Thursday 28th August: Most magnificent day AGAIN - Morning 0°C, Afternoon 20°C
Rifugio Theodule to Zermatt: 15.2k: 8.30am to 2.15pm: 5hrs 45mins
Accommodation: Hotel Dufour Traditionell Zermatt
What a view from Rifugio Theodule
Leaving Rifugio Theodule at 0°C
On Glacier from Rifugio Theodule
Can you believe this view
3km down the Glacier Theodule
Rifugio Theodule at 3,317 metres
Too good to miss this photo shot
The Matterhorn at the south face
Blue skies, Swiss Alps - pure magic
ian can't help himself
And more of the same
Clouds in the Zermatta Valley
Sunshine on the Swiss Alps
Skiers going up to the Glacier
On top of the world
Martin and Steven about to ride
Coffee with a view
More Blue skies and Swiss Alps
Finally back in Zermatt
Rump Steak at 33CHF = $44
Re-sorting for the next stage
Washing everything we own
Posting excess stuff to Luca in Bern
Salad and wine to celebrate
Tomorrow's lunch - safe from foxes
One last look at the Matterhorn
Oh what a beautiful day!! AGAIN!! You don't need to read the blog, just click on the magical photos to get a picture of what we've seen today. We left Rifugio Theodule at 0°C and arrived in Zermatt at 20°C, after a 1,700 metre steep descent, which included a 3km trek down the glacier.
It's 6.30am when we wake, expecting to be frozen. But surprisingly with two of us in such a small room, it was very pleasant. I hang on for as long as I can before venturing down to the freezing cold squat toilets in the basement. We've slept in all our walking clothes, so it doesn't take too long to pack and go downstairs for breakfast. Packets dry biscuits and cake, stale bread and jam. The tea and coffee are disgusting, so I drag out our own tea bags to at least have a nice cup of tea.
The morning outside is stunning. It's 0°C so we rug up with every ounce of warm clothing - T shirt, thermals, light jacket, thick jacket, rain coat and pants and 3 pair of gloves. Then it’s time to head off down the Glacier Theodule which we've read so much about. Hillary Sharp put the wind up us describing in vivid detail how to climb out of a crevasse and how to wear crampons and get roped up for safety. But when I inquired at the Swiss Alpine Club in Zermatt, I was told it was just a track - and they were right. It was easy peasy and the crevasses were only 2 inches wide - barely wide enough to get a toe caught. The scenery was stupendous. Finally we arrive at a rocky outcrop to the Gandegge Hut at 3,000 metres. From then on it’s downhill. After 1 hr the temperature had risen to 12 °C and we were stripping off.
Every which way there were picture post card photos - blue skies and snowcapped alps. There's cable cars silently gliding above full of skiers going to the top of the Glacier before racing down the all year ski piste. We've been waiting for Martin and Steven to whiz down on their mountain bikes, and we finally catch site of them near the Trockner Steg cable station contemplating which way to go down.
Time for coffee. There's so many places to sit with a view. Then it's down and down towards Zermatt in the valley. 2hrs of descending and we're at Furi, a cable car station with 3 sets of cable cars, gondolas and cabins going in all directions up the mountain. It's 1pm and time for another quick cup of tea - we have no lunch remember, the fox ate it back at Alpenzu, so we'll wait til we get to Zermatt.
It's 2.15pm and 20°C when we get into Zermatt. Everyone is wearing shorts and T shirts. We head to the local CoOp supermarket to buy some real food. We've had enough of dry biscuits and cakes. Our Hotel Dufour Traditionell is expecting us and have left our Chinese bag with our left over stuff for the next stage, in our room. We have a magnificent view of the Matterhorn on the balcony while we eat lunch.
Then it's time to shower, wash everything we own and hang it on the balcony hoping no one complains. It takes ages to sort and pack and repack and it's 5.30pm when we go to the Post Office to post our extra clean airline stuff to Luca in Bern, whom we'll visit in 3 weeks time.
Time for some serious shopping. Ian's Ground Effect Storm Trooper is shredding white stuff over his clothes, and his gloves and socks are worn out. We go to Bayard's sport's store and buy a Hagloff's RIM Goretex rain jacket, same brand as mine that has lasted for 5 years, a pair of Ice breaker socks, and warm gloves. I'll use his old ones if it gets cold so long as he carries them. But he doesn't want to part with this Storm Trooper which is in tatters, so we've decided to post it on to Luca in Bern in the morning.
We call in to the CoOp to buy salads, meats etc plus a bottle of wine and beer to enjoy dinner with a view of the Alps. A Rump Steak dinner is $44 and we don't need to be "seen" eating out in Zermatt. It's been a great day, and we're now looking forward to our next part of our journey from Zermatt to Chamonix. Whilst I've been blogging, Ian has booked a few hotels ahead on booking.com.