Into The Snow, 9/16/1994 On The Highest Cog-Wheel Train in Europe

Fondue Party Concludes
The Evening

By Bob Van Leer

(ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND, Sept. 16, 1994) - Our daughter, Sherry, called at 6:30 a.m. saying we must look out the window. High above Zermatt, which was still dark, the Matterhorn, covered with new snow, stood bathed by the morning sun, a really breath-taking sight.

The Matterhorn is a mountain 4478 meters (14,692 feet) in height of which the last 3900 feet is a sheer rock pinnacle. The mountain is so often covered with clouds we were warned beforehand we might not be able to see it in our two-day stay. But we were able to see the Matterhorn off and on all morning before it clouded in for good in the afternoon.

  Later in the morning we took an hour-long cog-wheel railway trip to Gornergrat, the highest cog-wheel railway in Europe. The station is 10,132 feet elevation. By comparison, the top of Mt. Hood is 11,235. Zermatt itself is 5220 feet so the train gains 5000 feet in eleva-tion in during the trip. I asked the distance from Zermatt to Gornergrat and was told at our hotel it was three kilometers (1.86 miles). I questioned this figure but they insisted it is accurate.

  The scenery from the train is spectacular. Evergreen forests give way to grass at timberline and then to rock. A little above timberline we ran into the first snow. At Gornergrat the snow was about eight inches deep. Indications, such as snow fences, led us to believe the snow level will be in feet before the winter is out. The last part of the rail trip was above the height of many of the surrounding mountains and the view was over the top of white peaks fading into the distance, the top of the world.

  After returning to Zermatt, we strolled up the city's one business street which was thick with tourist shoppers. Merchandise was heavy on ski clothing and equipment and Swiss watches. And, of course, many gift shops.

  It was time for lunch and Sherry's husband, Scott, was having a Big Mac attack so we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. McDonald's restaurants are all over the world now. A Big Mac in Zermatt costs 5.90 Swiss franc (which is about $4.70 U. S.) compared to $1.95 in Brookings.

FONDUE PARTY
  The day concluded with a fondue party at a restaurant across the street from our hotel. We have eaten fondue before, but Switzerland is where the custom originated and they do it with style. In addition to the traditional cheese fondue (with Swiss cheese, of course), a pot of boiling water was placed on the table and thin slices of beef and pork or veal were placed alongside it. The meat slices were speared with a long fork and cooked in the water, then flavored with a half-dozen different kind of sauces provided. In addition, there was thin-sliced dried beef and a number of chilled vegetables.

  All of this was washed down with quite good Swiss white wine. We were told water was not appropriate because it did not mix well with the cheese fondue. A good excuse anyway.

  Tomorrow we are to be on the road again. We have to retrace our steps as no roads or railroads cross the mountains here. We are to go back down the mountain and take easier terrain to Lugano, our last stop in Switzerland, and then go just across the border to Lake Como in Italy to spend the night.
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