June 11 Alpine Adventure

Really not much to say. I woke up at 6:00 a.m., walked to the edge of town, had about 3 seconds of a glimpse of the mountain, took one decent shot, then saw the Gornergrat train descend from its shed. This meant there would be a 7:00 sunrise train, and I was going to be on it. 

I prepared my gear, put on every item of long-sleeved clothing I had for the 29 degree temperature at the top, then hoofed it down along the river down to the train station. Only, I went past the station and all the way to the edge of town. Busy in my own head, happily thinking about the cogwheel train, I only realized my mistake at 6:50. I U-turned and hustled up the main street this time, only to hear the train leave before I arrived. Those damn efficient Swiss. The train left at exactly 7:00 on the dot. I bought a ticket for the 8:00 train with an early-entry sticker so I'd sit on the right side of the train, and walked outside to find a bakery. A chocolate-filled croissant, hot chocolate mixed with coffee, and a banana later, I was first on the train.

The ride to the top was beautiful, but no Matterhorn. The Gornergrat glacier and Hotel were just as cool as in the James Bond movie, but no Matterhorn. 9:00. No Matterhorn. I was freezing. The only food available was a noodle bowl from an Asian take-out at the top. Only hotel guests could eat in the hotel dining room for breakfast. It's sooo cold up here!

People with GPS and weather apps were saying the mountain would appear at 10:30. I couldn't wait that long. My bags were packed back at the hotel, so I'd just have to walk back from the train station, pick them up, then get on the 1:00 train, but that meant I had to take the 10:40 train, at the latest. I started calculating what I'd spent on this little adventure. 99 euros for the TGV train, 160 CHF for the hotel, 40 for the dinner, 125 euros for the cogwheel train, 115 euros for the roundtrip ticket from Geneva to Zermatt. And no Matterhorn.

There was so much snow at the top I couldn't even find the trail to see the Riffelsee Lake. It was covered in snow. The glacier, though. Wow. As clouds moved by and blue sky peaked out then hid, I marveled at the show. The glacier itself was worth the ticket, I tried to convince myself.

I boarded the 10:40 train, filled with my love of the mountains and thought, I'll just have to come back again. As we left the second station from the top, a huge cloud blew off of the Matterhorn and I grabbed my camera. I lowered the window, let the freezing air inside and took several shots. For maybe 20 or 30 seconds, I could see the mysterious mountain. Maybe the mystery was less about the mountain and more about whether or not you'd be able to view it. Who knows? I know the Matterhorn ride was always worth the wait and this mountain? You bet it was worth it.

My ticket wouldn't load on the 1:00 p.m. train to Geneva and the attendant didn't believe I had a return route. I showed him the printout, the reservation code, but he said he didn't have any way to look it up. I had to have it on my phone. I asked him, What are my options?  He said I'd have to buy another ticket, but he'd waive the 20 CHF fee for buying it on the train.  How much? 155 CHF, or about 175 dollars. Gulp.