Glacier with a capital "G"! - Day Three

Our group got to know each other fairly well at dinner last night and were ready to hike together all week.  We ate breakfast at 7:30 am and then walked to the train station by 8:30.  Our trip directors, Nicki Preece and Josh Smith, had everything planned for us!

It's fun to take a train halfway up the mountain and then start hiking.

We rode on a cogwheel train which brought us safely up the mountain.

Started our uphill climb at Gornergrat.

Only in Switzerland will you find so many trains and train stations up in the mountains! There are hotels, restaurants, and even W.C. (water closets) along the trails...something I have never seen in Utah!

I promise that this is the last time you will see us in front of 

the Matterhorn...ha ha..there will be more coming later.  :)

Mark is converted...a born-again hiker.

The Gorner Glacier is a valley glacier close to Zermatt (where our hotel is located) in the canton of Valais.  This glacier is 8.7 miles long and a mile wide!  It covers 22 square miles and is the second largest glacial system in the Alps (the largest is the Aletsch Glacier, which we will hike up to later this week in the Lauterbrunen Valley).  This glacier melts off to form the Gornera River which flows through Zermatt and right in front of our hotel.  The hydroelectric power company captures most of this water to create electricity for this region.

A small hut or place of refuge for hikers...

A view from higher up...

This glacier was below the Breithorn...you can see a small glacial lake flowing over a water fall (center left) and then flowing into a river.  We could hear the roar of this massive waterfall from up on the mountainside.

Another glacier meeting up with the Gorner Glacier.

Glaciers are definitely NOT smooth sheets of ice.  This massive thing has rivulets, crevasses, fissures, and other interesting obstacles that would keep the most skilled mountaineer on his toes.

Mark and D.J. look at the glacier.

A small marginal glacial lake, called a Gomersee, near the edge...with icebergs.

Kathy Miner 

Steve Miner

Mark and Annie climbing up the mountain...

Annie, Jen, Arti and Prashant taking a short breather...

We saw this sparkling rock everywhere...it added a bit of magic to our climb...think it's mica.
How many of you see a face in this rock?  It is looking to the right?

Beautiful wildflowers grew close to the ground at this elevation...

This is Edelweiss...reminds me of sea urchins...:)

Made it to the summit of Gornergrat....10,000+ feet...and fantastic views in all directions.

Like the Gorner Glacier with Switzerland's highest peak to the left....Monte Rosa.

Another view more to the right...how many pics of glaciers do you want to see??? :)

And yet another shot...it's just so overwhelmingly huge!

A view to the right shows the long medial moraine...it's made of huge boulders and rock which have been pushed up by the moving glacial ice as it moves over the valley floor.

Saw these red flags on the summit...perhaps they are used to mark the summit ridge route in deep snow?

Love this shot of Mark summiting with the glacier behind him...

The Swiss had this little plaque at the top of the summit...translation needed, please...:)

Thanks to Dave Kenison for the following translation:

"All the beauty of heaven and earth is written in Thee alone;
I shall have nothing dearer on earth than Thee, beloved Jesus."

How fitting to give credit to He who is the Creator of all this beauty...a gift to us, from Him, with love.

The summit...packed from the people who took THE TRAIN up here!  Yes, we could

have ridden up here, but this is a hiking tour, right?   

The Gornergrat Hotel...highest in the Alps and accessible by train.  A beautiful hotel with elegant dining and facilities, and two observatories on top!

Mark made it!  He called it "steep and relentless"...but felt great afterwards.

This is the mountain we climbed...see the winding, steep trail up the right side?

Our tour guides bring up the neatest Swiss treats...lots of Swiss chocolate and cookies.

So far, Ragusa is my favorite...tastes nothing like Ragu....:)

The Gornergrat Hotel...highest hotel in the Alps.

People eating on the balcony...a full department store and restaurant inside.

We saw a group of Swiss people playing cards at a table while yodeling!

A map of Gornergrat....

The lobby of the little chalet where we are staying...EVERYONE congregated 

here because of a very important amenity...WiFi signal.  :)

Another brand of Swiss chocolate...good...still looking for the best tasting brand.

Our tour guide, Nicki Preece, who happened to serve an LDS Mission in Switzerland several years ago, shows us where we will hike tomorrow....the anticipation was always half the excitement!

This cute young couple were in our tour...D.J. and Jen Todd.  

They have toured many places around the world, including Iceland.

Arti and Prashant, both anesthesiologists, love to hike!

I have a thing about chalets...I love architecture and I love flowers, so these buildings really appeal to me.  I had to photograph the ones I thought were especially beautiful.

Who wouldn't want to enjoy the fresh air on the balcony with those beautiful flowers in front of them?

At the end of each day we dine at a fine restaurant and try out new cuisine.  Here  we go to the Julen...a fine French restaurant wherein I had roasted garlic noodles, beef fillet, and the best green salad I have ever eaten.  Each restaurant has a unique salad bar with interesting types of vegetables like marinated shredded cabbage, marinated peppers, marinated cucumbers, shredded celery root (especially tasty), shredded beets, cream corn that is superb, and more.