Zermatt - 20k hike

Early start (again!) and after a quick breakfast we walked out into the drizzle with boots and all and headed up out of the valley towards Furi and then up to the Schwarzsee at the foot of the Matterhorn.

It was hard going climbing more than 1,000 vertical meters and my boots were playing havoc but every so often there was a break in the clouds. On arrival at the Schwarzsee nothing was open and so we had to make our lunch in the rain. Having sweated heaps getting up I got very cold ( I always do) and so implored us to get going again. In tough conditions J did fantastically well as did Jo and Jacqui's boots were working really well.

At this point we were undecided whether to head higher up the mountain to the Trockner Steg but given the poor visibility and the fact that we were approaching the snow line we decided to turnaround. 

On the way back down the drizzle stopped as we looped back a different way onto the Matterhorn tour #29 via Zmutt a fabulous village (almost commune like). By this time the sun had come out and with it now being downhill it was very pleasant. Then at Zmutt much to our delight there was a high Alpine eaterie open and so we drank coffee and chatted away.  The journey back home was through lush green Swiss meadows with all the flowers in the world with views back down onto Zermatt.

We covered about 20ks today (had started Garmin Epix late) which is really good going in not ideal conditions. On that the Epix has been really good fun for all the skiing trips and now this weekend. It tells you constantly altitude, coordinates etc...

We were all elated when we got back down.  I promised myself a quick jog and so did a 6k loop stopping at the Zermatt cemetery which is full of grave stones of young British climbers who lost their lives climbing the face of the Matterhorn. On the run I actually felt great with my legs feeling light as a feather after lugging the heavy Scarpa boots all day.

Then it was a case of downing as many beers as possible before stumbling to the Zermatterstübli an authentic Swiss restaurant on the main street where we demolished fondou (including a champagne one). A lot of red wine later we then stumbled back to the previous bar to watch the England game on the largest screen I have ever seen.

A great day.

This was our route: https://www.strava.com/activities/605903699

Suisse - Vevey

Finally the day had arrived. J and I were up at the crack of dawn to fly to Geneva to meet up with Steve and Jo for our walking trip in Zermatt.

Stevie and I have walked a lot together including the ascent of Mont Blanc in 2007 as well as to the Monte Rosa hut in 2012. This time we were keen to share with our respective partners.

After arriving into Geneva we took the train along the lake to Vevey. A stunning day on the lake with clear blue skies and no wind and so J and I just took in the sights and sat and ate on the lake admiring the view. The first picture is of Dents de Midi which Stevie and I also climbed in 2007 with some of the south London crew.

In the late afternoon I threw on the running shoes and went for a saunter along the lake passing loads of the locals who were swimming direction Montreaux where they have the famous Jazz fetstival. Glorious.

Stevie then picked us up and drove us to their new house overlooking Vevey and the lake and after a bit of banter with Jo's dad (he's Welsh) we were off for the 2 hour drive to Täsch to drop the car before taking the train up to Zermatt - one of the reasons why Zermatt is so special is because there are no cars allowed. I love coming back here.

A quick drop of the bags before heading for beers and Lebanese food along the main street. Stevie and I lived with each other at Uni and is the one 'Uni' guy I always stay in regular contact with. We have many shared memories, backpacking around Morocco being a highlight. We both share a passion for the Alps and so have always made the effort to ski or hike together. Stevie and Jo also have 3 boys.

Looking forward to putting on the boots in the morning.