Zermatt, Switzerland  (Gorgornat Ridge hike)

The alarm was going off in the tent.. I was tired.  But I knew we needed to get up to get the early bird special for the Gornergot railway.  I soon as I stuck my head out of the tent I could not believe it.  It was a moment and a sight I will never forget.  The first rays of light were beaming on the tip of the Mattahorn.  I grabbed my camera and we were soon off to catch the train.  The plan was to take the train to the top and then take our time hiking back down into Zermatt.  The trail and views were phenomenal all the way back to Zermatt far below.

  It was the first train of the morning, most of the town was still asleep as we we begun to rise higher and higher above the town.  Once above the town and out of the valley we could see 360 degrees of the Alps in all their glory.

Once at the top, we took in the views and the crisp morning air.  Monte Rosa (the highest mountain in Switzerland) was in the distance.  A collosal glacier flowed down its side.  Many other glaciers linked up with it and the result was a river of ice flowing through the valley.  We begun our dayhike back down to Zermatt far below.

After a long hike we were once again back to the crowded streets of a tourist filled Zermatt.  After the hike we ate at a restauant in town- Sam insisted that we try the rochlette somewhere.  We sat down and ordered rochlette and politely asked for some water with it.  We were then asked to sit inside and lectured on how we were fools for ordering water in place of wine.  There is no American style customer service in Europe, you must be thankful that they are serving you.

It was a long glorious day and we went to bed early with visions of the Mattahorn still fresh in our minds.

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