Day 2

14 miles

Marmotte sightings: 1

The weather had closed in last night and we woke up to drizzle and a chilly 8 degrees.  We decided to see if Zermatt had some yoga on offer and managed to find a little studio with a combined Pilates and TRX class.  It was more 80s Germanic fitness than latest LA fad, but it was a nice start to the day and good core strengthening and mobility.

We had been planning a run lower down the valley today anyway, and the weather forecast seemed to be positive for the afternoon.  We went to our favourite coffee shop, so Zermatt-chic that they serve their seeded wholemeal croissant on a piece of linen (CHFs are just Monopoly money right?!) We made a plan, bought train tickets, stocked up supermarket supplies and after a quick turnaround with inevitable super sprint to meet Swiss train precision timings, we were on our way to Randa, 2 stops down the valley.

We headed straight up the steep valley side – a VK (vertical kilometre) as the lingo goes – to hit the Europaweg.  It was in beautiful woods, fiendishly steep in parts and we saw numerous chamois (or ibex?) trotting through the undergrowth.

From there it was part of the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, and we ran along an incredible contour, which followed numerous valleys walls, ups and downs, but led all the way back to Zermatt.

Early on, there were hair-raising edges, a tunnel and bridge to cross over a ferocious waterfall.

The drizzle had been gradually wearing off and the sun threatening to break through, and after rounding a huge rock outcrop on a deep spur, we suddenly saw the Matterhorn again, appearing through the clouds for the first time.

We followed an exhilarating path etched into the side of the valley wall, with constant sight of the iconic mountain.  Along with a large marmotte running at high speed, we also saw an incredible vulture/ eagle, apparently recently reintroduced to the valley.  It was magnificent to see, with huge wings that made you wonder whether it could really be a bird, it was so huge.

After the Sunnega, the railway up from Zermatt, we dropped down at high speed on fantastic tracks back into town, and checked in at the marmotte statue, the de facto start/ finish point!