The big descend

18th September, back to Zermatt

So, it was down that day, back to earth. A very long way indeed. First the crossing of the glacier again. Now in crisp morning condition, just like we felt. A little slippery here and there but that is no problem since the crevasses would stop your horizontal slide quickly.

Cracked glacier
Glacier cracks

They path took us from the glacier, between the Rifflehorn and the Gornergrat to the Riffelsee (2757 msl.), which is one of the most photographed lakes in Switzerland. And as you can see, it is well worth a picture. Obviously, we could have bought a postcard in town, but we decided to do it the hard way.

Rimmli see
Rimmli see

From the Riffelsee it was a long way down to the foot of the Gornergrat glacier again, and our feet had a welcome rest in the ice cold water. Thinking we were near Zermatt was a slight mistake and a long walk was still ahead of us in which every step hurt the last miles. The Swiss beer in the tent was beckoning.

Looking down on Smutt
View on Smutt

This would be our last night in Zermatt, since we had plans to move on to the northern side of the Rhône valley.

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Published on  April 19th, 2016