I have never learnt to ski. I’ve been to the snow a few times since living in the Northern Hemisphere but have just never gotten around to having lessons. So here I am at a friend’s 70th birthday celebrations in Zermatt, Switzerland, and I’m the odd one out. Everyone in the group is European and they are all experts on the slopes. Every night over drinks at Elsie’s Bar in town, they discuss the conditions in Europe’s highest ski resort (approximately 3,883 metres), black, blue, yellow and red descents, weather conditions, equipment and injuries.
I needn’t worry though. The area around Zermatt also boasts hundreds of kilometres of winter hiking trails. The week we visit in March, 2014, gifts us with perfect weather; clear blue skies and sunshine for seven straight days. I walk and walk and am rewarded with the most stunning panoramic views of the Matterhorn and the town. It is often blissfully silent with just the sound of the snow crunching under my boots. I meet my friends on sunny restaurant terraces for an aperol or two, and at cosy mountain huts for long lunches. One day we arrive at a panoramic terrace to find a band playing outside. I dance in my hiking shoes and the birthday boy boogies with me in his ski boots. Everyone joins in and the atmosphere is festive and happy.
Of course it takes me much longer to get home at the end of the day. But I enjoy the peace and quiet, and I often stumble upon an undiscovered hamlet or stop to rest and just breathe in the fresh and invigorating winter air. One afternoon a tiny bird follows me for some way along the path. I can’t believe it when I hold out my hand and it comes and sits on my finger for a moment. There is time to take photographs of the pristine snow and the n mountain peaks. How many photos of the Matterhorn does one need? Snowy environments are still a bit of a novelty to me having grown up in Australia. I love taking the chairlift for a bird’s eye view of everything. It’s a slow holiday and I’m loving every minute.
Evenings bring big dinners of hearty winter fare or perhaps a fondue, and of course plenty of wine. I am always hungry after a day of exercise and don’t think I have ever slept any better.
We are all shocked on March 8th when we hear on the news that Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has gone missing. We didn’t know at the time that the aircraft would not be recovered nor that the incident would become known as one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
It’s a sobering end to a fabulous week of walking and celebrating in the Swiss mountains. I hope the photos inspire…
https://www.zermatt.ch/en/winter-hiking-snowshoeing/Winter-hiking-trails
