Saturday 31st July
We all got up especially early today, since this was our train trip to Zermatt day, and we needed an early get away. The leaders staying in the Chalet had an even earlier start, since for reasons best known to KISC we had been asked to move rooms. This meant packing all bags, cleaning the room to the standards demanded by KISC, and moving out - before the early breakfast. (On the plus side the new room is much nicer!)
We managed to get everything done on time, and the group caught the 8:00 bus from KISC to the train station with no problems. The train arrived on time (naturally) and we found our reserved coach - and then laughed at the Swiss interpretation of the reservation - we'd become 9th Breston Scouts (Norens). Good enough! We headed back up the valley, right past camp, and then into the tunnel - all 14.6 km of it! We emerged on the other side into a fantastically sunny valley. Talking to locals it seems that the Kandersteg valley is notorious for being wet when all other valleys are sunny! Oh well... all that mattered today was that we had clear blue skies and brillant sun - perfect for where we were going.
We changed changed at Brig, on to the glacier express to Zermatt. This was our first cog railway of the trip. We knew the journey up was going to be spectacular, since the carriage has special panorama windows - very large, with extra windows in the roof. The journey up to Zermatt was indeed something special. Deep chasms with torrents flowing just beneath the train whilst the mountains above got bigger and bigger...
Arriving in Zermatt is a little like entering a hollywood film set. Everything is extremely cute, and extremely Swiss. Swiss flags everywhere, every chalet covered with flowers, and lots of very well healed tourists spending huge amounts (I saw one japanese man spend over 200 francs in a chocolate shop without missing a beat!). We walked up the main street (trying to avoid getting run down by the silent electric buggies that trundle around town - Zermatt is car free, the only vehicles are little golf buggy affairs that the hotels use, and horse drawn carriages - I said it was cute). As we made our way up to the Klien Matterhorn cable car station we got our first proper view of the Matterhorn itself. Words cannot adequately describe this experience - best to look at the day 7 photos. The Matterhorn dominates the Zermatt skyline, standing alone this huge mountain takes your breath away everytime you see it.
Rob sorted out the tickets, and then we were off on the longest gondola lift that I've ever been on. Twenty minutes later we arrived at the half way station, which to be honest was a bit of a building site. There's a lot of developement and modernisation going on with the lifts there. We regrouped, and then got onto the second lift - a huge traditional cable car that takes you right up to the top of the Klein Matterhorn. The air was getting noticably cold now, and everyone started putting on fleeces and hats. We were now mixing with skiiers, taking their snowboards and skis upto the glacier. We got off the cable car, into a long tunnel, carved right through the mountain. Half way along the tunnel split, and we took the branch that took us to the very highest spot. A quick trip up in a lift, then up a flight of steps, and we were on top of the world. The air was cold and thin, with everyone stopping to catch their breath, but the view from the top was breath taking. We had a clear view of Mt Blanc in the distance, and a spectacular view of the Matterhorn and Mt Rosa. The place was alive with activity. We could see lines of hikers making their way up to the highest peak, following their guides as they went out on the glacier, and lots of skiiers and snowboarders. Every now and then a Swiss mountain rescue helicopter would buzz by, keeping a watchful eye on things.
We barely had an hour up there, just time for lunch and photos, before we had to start the return journey. Paul and Simon managed to find the ice palace, while others popped into the shop there. Reluctantly we set off on the long journey down.
Back in Zermatt we had a few minutes for souvenir shopping and then it was onto the train for the journey home, again changing at Brig. Back in Kandersteg we'd missed the hourly bus, so we had to walk back to KISC, arriving just in time for tea. We'd all had a memorable day, and agreed that as a substitute for the planned Jungfrau visit, it was excellent. It was hard to imagine that the Jungfrau could have offered as much as Zermatt.
Doug
