Just got back from the Matterhorn 5 hour hike with Oli and Amedine two fellow HU Swiss attendees who arrived late and camped beside me last night.

With sun kissed skin and legs that tell me I did something most unusual today I feel completely tired but satisfied.

Amedine is from Geneva - French and Swiss and her partner Oli is a Catalan from Barcelona who lives in Chamomix and is also a really keen mountain biker.

Oli is the man as asked me would I
like hot water for coffee first thing - I think we are going to get on well...! Bananas and bread was brekky and we packed ready for any weather as we are heading for the mountains. It was absolutely freezing when I got up and I had every stitch of clothing on including my waterproof.
Our camp site is right next to the train line and only some 200 metres from the train station. At the station we bought some snacks and food for lunch. I bought some smoked cheval or horse ! (which was very nice...). Buying the ticket which cost CHF 16.40 return we boarded the train which had glass in the roof to allow panoramic views of simply spectacular scenery. A short journey through almost vertical valleys which offered tantalising glimpses of snow topped peaks we found ourselves in Zermatt. The place smelled of money with lots of wealthy looking tourists from around the world. Oli has done the research and we were heading for a ski station called Sunnegga as this walk provided great views of the Matterhorn. As we arrived the train was just about to leave so we bought tickets at the machine CHF 26.50. Although this was going to be an expensive day how often do you come this way.

The hike we did was called the five lakes we were told offered great views if the Matterhorn and was just well absolutely spectacular scenery. Of course being the oldest by a long way I was the slowest but they were considerate of the ‘old man’ ...we wound our way up the valley on single track trails past terminal moraine (my geography teacher would be proud of me...). Past several lakes one of which we waded in the chilly water to cool off. The final lake was again picture postcard - it’s almost impossible to take a bad photo in such scenery. I updated my FB post and was amazed at the interest and likes and comments.

Hiking back to our start point we came across some black faced wooly sheep - they were so friendly and stood at your feed waiting to have their necks and backs scratched, we captured the moment in video and stills.

On arrival in Zermatt we decided to walk a big loop and then through the main shopping precinct which was very dangerous as most of the big outdoor suppliers had shops there. We went from shop to shop and Oli is a worse gear freak than me... I managed to limit my expenditure to another small Gaz bottle that I have had so much trouble buying.

We also went into a shop that Liz would have absolutely loved the Lindt chocolate shop...!

Boarding the train back to Tasch we were joined by many alpine climbers with their ropes and backpacks all looking suitably tired and brown (Rob eat your heart out...).
Back at the camp site I said good bye to my new friends as they packed and we shared contact details. I left my warm can of beer in a bag in the snow melt river beside the site and it was icy cold in under ten minutes. It is now almost 8 pm and I need a shower and my bed will be calling me very very soon. What an amazing day.

Edit ...Hic as my new friends left a new group of bikers arrived from the czech republic an interesting selection of bikes including a old 2 Jawa 2 stroke. I approached them with beer I hand and immediately had a connection. I discussed that the co-op shop closed in 30 mins and I had to buy food and beer. They followed me. When I arrived back at the camp site after shopping I was invited over George said bring a small cup.
George - jiri Introduced me to their hard liquor home brew which is more than 50% proof. Oh dear the rest of the evening is bit of a a blurr but we had some huge laughs. The international language of bikes and beer. In the morning I left early before 8 am and gave them two local artisan pale ale beers and we took a group photo before departing. They took my photo so I stood on the pegs...