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Our adventure started with a 4 hour drive, winding through narrow mountain roads, passing through a portion of Italy, and finally a short train ride to the town of Zermatt, at the base of the Matterhorn. In our tour book Zermatt is a town that is described as a place “to see and be seen.” For us climbers it was the obvious place to go. Gucci stores, expensive food and a tram ticket that cost about $100.00 per person to ride up to a vista point. After a few seconds in town we quickly decided on a more affordable way to enjoy the natural beauty of the Matterhorn: Go to the grocery store, get a few snacks and have a picnic in the grass with a perfect view of the mountain. Oh, and if we were crazy enough to have bought the tram tickets we would have arrived at the vista right when clouds blew in, completely blocking any views of the upper portion of the mountain.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\nOur picnic spot below the Matterhorn<\/p>\n
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\nDriving across the border to Italy<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nItaly<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n3km? More like 300km of winding roads and being car sick<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWaiting for the train to Zermatt<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWaiting to see the Matterhorn aboard the train<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWalking through Zermatt<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe Matterhorn towering above Zermatt<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWalking to our picnic spot<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nHeading out of town, getting away from the Gucci stores<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe view from our high point along the trail<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWindow shopping with an appetite (dangerous!)<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nDriving our car onto a train to ride through a mountain. Wow! The Swiss have it figured out.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nCar on train<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nDriving over the St. Gotthard pass looking for any signs of the summer time bouldering spot<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nStill driving on winding roads through more mountains<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nMountains!<\/p>\n