http://www.zermatt.ch/winterwandern/Winterwanderwege/Winkelmatten-Sunnegga
A winter hike turned into early summer hike this Christmas. I have been hearing a lot about lack of snow this winter, and it has been really sunny. But I did not realize the extent to which this has affected real life till I decided to go on a winter hike in Zermatt which turned into an early summer hike with only patchy snow.
In an attempt to find some real guaranteed snow, I decided to go all the way to Zermatt for a winter hike. Zermatt stands at 1400m and the mountains around at 3000m+, which means the town is typically snow covered by Christmas or at least you can find snow in mountains. This year the story was very different. There was very little difference between what we saw back at peak of summer, and now in middle of winter.
The hike starts from Zermatt church. There are couple of ways to get to Sunnegga. We took the path through Winkelmatten which seemed shorter and simpler. There was no sign of snow in the town or on the trail. Though once the trail leaves the town there were many icy patches on trail. These were covered by grass, stones and fallen larch leaves which were providing perfect traction. The trail was clearly very well maintained.
Matterhorn was constantly in the view. As we got higher, it became clearer, along with other mountains around it. After a while the trail does become covered in snow, which is still easy to hike on. Once at Findlen the ski lifts are visible. The small ski village has many restaurants. Here it was clear that a skiing slope has been created out of no snow. There was a road of snow surrounded by clear ground. View of Matterhorn is just amazing from here. The Sunnegga point is only 30 - 40min away from here. We stopped on the way at a perfect spot just short of Sunnegga to have lunch in clear view of Matterhorn.
At Sunnegga there is a small area where people were learning to ski. After hanging out there for a while, we returned back. I was a bit apprehensive about the initial icy patches on the trail, but there was no need to worry. People who made the trail knew what they were doing. Great end to a perfectly sunny winter day.
A winter hike turned into early summer hike this Christmas. I have been hearing a lot about lack of snow this winter, and it has been really sunny. But I did not realize the extent to which this has affected real life till I decided to go on a winter hike in Zermatt which turned into an early summer hike with only patchy snow.
In an attempt to find some real guaranteed snow, I decided to go all the way to Zermatt for a winter hike. Zermatt stands at 1400m and the mountains around at 3000m+, which means the town is typically snow covered by Christmas or at least you can find snow in mountains. This year the story was very different. There was very little difference between what we saw back at peak of summer, and now in middle of winter.
Matterhorn was constantly in the view. As we got higher, it became clearer, along with other mountains around it. After a while the trail does become covered in snow, which is still easy to hike on. Once at Findlen the ski lifts are visible. The small ski village has many restaurants. Here it was clear that a skiing slope has been created out of no snow. There was a road of snow surrounded by clear ground. View of Matterhorn is just amazing from here. The Sunnegga point is only 30 - 40min away from here. We stopped on the way at a perfect spot just short of Sunnegga to have lunch in clear view of Matterhorn.
At Sunnegga there is a small area where people were learning to ski. After hanging out there for a while, we returned back. I was a bit apprehensive about the initial icy patches on the trail, but there was no need to worry. People who made the trail knew what they were doing. Great end to a perfectly sunny winter day.
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