Far
too many Swiss Francs!!! We soon worked out how to get rid of some of
them - two haircuts later (definitely overdue - Marea would even agree
about that), another magnet, and a bit of food we were headed back
down the valley.

Once at the bottom we tried to use the rest of our money for gas, but
Pat must be such an efficient hill climber (not!), that we still had
money left. To top this off - every shop seemed to be closed (surely
this would normally count as a good problem don't you think?).

We began heading up the Shiplon pass road that connects Switzerland
with Italy. We were not sure how far we would get before finding a
parking spot - but then the decision was made for us. Somewhere up
ahead was closed, and we think all the warning signs were telling us
the border was only open between 08:00 & 20:00. Well at least that
should mean this road will be quiet during the night.