Zermatt 2024 Day 2: Sunnegga

It is kind of weird ascending like that in a tunnel, but feels like a magic carpet when you get out at the top and the mountains are ranged around you.

Mountain views

The Matterhorn was hiding its head in the clouds, as indeed were many of the high peaks, but we had a fabulous view north-westwards across the valley, and up the glaciated side valley to Trift.  Two glaciers meet and merge, the Triftgletscher and the Gabelhorngletscher.  However, they have retreated a long way, leaving a large area of moraine and scree which I would love to explore.  Sadly, that’s never going to happen.  Just getting to Trift at the foot of the moraines is a 700m climb in a 3km walk from the centre of Zermatt.

Gentiana verna

Slowly we wandered down the path from Sunnegga station towards the Leisee below us.  The bank beside us was jewelled with spring gentians.  These appear to have the rosettes of lanceolate leaves with pointed tips which you would expect for G. verna.

Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia

Soon, we reached the bottom of the slope, and the rest of the group turned to the left to descend a little further to the Leisee.  But I had seen some yellow Pulsatilla on a bank next to the ski run, and veered off to the right to photograph them.

Geum montanum

A little later, Diane reappeared, so see what I had found.  This little area, not much bigger than a tennis court, proved a treasure trove of plants, at least for us, at the beginning of our holiday. I tried to photograph this Geum montanum with the Matterhorn behind, but couldn’t get a low enough angle.

Gentiana acaulis

Amongst the Pulsatilla, we found the first trumpet gentians of the holiday.

Trollius europaeus

A snow melt trickle ran down the side of the ski run, and further down this gully, we saw a regiment of Trollius europaeus.

Crocus vernus albiflorus

Right at the top of the slope, in the corner between the path down and the ski run, was a mound of snow yet to melt. Around this were our first and nearly only crocuses of the holiday.  We found a few more the following day, but that was all.

Viola calcarata

I was very excited to find big patches of Viola calcarata here; in our trips to the Dolomites we saw very few violas.

There was plenty more to photograph:

• Pyramidal Bugle (Ajuga pyramidalis)
• Daphne mezereum
• Alpine Coltsfoot (Homogyne alpina)
• Little clumps of Androsace obtusifolia growing amongst Vaccinium

But it was time to catch up with the others, so we took a last few pictures, and walked back up and over the ridge.  Every minute the clouds were moving, hiding and revealing the mountains around us.  It was a lovely day – warm sunshine and a gentle breeze, with drifting clouds, few of which were dark enough to bring a shower.

Luzula lutea

As we went, we admired a little yellow rush, which I think is Luzula lutea, and fine specimens of Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa).

Pulsatilla halleri

As we descended a gentle slope to the lake, my attention was drawn immediately to a meadow on the left. This damp meadow was a play area for children, but also host to a wonderful display of flowers.

First, Pulsatilla halleri in good condition.  We had seen some flowers earlier, when descending from the station, but those were rather tired.  It was lovely to see this growing among drifts of yellow Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia.

Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia

The deep blue flowers of Gentiana acaulis provided a fantastic counterpoint to the yellow Pulsatillas.

Gentiana acaulis

Some of the gentians were deep blue, others were closer to purple, but all had the shiny bosses inside the throat of the flower which I associate with G. acaulis.

Leisee

Eventually I reached the side of the lake.  I couldn’t see where the others were, but there were youngsters everywhere, playing in the snow and the freezing water.  Finally I spotted Helen and the others on the loungers around the end of the lake.

Pulsatilla vernalis

As I made my way over to them, around the snow, I passed more crocuses, mainly trampled, and a few yellow stars of another snowmelt plant, Gagea fragifera.  But my most exciting discovery was a third snowmelt plant, the white globes and egg-yolk centres of Pulsatilla vernalis.

Leisee view

It was good to stop and rest beside the lake for few minutes.

After a while, Helen and I set off to explore the path beyond the lake, while Michael and Diane stayed and sketched.  As we went, Helen took her own pictures of Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia and Gentiana acaulis. That phone does a great job.

Arnica montana

The bank through the heather on the north side of the lake was scattered with boulders, which held some different plants, including Valeriana tripteris, familiar to us from the Dolomites, and Arnica montana.  The Arnica was in lovely condition, but still looked a bit untidy, as it always does.

Pedicularis tuberosa

We found a yellow Pedicularis, but not the species we saw in the Dolomites.  With the brown staining to the deeply serrated leaves, these seem to match pictures of Pedicularis tuberosa.

Gentiana acaulis pale form

There was a large colony of Gentiana acaulis here, among the heather.  Most were already over, but the few that we found still open suggested that the entire bank had been covered with very pale blue flowers.

Thlaspi sylvium

Here, for the first time, we found white crucifer flowers, which we think are the local speciality Thlaspi sylvium.  It is not quite endemic to the Mattertal valley, but this is very much its stronghold.  We were to see a lot more of it in the coming days.

Across the valley, the clouds parted briefly to show the snow and underlying ice below the Gabelhorn.

Biscutella laevigata

We saw good clumps of Biscutella laevigata here, another favourite from the Dolomites.

Geranium rivulare

Soon we left the lake, crossed over a ridge and found ourselves descending a stabilised scree with beautiful little ‘gardens’.  This one features, Geranium rivulare and G. sylvestris, Euphorbia cyparissias, and that plant with curious yellow leaves which we could not identify the previous day.

Aster alpinus

In places among the boulders Aster alpinus grew, and a smaller yellow Plantago, which is probably Plantago alpina.

Gymnadenia rhellicani

I was surprised to find a few Vanilla orchids here (formerly Nigritella nigra subsp rhellicani).

Orchis mascula

Nearby, I found the local version of the Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula, just going over.

Erysimum rhaeticum

I photographed several plants we saw the previous day, including Hieracium pilosella, Thesium alpinum and a dense patch of the yellow wallflower Erysimum rhaeticum.

Not to mention a large mushroom; it looks good, but could be poisonous; I just don’t know enough.

Thymus species

Thyme crept among the rocks and clumps of grass.  As on day 1, I’m not sure of the species.

We had wonderful views back down the valley, past Sunnegga and across to the glacial moraines and mountains I remarked on earlier.  On the left is the Gabelhorn, to the right (I think) the Mettelhorn. (Not to mention Helen enjoying the benefit of her ‘sit-mat’).

Saxifraga exarata subsp moschata

Nestled tightly among the rocks we found mossy saxifrages, I think Saxifraga exarata subsp moschata.

Dactylorhiza viridis

Right beside the path, we stumbled across a large group of Frog Orchids (formerly Coeloglossum viride).

Helianthemum nummularium

As we climbed, the soil seemed to be getting thinner, and the turf was studded with low growing flowers including Minuartia, the little yellow plantain Plantago alpina, and rockroses.  I think the last was Helianthemum nummularium, larger than the little Helianthemum alpestre.  Nearby grew the parasitic purple Bartsia alpina.

The path was climbing steadily, and we felt maybe we had come far enough, so we stopped to explore our packed lunch on a rocky outcrop with lovely views down the valley.

Antennaria dioica

As we sat and ate, my eye kept catching on a patch of pink on the grass a little way away.  After eating, I explored, and found wonderful carpets of Antennaria dioica, in both pink and white forms.

Dianthus sylvestris

I stopped for Dianthus sylvestris on the way back down the path, but again it was a plant with many buds, and just one flower open.

Alpine garden

This rock looked just like a trough garden, with plants including Potentilla, Thymus, Euphorbia cyparissias and Sempervivum arachnoideum.

As we made our way back up to the Leisee, a marmot on a bank below us raised the alarm.  Strange that it should object so strongly to walkers, when it was living so close to the building below.

Vaccinium myrtillus

We completed our circuit of the Leisee by exploring the bank on the south side of the lake.  The vegetation here was mostly ericaceous with banks of heather and small ericaceous shrubs.  We saw two species of Vaccinium in flower, V. vitis-idaea, and pictured here, V. myrtillus or Bilberry.  These red globes that look like berries are indeed flowers.

Trifolium alpinum

Near the lake, away from the banks of ericaceous shrubs, we found the flowers of Trifolium alpinum, the alpine clover, as well as Geum rivale (Water Avens) and a little forget-me-not.

Trollius europaeus

Also by the edge of the lake, I photographed good clumps of Trollius europaeus.

We stopped at the loungers by the end of lake, and watched a group of kids having a wonderful time; messing about with a canoe, and splashing in and out of the icy waters.  But not for long; we had a short sharp shower, and had to retreat to a picnic shelter.

When the rain abated, I ventured out to photograph the plants in the meadow again – Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia, Gentiana acaulis, and of course Pulsatilla halleri.

After that, it was straightforward to return to Sunnegga station (there’s even a little lift to save you trudging up the steepest slope).  We had a drink and an ice cream at the self-service café there, and then descended on the funicular to Zermatt.

Syringa komarowii

On our way back through Zermatt to the hotel, we found this pretty lilac bush, which seems to be Syringa komarowii possibly subsp. reflexa.

That was a very easy day.  We walked no more than a mile from the station and back, with two small climbs of 50m or so. Though Helen still managed to rack up over 5 miles and 11,500 steps over the course of the day.