Day 39, July 5 - Gornergrat trip
Today we took off on the Gornergrat Railway (Gornergrat Bahn in German); it is the highest open-air railway in Europe, giving uninterrupted views as it climbs from the center of Zermatt to a viewing platform at 10,134.51 feet, directly overlooking the Matterhorn and the glacier basin below. The cogwheel passed through larch forest, open alpine slopes and high rocky ground, with the landscape shifting noticeably as altitude increased.
We decided to go directly to the summit first then attempt to find the heard of around 125 Valais Blacknose sheep that graze the alpine meadows. The sheep move around the mountain each day – always in search of the best grazing spots. Some of the sheep wear a GPS collar, so we could go to a website on our phones to see where the sheep were grazing.
The ride up to Gornergrat took about 30 minutes. There are four stops in total between Zermatt and Gornergrat: Findelbach, Riffelalp, Riffelberg and Rotenboden. Beth and I both were feeling a little woozy when we arrived at the summit station, which opens directly onto a large viewing platform. From here, you can see 29 peaks above 13,000 feet, including Monte Rosa, Liskamm and the Breithorn. The Matterhorn appears in full view, close enough to see the texture of its rock and snowfields.
There also is a hotel at the summit, the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat; it is the highest hotel in the Swiss Alps with a restaurant and terrace. There also is an observatory run by the University of Zurich. There also is an interactive exhibit that shows the Matterhorn and its surrounding alpine world in all dimensions. I only did two of the three zoom stages:
Stage 1 was a periscope in which I could get close to the ‘Horu’ (the locals’ name for the Matterhorn)
The second stage was an immersive 3D cinema that was a journey through all four seasons on the Matterhorn - from icy winds, snowy landscapes and autumn storms to fresh spring landscapes and balmy summer evenings. It was a little dizzying, actually, but fun to watch.
I did not participate in Stage 3, which was a virtual paraglider flight with 3D glasses in floating armchairs because the line was too long.
Some facts about the Gronergrat Railway: It was considered a major technical achievement when it opened in 1898, and it became the first fully electrified cog railway in the world and still operates in the same way today, using a rack-and-pinion system to grip the steep gradients safely.
We left the summit and started down the mountain and stopped at Rotenboden to view the highest Alpine Garden in Europe. It sits at 2,800 meters above sea level.
Jae, Boots and Beth wandered down through the garden; I stayed on top, as climbing back up to the stop looked too arduous for my arthritic hip. There are over 100 alpine plant species in the garden, all of which have adapted to the harsh climate, defying sun, wind and drought. Many of them can scarcely be found at similar altitudes elsewhere, and several species occur nowhere else in Switzerland.
Our next stop was Riffelberg where there was a hotel and a place to eat lunch. Jae and Boots left to hike down toward where we had located the sheep between Riffelberg and Riffelalp, which was supposed to take about 40 minutes, so Beth and I had a bevvie on the terrace before leaving on the train for Riffelalp where we were going to eat lunch. Well, we got to Riffelalp, and it was a 15-minute walk to the restaurant where we were going to eat. There was a small tram (the world’s smallest tramway) which was a short connection from the station to the Riffelalp Resort and more restaurants that required reservations. We decided the walk was too much, and we were still feeling a little woozy so we decided to go back to Zermatt. In the meantime, Jae and Boots returned to the Riffelberg station because the hike was too steep for them. We saw them arrive at Riffelalp as we were boarding the train to go back to Zermatt.
Jae and Boots ate lunch and hiked back to Zermatt. In the meantime, I hit a wall and slept for two hours after we returned to our room.
Jae and Boots returned about the time we left the room to search for the goats that we missed the previous day. We were rewarded today! A herd of around 35 Black-Necked Goats paraded through Bahnhofstrasse around 4:30 pm. They also parade in the morning.
We hung around a plaza for a beer afterward, Jae and Boots joined us a little later to share our last supper together. We’ll be on the same train to Geneva tomorrow, then we part ways.
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