This exhilarating walk is, according to a guide, only for those who do not suffer from vertigo and are sure-footed. I’m not sure that I qualify on either count but, with a decent pair of boots and shoes, I made it and the only slightly alarming aspect is that the sun doesn’t hit certain parts of the foothills on the last stretch so ice is encountered but there are ample ropes to hoist your way upwards. It was with a great amount of satisfaction that I reached the Hornlihutte. It is a little different to a Sunday afternoon with the dog although, that said,

I was amazed to see a dog casually making its way up without an apparent care in the world.
Zermatt is a formidable hiking area and, after an initial first day stroll of four hours to get the feet and thighs working, I took on the Matterhorn walk the next day and finished with a five hour walk along the valley to the town of Tasch before walking upwards and across part of the Europaweg walk and down to Zermatt. It is very easy to spend a week or longer just finding different walks although, for non-walkers, Zermatt is a fairly long way from any other big centre.

It was very nice seeing my friend, Sarah, near her home in Visp and we enjoyed a chat and beer on my first and fifth days and she has given me more confidence with speaking German together. I have said in my About section that we always speak in English as Sarah’s English is vastly better than my German but it went well enough this time. Always braver for a beer inside me!