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A selection of photos from
my winter holiday in Zermatt 12/01/08
After I had completed
the Walkers Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt in July 2007
I resolved to return in the winter with my partner Christine for a different view of the
mountains and places I had walked through in the summer. We do not ski and
had no experience of the winter conditions in the Alps so this
was really an exploration trip to gain experience. It was a
superb holiday and everything was absolutely perfect. It is
certainly a place I want to visit again in the winter. Apart
from a couple of days walking we also went on the train
journey from Zermatt to Gornergrat. A wonderful experience but
one that the skiers experience every day. I came away from the
holiday wishing that I had taken up ski-ing many years ago. As
regards taking it up now at 65 I can only say "It would be
nice but I am not sure if I have the flexibility to start now"
There were plenty of people older than me but I reckon they
have been doing it most of their life. But I am going to give
it serious consideration |
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A photo taken from the coach
transferring us from Geneva to Zermatt. We had just stopped to put
snow chains on as it had started to snow quite heavily. It took only
ten minutes. We rounded a
corner and came across these motorist on the right who had all stopped
at the same place to put their snow chains on. I think it must be
compulsory and maybe the blue sign was an instruction
The interesting thing was that
you would have expected the motorists in this area to be all driving 4
x4's but they all were just normal 2 wheel drive cars
It made me wonder why there are
so many four wheel drives in England. Do we really need them for our
road conditions when the Swiss seem to manage perfectly well without
them |
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| Two
snow ploughs working in tandem
This was getting exciting |
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| The view from the
hotel balcony next morning
That's the Matterhorn just showing
on the skyline |
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I could not resist
taking this photo. The Police obviously need a four wheel drive but I
have never seen anything like this before. |
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On our first
walk Christine and I took the underground funicular railway from
Zermatt to Sunnegga
A fairly level
walk along the hillside to Tuftern where there is and excellent
restaurant overlooking the valley with Zermatt below and the Matterhorn
in the distance |
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Further
along the track towards Tuftern.
The track had been cleared by
machine and a full list of the tracks that are open can be had from
the Tourist Information Office or from the Internet
There are around 45kms of cleared
winter walking paths in the area and they are normally open within a
few days of heavy snow |
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The Restaurant
at Sunnegga |
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| Down in the town
with our Hotel on the left about halfway down the street |
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Zermatt at night, its a lively
place with plenty to do in the evening |
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The track leading up from Zermatt
to Furi |
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| Looking
back down the track towards Zermatt
Sunnegga and Tuftern are on the
mountainside opposite above the tree line |
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Christine in Zum
See |
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Zum See |
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Zum See, the air
is clear and it is a beautiful place to visit |
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| On
the way down after visiting Furi |
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The village of
Zum See |
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Heading back
down to Zermatt |
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| The
Matterthorn behind me as we walk down to Zermatt |
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| Part
of the old town of Zermatt |
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| Some
of the old buildings in the town are used for wintering sheep
There are various bags on the
walls around these buildings and we were told that the local people
put stale bread in them which is then used to feed the sheep |
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The memorial on the fountain
commemorates the life of Ulrich Inderbinen who died in 2003 at the age of 103
He was a Mountain Guide who lived
in Zermatt and climbed the Matterhorn 370 times
The last time he climbed it he
was 90 years old
A truly remarkable man |
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A modern picture
above of Ulrich Inderbinen |
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| A
chimney sweeps electric vehicle parked near the old town |
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| More
electric vehicles, the yellow one is a tanker |
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| An
electric vehicle with a tail lift |
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| The
square outside the railway station in the evening
Check out the web cam for a
current picture
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The main street
at night |
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| Our Hotel in the main
street Definitely recommended
4 star, excellent rooms, great food and friendly
staff |
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| The
train at Gornergrat Station after climbing up from Zermatt
About a 30 minute journey |
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Gornergrat has a Restaurant and an Observatory
You can see the Chapel to the left
of the tower |
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| The
Matterhorn in the background |
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Close up of the
Observatory |
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The Chapel at
Gornergrat |
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The Matterhorn
and I
I love the shape
of it
I also like
Toblerone |
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A classic view |
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| A
view from the train window while on the way down to Zermatt from
Gornergrat |
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| An
electric bus on its way to Winklemartin which is on the outskirts of
Zermatt |
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In the town near
our hotel |
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This was one of the best holidays
we have had, as a non skier I was a little apprehsive about whether
there would be enough to keep us occupied. Zermatt has everything for
the winter walker, stunning scenery, many cleared walking paths in
the valley and along the mountainsides. great shops, plenty of
bars and restaurants.
I am looking forward to returning. |
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There are many Webcams in and
around Zermatt - Click here to check them out
Zermatt
Webcams |
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