Zermatt 2024 Day 3: RiffelAlp

Gornergrat train

It was another lovely day, with sunshine and white clouds, and little wind.  This was the first day since the floods that the Gornergrat railway had been running, and it was packed with tourists eager to make their way up to the snow and views at the top.  We were happy to leave that for another day, and descend from the train at the Riffelalp stop.

The train runs smoothly out of the Zermatt station, up the valley side, and across the graceful 90m bridge over the spectacular Findelbach Falls.  On the other side, passengers were competing to take pictures of the Matterhorn rising above the valley.  The line winds slowly up the 600m from Zermatt, passing through tunnels and under long galleries to protect it from snow and avalanche.  It passes through woods magenta with Rhododendron ferrugineum, and eventually comes to a halt at Riffelalp.

Views North up the Mattertal Valley

Even from the train we had magnificent views northwards up the Mattertal past Tasch, with the Taschhorn (4490m) looming above it.  On the slopes we had clear views of the Sunnegga station where we had enjoyed ourselves the previous day.

Pedicularis verticillata

The first plant I photographed was this magenta Pedicularis, which I think is Pedicularis verticillata.

Thlaspi sylvium

By the side of the path, there was a constant drift of a little white Alyssum-like crucifer.  Eventually we concluded that this was again Thlaspi sylvium, which we had seen on the other side of the valley the previous day.

Pinguicula alpina

Then on our right, by a small trickle running down the rock face, we found a small group of one of my favourite alpines, Pinguicula alpina.

As we walked eastwards through the forest, we had rocky banks on our right, and wonderful views northwards across the Findelbach valley on our left.

Viola biflora

In the shade, at the bottom of these north-facing rocks, were large clumps of another of my favourite plants, Viola biflora.

Luzula lutea

Also familiar from the previous day were Valeriana tripteris, and the little rush, Luzula lutea.

Salix species

We saw quite a number of willow bushes along the path in the shade, of at least two different species.  One had green undersides to the leaves, the other was almost felted (S. helvetica ?).  I haven’t tried seriously to work out what species they were.

Saxifraga exarata

On the rocks beside us, we saw occasional clumps of Saxifraga exarata.

Rhodiola rosea

Lower down, in the grass beside the path, the roseroot, Rhodiola rosea, was just coming into flower.

Pinus cembra

Soon, we came upon a little meadow within the wood, surrounded by ancient pines.  Michael stopped to sketch, while we explored the meadow.

Gentiana acaulis

The deep blue of Gentiana acaulis immediately drew the eye, contrasting with the pale yellow of Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia.

Viola calcarata

Amongst the blue of the gentians were patches of violet; this was Viola calcarata again, scattered liberally across the meadow.

Diane and I were in our element.

Gentiana verna

Dotted everywhere were the little blue stars of spring gentians.  Most of these were Gentiana verna, with strap-like pointed basal leaves.

Gentiana brachyphylla

But among them were plants with much wider leaves, which I think were G. brachyphylla.

Pseudorchis albida

In the edge of the wood, we came across two clumps of orchids in bud.  Based upon what we found later in the holiday, these were almost certainly Pseudorchis albida, the Small White orchid.

Gypsophila repens

Gypsophila repens revelled in the bare soil and pine needles amongst the roots of the ancient pines.

Soon we started moving a little further on, past a stabilised scree on our right.  Here the vegetation seemed to contain more ericaceous plants, probably indicating a transition onto more acidic rocks.

Rhododendron ferrugineum

Now big bushes of Rhododendron ferrugineum hedged the path.

Vaccinium myrtillus

Between the rhododendrons, the banks were clothed with heather, and the two species of Vaccinium we saw at Sunnegga the previous day.  First bilberries, Vaccinium myrtillus, with its curious almost berry-like red flowers.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Much smaller, but familiar from our trips to the Dolomites, was the Cowberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea.

Between the path and the scree, we found lots of familiar flowers, reminiscent of the volcanic rocks at Porta Vescovo in the Dolomites:

• Androsace obtusifolia
• Minuartia verna
• Veronica fruticans
• Trifolium alpinum

Potentilla aurea

Notable among these was the lovely Potentilla aurea, another reminder of Porta Vescovo.

Other plants we found in this open area included:

• Gagea fragifera
• Leucanthemopsis alpina
• Sempervivum montanum.

Soldanella alpina

Just as the path ran out of the open area, back into shade, we encountered two perfect flowerheads of Soldanella alpina beautifully backlit by the sun.

Cystopteris fragilis ?

Once again the right hand side of the path was a rocky bank, in places forming little cliffs.  Nestled into crevices in the shade were the fresh new fronds of ferns, possibly Cystopteris fragilis.

All along the path, the pine duff was full of little holes. We have no idea at all what made them.

Saxifraga cuneifolia

In the pine litter, in the shade, we found the rosettes and flowers of a little ‘London Pride’ type saxifrage, Saxifraga cuneifolia.

Gagea serotina

In a sunny opening at the top of the bank, I was delighted to find the tiny white flowers of the Snowdon Lily, Gagea serotina.  The only time I have seen it previously was at Porta Vescovo, where the flowers bobbled around in the breeze, and were near impossible to photograph.  These were much easier.

Thlaspi sylvium

The little white Thlaspi was still with us, nestled among the rocks.

Primula hirsuta

In deep shade between the trees on the bank, we found good clumps of Primula hirsuta, still in flower in the cool.

Gentiana brachyphylla

Soon we reached another open area, where the valley side had slid down.  Since the transition to more acidic rocks, all the spring gentians we saw were Gentiana brachyphylla.

Balmbrunnen

We were approaching a stream, the Balmbrunnen, crossed by a well-constructed wooden footbridge.  Beside it, Alchemilla leaves covered in very fine silt gave evidence that the stream had been in spate a few days earlier, and had gushed over a wide strip of ground.

Immediately the other side of the stream, Diane and I came across Helen and Michael, who had decided to stop in the shade of some pines for lunch.  We had not passed a bench for a while, but the boulders made a good stand-in as seats.  Of course, 100 yards further on, as soon as we got back into the trees, we encountered two benches.

The path had turned a little northwards, so while we ate, we had excellent views of the Matterhorn to the south-west, and west across the Mattertal valley towards the Zinalrothorn (?).

Before long, we set off back into the woods again, through larch and Pinus cembra.

Empetrum nigrum

Here we found a third little ericaceous shrub, Empetrum nigrum, the Crowberry, though it was not yet in flower.  Near it was the little Alpine Coltsfoot, Homogyne alpina.

Soon, we came to a section where the path crossed a more recent rockfall consisting of huge boulders.

Many of the rocks were covered in a patchwork of lichen and algae, and I could easily have been distracted into taking many pictures here.

Ze Segwjinen Mountain Lodge

After crossing another mountain stream, we arrived at the mountain lodge at Ze Segwjinen.  This was a huge improvement on the automated fast food outlets near the railway and cable car stations.  There was a comfortable terrace, with an extensive menu of meals and drinks made to order.  Most importantly from my point of view, they served affogato.  We never did find out what was in the Cholera Pie though !

The lodge sits almost on a shoulder of the mountain with views further east up towards the long retreat of the Findelgletscher, back south west towards the Matterhorn, or across the valley across Sunnegga and west towards the Zinalrothorn.

Crocus vernus albiflorus

Between the lodge and the scree running down from the mountain above was a (very) damp meadow.  Here we saw a few late flowers of Crocus vernus albiflorus.

Ajuga pyramidalis

The fascinating pagodas of Pyramidal Bugle (Ajuga pyramidalis) were common in this marshy area.

Gentiana acaulis

There were some fine plants of Gentiana acaulis, a few remaining flowers on Pulsatilla alpina subsp apiifolia, and a mass of Pulsatilla seedheads, probably P. halleri.

Botrychium lunaria

On the grassy banks beside the path there were good clumps of the little fern Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria).

I wish we had had more time to continue to the Grunsee, only half a kilometer or so further, and to explore the wet moorland between the lodge and the lake, which promised a rich flora.  However, we had progressed so slowly getting to the lodge, that it was prudent to set of back down the path to retrace our tracks.

Hippocrepis comosa

Returning past the mountain lodge, the bank was yellow with Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa).

Pinus cembra

Our return journey seemed to pass much quicker (botanising and photography were much reduced), and before long we were back at the meadow where the most ancient Pinus cembra dozed in the afternoon sun.

The final section of path gave us wonderful views westwards towards the Aschhorn.

Directly across the Mattertal valley, above Zermatt, steep wooded slopes led up to the snow blanketing the sleeping Zinalrothorn.

The bustling town of Zermatt lay in the valley below.

The path made its final turn southwards towards the station, giving us spectacular views of the Matterhorn in afternoon light.

Anthyllis vulneraria

The last plant before the station was a bank of Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria).

Above, paragliders swirled across the valley.  All week, as soon as the weather was reasonable, apparently crazy people with big backpacks took the cable cars or even helicopters up to the top of the Rothorn, and then jumped off.  It takes all sorts.

All we had to do now was wait for the train.  Helen’s step count for the day was 14,577 (6.4 miles) with 25 flights of stairs.