#70 - Trift Gorge, Zermatt, Switzerland

Arrived in Zermatt the previous day, and when having dinner in Nelly's Restaurant, we asked about a remote hut we could see a couple of hundred metres up the mountain. The waitress told us of a path that went up to it, and further up the Trift Gorge to a mountain hut where climbers could base before tackling the 4000m peaks surrounding it. So that was decided then, our walk for the next day would be the Trift Gorge.

A steady 300 metre climb out of Zermatt to the Alterhaupt where the hut we saw the previous evening was perched on the edge of a precipice. The going now got easier physically, but I could sense I was going to have some problems returning the same route on the narrow paths. We continued winding our way up the gorge, to the Trift Hut. This wasn't so much a hut but a grand old hotel, in a beautiful spot, nestled below the Gabelhorn and Trift Glaciers. Diane wanted to take another route down, but I took a look at the map and didn't like some of the drops, so better the devil I knew, we returned the same route. As it turned out, the only point I felt a little uncomfortable was when we stopped for a break and sat on a bench looking down into the gorge and up to the Gornergrat on the other side of the valley where Zermatt sits. Perception can be a funny thing and I made more of an effort to look up when descending the rest of the route, take in the surroundings, breathe deeply and try to overcome my fears.

• Date: 28/07/09
• Region: Trift Gorge, Switzerland
• Status: Equal
• Description: Zermatt (1616m) – Alterhaupt (1961m) – Trift mountain hut (2337m) – Return same route – Sunny, hot - 5km, 5h
• Type of Walk: International Personal Walking - Summer Conditions