Zermatt 2024 Day 7: AHV Pensioners Way

After the long walk the previous day, and distrustful of the weather, Helen and I wanted a gentle day, and elected to explore a path which ran through the woods on the east of the valley above Zermatt.  It was called the ‘Pensioners Path’, which felt apt with our creaky joints.

Diane and Michael, who were not staying as long, took the cable car up to the Rothorn, where they emerged from the clouds into bright sun.  The top cable car station formed a little island in a sea of snow, sparkling with Saxifraga oppositifolia and Eritrichium nanum.

Lilium martagon

On our descent from Riffelalp on the Gornergrat train, we had noticed two clearings in the outskirts of Zermatt, both thick with Martagon lilies, and we wanted to try to find them on foot, and take better pictures.

We walked slowly through town, heading roughly towards the bottom end of the gondola up to Furi, though we wouldn’t be taking that.  It was a chance to photograph some of the other hotels, and interesting shop windows.

The cemetery by the main church is wonderfully neat and colourful.  Nearer the church, there is a special section, the Mountaineers’ Cemetery, which contains the remains of many who died climbing the Matterhorn or the surrounding peaks.  I was particularly intrigued by a grave stone there with a pair of walking boots hung over it.

Above the church, you could see the bottom of the steep ravine that carries the Triftbach down the mountainside; this had flooded overnight and much of the area around the church was fenced off because the walls of the channel for the stream needed repair.

Matter Vispa

The Matter Vispa (Vispa river) was carrying a lot of water down the valley northwards Tasch and eventually Visp.

As we walked south up the road on the far side of the river, we passed a cunning bar sign, designed to attract, and perhaps amuse, unwary tourists.

Even here, near the centre of the town, empty lots were full of flowers.

Our path led off to the left, steeply up the side of the valley to Winkelmatten.  Whoever had described this circular path as an easy route suitable for pensioners had neglected to mention the severe 100m ascent to reach the start of the named path, or the long flight of steps with which it began.  This threaded its way uphill between hotels, chalets and building sites.

Hieracium aurantiacum

As we climbed, we passed a wonderful meadow / garden, home to a dense sheet of Fox and Cubs (Hieracium aurantiacum).

Aquilegia hybrid

Some fabulous cultivated Aquilegia overhung the path, and a wall along the drive to one property was a foaming mass of Cerastium tomentosum.

One garden had an area which had been left to the wildflowers.

We climbed higher, past steep meadows full of flowers:

• Achillea millefolium
• Leucanthemum vulgare
• Lathyrus pratensis

Saxifraga paniculata

Eventually we reached what seemed to be the start of the path.  We passed a small, rather dilapidated hut, whose roof had been colonised by Saxifraga paniculata.

Sempervivum arachnoideum

Saxifraga paniculata also appeared on the rocky embankment supporting the railway line we needed to cross, together with beautiful specimens of Sempervivum arachnoideum.

Where the footpath crossed the trainline, we had to stop and wait for a train.

From here, there were spectacular views down across the town in the valley, its sides littered with chalets.

On the far side of the valley we could see clearly the Edelweiss mountain restaurant, a savage 350m climb from the town, and quite inaccessible at that point after the flooding had washed out some of the paths.  Behind us were the clustered huts of Zmutt, which we had passed on our first day.

Rumex species

Banks of a large dock (Rumex species) and Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) provided a robust border to the path as it ran along the side of the railway.

Luzula nivea

Above the path was a little clearing shining with hay rattle (Rhinanthus sp); below it bobbed the white heads of the rush Luzula nivea.

Verbascum thapsus ?

In the middle of the clearing was a large mullein (Verbascum thapsus ?).

In shadier places we found Campanula persicifolia (probably a garden escape) and Phyteuma betonicifolium amongst the ferny leaves of the umbellifer Laserpitium halleri.

Lilium martagon

Below us was an extremely steep slope down to an open meadow.  Here there was indeed a population of Lilium martagon, probably one of the two we had set out to find.  But the flowers looked to be mainly still in bud, and, after my tumble a couple of days previously, I was wary of the steep scramble down.

Gymnadenia conopsea

Along with the lilies we saw a scattering of fragrant orchids, but again they were difficult to access.  Instead I took closer views of a very pale specimen growing in the shade near the path.

Rhododendron ferrugineum

As we walked further, we started to encounter Rhododendron ferrugineum, in a variety of shades of pink.

We soon discovered that the path was home to a series of educational playground areas, some containing wooden carvings of animals etc, others containing simple musical instruments, climbing nets (complete with spider), and some drainage pipes buried to make a marmot burrow, complete with lookout (sorry no photo).

Saxifraga cuneifolia

On shady rock banks, we found Saxifraga cuneifolia and Oxalis acetosella.

The far side of the valley was clothed in conifers – the trees and rocks making fascinating patterns with the clouds.

Hepatica nobilis

We found a few very healthy plants of Hepatica nobilis, all with large solid green leaves.

The woodland flora included many familiar species:

• Sempervivum montanum
• Campanula rhomboidalis
• Ranunculus platanifolius.

Maianthemum bifolium

But this was the only occasion we photographed the tiny Maianthemum bifolium.

Heracleum sphondylium

This umbellifer is one of the subspecies of Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).  From the leaves, it looks most like subsp. alpinum, but that doesn’t occur in this area.

Vicia sepium

As we reached the end of the path at Schoenegg, and turned down into the town, we passed some large clumps of bush vetch (Vicia sepium).

Looking southwards across the town, clouds and rain showers were swirling in the valley and around the Matterhorn.

Hieracium species

Beside the road leading back down to the town were steeply sloping banks covered in yellow hawkweed.

Sempervivum tectorum

Amongst the hawkweed and grass, Sempervivum tectorum was starting to flower.

Sedum album

Rocky retaining walls held large clumps of Sedum album, also coming into bloom.

Onobrychis viciifolia

Another meadow held masses of pink Onobrychis, I think probably O. viciifolia.

Other meadow plants here included Geranium pratense, Hippocrepis comosa, Lathyrus pratensis and Salvia pratensis.

Again we had views of the Zmutt huts below the cloud-wreathed Matterhorn.

Many of the gardens held interesting plants.  I loved this peachy-orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera species) and green roofs nurtured Fragrant Orchids (Gymnadenia conopsea) and Campanula rotundifolia.

Parkhotel Beau-Site

The garden of this hotel had undergone a recent makeover, and looked particularly spectacular, with Allium (A. hollandicum or similar), both real and sculptural, providing a backbone to a border flowing down the hill in bands of magenta Geranium, deep-red Dianthus cruentus and lime-green leaves (Coreopsis verticillata ?).

Eryngium species

Elsewhere we passed a garden with a border full of frilly green sea-holly flowers. A very green form of (probably) Eryngium alpinum.

Across the river, on the way back to our hotel, another garden was dominated by ranks of lupins, amongst the softer Aquilegia flowers.

We ate our packed lunches on a bench in the town centre, before returning to the hotel.  The rain came on again in the afternoon, and we were glad to relax.

This was a short day, and would have been easy if we had found a gentler route to make our way up to Winkelmatten.  According to Google it was only about 3 miles, though the climb up was very steep.  In the day as a whole Helen recorded 11,169 steps, 4.94 miles, and 12 flights of stairs.