Day 13 - Wed 10 Sep 25: Zermatt

September 10, 2025

Wed 10 Sep 25: Zermatt

I woke early to the sound of rain, and by the time we had breakfast, the weather cleared enough for us to go out for a wander around Zermatt. I had intended to catch the Cogwheel from Zermatt at 1,620m to Gornergrat (3,135m) mainly because it is supposed to offer the best views of the Matterhorn. Located on a rocky ridge overlooking the Gorner Glacier, Gornergrat also offers views of another 28 x 4,000 metre plus peaks. It was very cloudy in Zermatt so I figured it wouldn't be any better up there and stayed around town waiting (and hoping) for the weather to clear. As it happens, Robyn and Graham had tickets to Gornergrat as part of their 9 day-package (not included in our 12 day package - we have tickets to Jungfraujoch from Interlaken on Saturday instead), so they went up early regardless of the weather. It was mostly a white out for them, but they did have a small window of opportunity to take some nice photos of the mountains and glacier, but the Matterhorn remained mostly hidden in cloud. Back in town, as the weather started to clear more in Zermatt, they offered me their $120+ tickets (valid for only one day only), to try my luck. So at short notice I grabbed the opportunity and climbed aboard the cogwheel and made my way to the top, a 35 minute trip. Noeleene wasn't keen to join me, so she stayed behind with Robyn and Graham. When I reached the top, it was a complete white out, and it eventually it even started snowing. I checked out the weather map and saw that it would start clearing with the hour, so I waited around and eventually got some photos, but no sight of the Matterhorn. If only we were here tomorrow, when the weather is forecast to be much nicer. Anyway, after a few hours, satisfied with what I had seen, but a little disappointed with not seeing the Matterhorn, I eventually gave up and made my way back down to meet up with Noel and the other 3 couples, then we all went to dinner together. We also said farewell to Robyn and Graham who finish their Swiss rail tour tomorrow and head to Italy to start another tour. John and Wendy, Glynis and Phil will continue on the same tour as us. After dinner when we all walked out onto the main street, everyone in the street was looking up at the Matterhorn taking photos - it had finally come out from behind the clouds revealing itself in full visibility, and I finally got a photo. I could have just stayed in town, but I did enjoy my little excursion to Gornergrat. There were some magnificent sights, and I got a lot of photos, but they don't do it any justice. Tomorrow we continue our Swiss rail adventure, aiming for Montreux on Lake Geneva for a one night stay.

Imagine waking up to this view - we did. The view from our bedroom window.

Morning walk around Zermatt

Zermatt Cemetert

Mountaineers Cemetery

Zermatt Church

Marmot Fountain

Stroll through Zermatt

16th -17th Century barns/buildings - Zermatt

Ulrich Inderbinen (3/12/1900) - The oldest Mountain Climber in the world with a staggering 370 summits of the Matterhorn, his last in 1990 (aged 90). The monument was erected in his honour on his 100th birthday.