Zermatt at the end of June 2024

Wonderful company

Diane Clement, a good friend from the shows, and the former director of the Seed Exchange, suggested that we accompany her and her husband Michael on their annual summer break to Switzerland, specifically to Zermatt.  It was a very kind invitation, and we hope that they enjoyed our company, as we enjoyed theirs.

The Hotel Alex

We stayed at the Hotel Alex, considerably more upmarket than we are used to, but Diane’s favourite hotel.  The hotel was very luxurious, though we made little use of the facilities apart from the restaurant, and the staff throughout were courteous and helpful.

The bar / lounge was large and comfortable, and well-stocked, with a large terrace, and downstairs there were extensive fitness facilities including a swimming pool and sauna.  We managed to get out in search of plants every day, and returned tired and ready for a rest before dinner.  The UEFA European Cup was on while we were there, so most nights large screens in the bar featured football matches.  The night England played Switzerland the staff seemed a little distracted.

The hotel is also home to the Alex Grill, ‘serving meat and fish specialities from the Valais region; the chefs use local and seasonal ingredients to conjure up new creations and innovative takes on the classics’.  The four course evening meals were certainly excellent, in a French style, but most of what we ate owed little to the Valais region – scallops and octopus featured regularly.

Buffet breakfasts filled us with energy to set out for the day whilst we studied the weather forecast, and the packed lunches were more than we could eat – after the first day, we left selected items in our room to make a snack on our return from the mountains.

Timing and Weather

The timing of our trip was determined by the summer opening of the cable car from Blauherd to the Rothorn; we were all keen to see some of the high alpine plants which grow up there.

While we were there (the last week of June and the first of July), the weather was reasonably good – we had sunshine most days, with occasional showers, and a couple of heavy downpours which were well-forecast and easy to avoid.  However, it was a late season, with heavy snow in April, and some of the places around 3000m where we hoped to find high alpines (Gornergrat 3135m, Trockener Steg 2930m, and Rothorn 3100m) were still largely snowbound.

Floods

However, you may remember this summer’s news story about Zermatt.  Three days before we were due to travel, heavy thunderstorms combined with melting snow caused serious flash floods in this area of the Alps, and through the middle of the town.  Road and rail links were broken, and the town was cut off for 24 hours.

By the time we travelled, a temporary bus service (described as an ‘Ersatz’ bus service) had been set up to replace the train service up the valley from Visp.  This was quite chaotic for the first couple of days, but Swiss efficiency had reasserted itself by our return.  However, even now, the bus service remains in place whilst the railway next to the river is repaired.  At a more minor level, some paths had been washed away, and remain closed.

Tourism

It was a big surprise to us to see the level of tourism.  We had expected the area to be popular with hikers, mountain bikers and mountain sports enthusiasts, including late skiers.

What we had not expected was large groups of tourists from other continents visiting Zermatt as part of a sort of European Grand Tour.  A one night stay, followed by a trip up the rack and pinion railway to Gornergrat at just over 10,000ft, hoping that the weather is reasonable and the Matterhorn is visible, before descending and being whisked off to another centre.  In practice, these large groups had little effect on our activities, though the town main street and the Gornergrat railway could be crowded at times.

The big draw is the distinctive pointed peak of Matterhorn (4478m).  Wherever you go in the town, if you look up, there it is looming over you.  When you walk almost any of the paths on the surrounding slopes, it will be there if the weather gods are feeling kind, and haven’t wreathed it in cloud.

Geography

Our route to Zermatt involved flying to Zurich, and then a long train transfer, changing at Bern, along the Rhone valley to Visp, where we eventually caught the Ersatz bus to Tasch, and then a shuttle train service to Zermatt.

From Zermatt, you can access the mountains (and the flowers) in four main ways.  The town centre is already at around 1600m, lying in the Matter Vispa valley which climbs steeply southwards from the Rhone at Visp.  It is surrounded by high peaks which rise to over 4500m / 15000ft.  It is possible to cross over into Italy by cable car.  The town itself is car-free, and small electric buses and taxis provide transport within the town centre.

Access to the Mountains

From here, you can walk further south up the Zmutt valley, or up the steeper and more severe side-valleys.  Alternatively, there are three routes which provide easy access to the heights.  All are expensive, even with the half-price card which came with our booking, but we were there to see the flowers.

First, the Gornergrat rack and pinion railway runs a regular service to Findelbach, RiffelAlp, Riffelberg, Rotenboden and Gornergrat.

Secondly, a funicular railway takes you up a tunnel to Sunnegga, where you can get a gondola to Blauherd, and then a cable car up to the Rothorn station.

Finally, near the southern end of Zermatt, there is a gondola which takes you up to Furi, and thence to Schwarzsee, Trockener Steg, and then on by cable car to the Klein Matterhorn (3820m) if you wish.  When we were there, even Trockener Steg was largely snowbound.

Geology

The Alps were formed when the African continental plate collided with the European plate.  The top of the Matterhorn, and mountain peaks to the south and west are on African crust.  Peaks to the east are on the European plate.  Between the two is a layer of oceanic crust – mainly metamorphic rocks which have been deep in the earth before returning to the surface.

The places we explored are predominantly on volcanic rocks – basalt and serpentinite, though areas north of Blauherd and Rothorn, and the cliffs along the western side of the valley are on limestone and other calcareous rocks.  The flora we saw was mainly that of acidic rocks; certainly we didn’t encounter a calcareous plant community like that in the Dolomites, with its multitude of orchids.

Plant Identification

These diary entries aim to provide a record of what we saw.  As last year, I have spent considerable time and effort since the trip, trying to name correctly the plants I photographed; books and websites did not always yield a definitive answer.  As well as the many books and obvious websites (the AGS Encyclopaedia), I have found the following useful:

• The Flora Helvetica app
• Quite a lot of the information from Flora Helvetica is available on the info flora checklist here
• The Zermattflora website – not complete, but useful when it does include something
• The flowers of the French Alps here (the plants are often the same).

Diane, of course, was a huge help, having visited the area regularly over the years.  A number of other experts both within and outside the society have given generously of their time and expertise to help me. My thanks to them, and to everyone who helped make this holiday so enjoyable.

And still, grey areas remain.  I am sure that many mistakes and confusions also remain (my own fault – please forgive me), and I welcome any feedback to discuss or correct these (my email address is below).

Locations

Our daily trips were as follows:

• Day 1: Zermatt to Zmutt
• Day 2: Sunnegga
• Day 3: Riffelalp to Ze Seewjinen
• Day 4: Schwarzsee
• Day 5: Blauherd to Stellisee
• Day 6: Furi to Stafelalp
• Day 7: AHV Pensioners Path above the east side of Zermatt
• Day 8: Gornergrat, then Rotenboden to Riffelberg
• Day 9: Trockener Steg, then Schwarzsee
• Day 10: Rothorn then Blauherd to Grindjisee
• Day 11: Rotenboden
• Day 12: Around Zermatt town
• Day 13: Tasch

Finally…

Producing these blogs of the holiday has been fun but a lot of hard work too. I hope it was worthwhile, that those of you who are familiar with the area have enjoyed the memories.

Huge thanks to Diane and Michael for putting up with us and our lack of fitness, for their company and for their insight into potential areas to explore.

In particular, I am indebted to my wife Helen, for her company and patience, and for some of the pictures, particularly those including myself, wearing my trademark white sunhat.