13:  Zermatt, The Matterhorn, and Grindelwald

The weather forecast at my destination for the coming weekend had not changed for several days:  "Rain and snow, overcast sky, ceiling 1200 feet".  It was unlikely that I would see the Matterhorn, something I have looked forward to for over thirty years.  In fact, when I was in the Air Force I had a photo of the Matterhorn hanging on the wall.  For months I had planned to visit Zermatt, Switzerland and the Matterhorn, and then Interlaken and Grindelwald, and to see the Eiger, the mountain which was made famous by the 1970's movie "The Eiger Sanction". 

It's not that far from Grenoble, about a 4 hour drive one-way, but when I finally decided to go, back in August, it came to me that the mountain would be devoid of snow. (see map)  My first view of the Matterhorn would require snow so the trip was postponed.  Now, time in France was running out so hotel reservations were made and a firm date set.  A couple of friends were interested and were welcome company. 

 

 

We arrived in Täsch, a few miles from Zermatt, at 1:00PM on Saturday after an effortless drive that took us through Geneva and around beautiful Lake Geneva, i.e. Lac Léman.  Autos are not allowed in Zermatt, only battery-powered taxis, so we caught the train for the short trip from Täsch to Zermatt.  The weather was better than forecast, in fact, it was perfect!  Blue skies, 45F degrees.  We checked into the very pleasant Hotel Biner (now Style Hotel), one of typical Swiss chalet architecture. 

 

 

My room had a perfect view of Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the distance.  Quickly, with daylight in short supply, we caught the cog train that climbs to the Gornergrat, a high point in the mountains that provides panoramic views of most of the highest peaks in the Swiss Alps, including the Matterhorn. 

 

 

 

 

 

This railway was completed in 1890.  A cog railway uses teeth in a center rail to provide non-slipping traction while climbing the steep grade needed to reach these hight places in the mountains.  Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs also uses this type of railway to reach the summit; the primary difference is that the train to the Gornergrat is electric rather than diesel.

 

 

 

If the weather remained fair the plan was to proceed on to Grindelwald the next day.  We awoke Sunday to reasonable weather and, fortunately, solicited travel advice from the hotel desk clerk.  He was very helpful and informed us that our intended route to Grindelwald was now closed for the winter but an alternate route would not be a problem. 

We drove to the town of Goppenstein (see stop #3 on the map) and here we pulled our car onto the auto-train for the sub-terrainian journey to Kandersteg (see stop #4 on the map).  The tunnel traverses the Berner Oberland, the high mountains which divide Switzerland laterally in this area.  Travel by rail is the only option.  The fee for the 20-minute trip is 25CHF (Swiss francs), about $17.  We would be in Interlaken for lunch. 

 

 

 

 

From the beautiful (but dead on Sunday) lakeside town of Interlaken it is a short drive to Grindelwald.  The snow-covered mountain backdrop of Grindelwald is in stark contrast to the rolling green meadows of the village.  From Grindelwald and the upper outskirts of the village we were afforded excellent views of the pyramidal shape of the Eiger to the west and the Wetterhorn to the south (below).  Our return to Grenoble took us through Bern and shortly thereafter the rain we had expected for two days finally arrived and continued for the remainder of the trip.

Dan.  Grenoble 2003.