Epilog
Matterhorn
The story of Zermatt is the story of the Matterhorn.
What a mountain, what a silhouette! Four of the first mountaineers
found
their death there, and many others from then on, among them a friend of
mine. He slipped and died in 1988 while trying to climb the rock on his
own.
*
The first time I became aware of the village of Zermatt as being a
possible
location for winter holidays, I happened to receive a booking
confirmation
that told me in bold letters: «Freier Blick aufs Matterhorn!»,
what meant that from the windows of our
rooms
we had undesturbed Matterhorn scenery. In fact, one of the most
interesting
fotographs was taken directly from the balcony at about half past 6 in the morning (see below).
The rock is to be seen nearly everywhere. It jumps into view - and onto the fotos. All slopes are carefully arranged to make sure that you never loose sight of this most uncommon landmark. If you take a picture you will find the Matterhorn somewhere in the background. Downtown Zermatt it reflects on the window-pane, and even inside the supermarkets it grins at you from some packing material...
*
But
all of this means nothing compared to the morning. Let's imagine a
marvellous
morning. The first to be seen by the people of Zermatt is the
Matterhorn,
a golden shape in the light of the rising sun. Deep in the valley it is
still dark. The birds are still asleep. However, high above the chimney
tops the Matterhorn shows its gleaming wall. People of former times did
contribute to this impressive appearance. When the moon sets near the
mountain
ridge it becomes even more impressive.
*
The tourist stands still for a moment. Then he gets out his camera and
leaps. He puts on his back pack, takes his skis (or snowboard) and
turns
towards Winkelmatten. This is the day to get on top of Klein
Matterhorn -
and probably visit the other side, the skiing area of Breuil-Cervinia.
The rock is to be seen nearly everywhere. It jumps into view - and onto the fotos. All slopes are carefully arranged to make sure that you never loose sight of this most uncommon landmark. If you take a picture you will find the Matterhorn somewhere in the background. Downtown Zermatt it reflects on the window-pane, and even inside the supermarkets it grins at you from some packing material...