The Matterhorn

In the article next door but one, my friend Tim Bannerman mentions a trip to Switzerland taken a long time ago, in which some of his ancestors went up to Zermatt - presumably to look at the Matterhorn.

Exactly four years ago this week, I was there.

We took the train up to Zermatt, but before going to our historic hotel in that altitudinous and busy town, we caught another train up to the peak Gornergat, which is more than 10,000 feet above sea-level. Indeed the train station up there is said to be the highest outdoor terminus in Europe - the one at the Jungfrau being underground inside the mountain. 

The panorama is considered by the Swiss to be one of the most stunning in the country - which is saying something. The view includes the Monte Rosa Massif which boasts the highest mountain in Switzerland (the Dufourspitze at 4,634 m), and a view over the Gornergletscher which is the second-largest glacier in the Alps. Dominating everything is the mighty Matterhorn.

After that trip up into thin air we were glad to descend to Zermatt’s Hotel Monte Rosa - a charismatic establishment with a fascinating history. Located at the very centre of town, the Monte Rosa was the mountaineering headquarters of Edward Whymper, the man who made the first ascent of the Matterhorn. 

Hesp wondering how the hell Whymper did it… The Matterhorn is scary.

It is said to be Zermatt's oldest hotel and it certainly breathes history from every brick and bedroom. I will never forget the two days and nights I spent there, exploring the mountainous hinterland and hiking right up to the base of the Matterhorn. 

I did that after a long night’s drinking and partying in town. The next day all of the press group I was with went off back to their various homes across the world, but I stayed on to explore the region on foot. And at first I did it with a hangover. It took the cable car right up to the terminus just below the Matterhorn, then went on a day long walk which took me around the northern flanks of that extraordinary mountain and then down down down to Zermatt.

Alas, I am now too old and unfit to dream of climbing that great rock tooth, but I did enjoy luxuriating in my historic hotel after long high altitude treks in the summer heat. 

I visited with the help of the Switzerland Travel Centre e-mail info.uk@myswitzerland.com - for packages, trains and air tickets go to sales@stc.co.uk). And I stayed at the Hotel Monte Rosa**** Bahnhofstrasse 803920 Zermatt Tel. +41 27 9660333