We planned to stay 2 nights in Zermatt, while I am writing this post we are spending our forth one in Täsch, Camping Alphubel, close to Zermatt.
Zermatt and the surrounding mountains are simply so beautiful and fascinating that we had to stay longer to explore more of this special location.
A mecca for MTB trail riding
Our first day was supposed to be spend in the saddle, that it would end with having spend a hell lot of time of pushing my 24 kg E-MTB up and down the hill is a different story.
I chose a route from ride.ch and – as so often – did not read the full tour details (like “not suitable for E-MTBs and only for pros”).
The uphill was very smooth and easy (as we had around 1400 hm to manage, we took the lowest battery support level for most of the uphill).
The trail from Täsch to Zermatt is like a Rollercoaster and was already a lot of fun and a nice start of what was to come.
On the whole uphill the Matterhorn was accompanying us. During a quick break we spotted 2 people on the Matterhorn peak through the binoculars, what a view they must have had after a long and exhausting climb from the Hörnli hut.
Even more impressive were the vultures circling above us when climbing the last bits of the track. Never have seen such big birds of prey in the wild.
The fun on the track was taken away when we reached a super steep trail uphill (30% ascent) that was most of the time not rideable for us, hence we had to push the bikes for about an hour (the walk mode was not of much help). At that moment I wished I had my Rocky Element with me ;-). Nevertheless we tried as much as possible to ride the technical uphills, it was a very intense training session.
We were rewarded with pieces of epic panorama trail sections, challenging blocked rocky sections and steep unrideable rocky sections. Despite all the unrideable pieces of it, it was riding bikes in epic scenery which rewarded simply everything.
Not to forget – I got 2 flat tires that we had to fix. One right before our stop at the hotel du Trift (where the hut keeper told us that we were the first E-MTBs up there …. well why so? lol). If you ever set in there -> their home made ice tea is absolutely delicious.
Now it’s time to switch to tubeless to prepare for shredding trails in tuscany.
We saw so many trails and walked so many trails that the decision to come back with our Enduro bikes is a done deal and I am very much looking forward to it.
Oh – and I made my first internet troll experience with a commentary on my bike tour on Strava telling me that I should join a battery bike group on Strava as cycling with an E-MTB has nothing to do with real cycling. Now I got to understand better what Janet is writing about on her blog mythosebike where she evaluates the pros and cons of riding E-MTBs.
Via Ferrata Schwaifinen
Day 2 in Zermatt brought us to the local via ferrata Schwaifinen.
We took the train to Zermatt in the morning (runs every 12 minutes from Täsch to Zermatt, train station was directly next to our campsite). The entry to section A can be reached within about 30 minutes from the train station.
The via ferrata has three sections with different levels of difficulty which can be done in a row (which was the plan … but if I prepare the navigation, nothing works as planned). We climbed route A, part of B and the complete C route.
The climb was not too difficult, some sections were pretty exposed so we had a great view on Zermatt and of course on the Matterhorn again.
Back in Zermatt we enjoyed cold drinks and ice cream and took the train back to Täsch.
World’s Longest suspension bridge hike
On our last day in Zermatt we decided to do a classical hike to the world’s longest suspension bridge in Randa. We had around 800 meters of height to climb on a steep track through beautiful nature that reminded me a bit about Vinschgau.
The suspension bridge walk was really one of a kind as the whole bridge swings left and right and up and down. In addition the floor was built of grid so that added a bit to the thrill. Obviously such things catches tourists attention so there were a lot on people from all over the world walking over the bridge and enjoying taking photographs or flying their drone.
On the descent many mountaineers with climbing and glaciers equipment were hiking towards us heading to the Dom Hut. This hut is a central place to reach 7 4000 meters of height summits, including the normal route to the Dom which is the highest mountain with its basis lying completely in Switzerland.
Zermatt and surroundings are also a mecca for mountaineering. Especially the Matterhorn attracts mountaineers from all over the world. And with all this fascination and will of reaching the summit comes also the bitter truth that the Matterhorn is the summit that has costs most deaths in Switzerland so far. There were years with up to 25 fatalities that lost their lifes on this impressive mountain. So stay safe!
Next stop: Riva del Garda
The campsite
What to say about that campsite…. It was directly next to the railway, the bathroom facilities reminded me of Festival experiences (clean but very basic). Over the weekend it gets very crowded. Overall it is an OK spot if you are not spending the whole day at your camper van.
| Recovery factor | ☺☺☺☺ |
| Parking space size | ☺☺☺☺☺ |
| Lavatory / Washrooms | ☺☺ |
| Price vs Service | ☺☺☺☺ |
| Activity factor | ☺☺☺ |
| Shopping / Restaurants | ☺☺ |
| 4G | ☺☺☺☺☺ |
| WLAN | ☺☺☺☺ |
jelisu 