Day 1

13.1 miles

Marmotte sightings: 0

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Arriving in Zermatt, it’s impossible not to keep looking at the mesmerising sight of the Matterhorn, so our first run had to be heading straight for it, to the highest point you can get to before ropes etc are required.

We decided our only possible option was to start & finish our run at a lovely marmotte statue in Zermatt’s main square by the church. Specifically by patting the head of one which seems traditional, given his golden head.

We started low(ish) heading up the valley along the river for Zmutt and Stafel, and enjoyed lovely trails with just about runnable gradient, before kicking up steeply towards the Matterhorn itself from Stafel.  From here, it was over 1,000m straight up and our legs had a few words to say about this.

The final section was a spectacular rocky ridge with occasional handrails and steps to the Hörnlhütte at 3,260m.  With no acclimatisation, we were very breathy and a bit light headed, but nothing a spag bol and chocolate cake couldn’t fix (inevitably at Swiss high altitude premium prices).

From there it was literally downhill all the way, a 1,600m descent via Schwarzsee and Hermetje, back to the marmotte statue.  And only a few horizontal metres through town to a celebratory spritz to mark our first day!