Hi There Hive Family,
Big winter wave has hit Bulgaria and Europe as a whole. Our mountains are already celebrating our first snowfalls of the season. A perfect time to share my second day Swiss experience with a peak of over 4000 meters where the snow is present throughout the year. It never melts.
Our starting from where we took a lift to Little Matterhorn was the city of Zermatt. It is actually the main point where most of the peaks are being climbed.
This is the cable car to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. There were people inspecting it and then putting provisions on the bottom chains to be carried up to the final station. A wonderful experience with spectacular views of Peak Matterhorn and the Swiss Alps as a whole. I loved it.
We had to switch cable cars. There is an established transport system with different routes to different places. This one is smaller but newer and really comfortable. The views were outstanding.
Here we are at Klein Matterhorn. This is almost 3900 meters high. And no wonder the is a skiing slope. This is amazing and at this height, it is a vigorous cardiovascular activity as well. You get oxygenated and then have much much energy when you go back down. There were helicopters swarming around the whole time. That was assuring and gave us the security that even if something happens, the help is not far away.
Not a single cloud today. Luckily we had our suncremes with us. We did not want to get burned and all read during and after our hike. It is not our last planned peak so we we not going to take any chances. And so after a little preparations and putting on our crampons we headed to peak Breithorn on the side of the ski area. And immeditely we were warned of possible crevasses and avalanches. This is no joke.
We started our traverse. It was ok at the beginning but it was very soon to get quite steep and very dangerous. The plain part was not so safe as cracks and other glaciers do exist and there is always a possibility to fall into one of those. We had to strictly follow the trails. Thankfully, the trails were good to follow and we were not alone today.
It is time to put on the real gear. The ropes and the ice picks are a must here. We tied each other in order to climb as one team together. In this way we can control each other and stay safer. Otherwise we risk any of us to go too far or be left behind. Equal tempo and communication is key here.
As you can see, although it seems not to be too steep, it is actually very steep. And above 4000 meters high, you head starts to spin and you feel dizzy. Just when you need focus and clear mind, you get the opposite. I also felt fear and light-headed the whole time. This was our first summit of such heights. Even taking a picture was a struggle and a very hard task for me.
Near the summit, there were some groups of people with guides going down so we had somehow manouver and make space because the pathway was only marked with one trail. This was quite a challenge because now the wind got really sharp and strong and we needed much more balance and care. My thoughts were, oh man why do I do this to me. I was so uncomfortable and scared, but we were so close to the peak, I was not giving up. Challenges come to life and we need to deal with them. Giving up is an option only if it is so dangerous you risk your whole life so much it hangs on a string. This wasn't so dangerous. It was my head playing games because of the big altitude.
We are finaly on the top. Peak Breithorn at 4164 meters high. It was so windy I barely could take short steps without fearing of falling. The peak was good shaped and had enough space to stand but this was like a wind storm. Horrible experience with amazing views. We couldn't stay on the top for a long time so we took pictures and hid ourselves.
Everything here looks easy and it seems we are having fun. It was not like that. The moments were really intense and we felt the harsh weather directly. The views however were pristine and spectacular.
Enough picture for today. Time to go back and enjoy a successful summit of more than 4000 meters high. Personal record. But in order to celebrate, we did have to come down unhurt and so we did.
Three happy campers or should I say three happy alpine hikers. Now we just had to take the cable car back and our most dangerous hike will be behind us.
Here we are. Safe and sound at Zermatt once more. This way one of a time experience and I hope to come back again and try some similar peak, now that I have more experience. I thank my friends Tony and Bojo for their support and always being there when I needed them. We are a team and we will always be. Man can achieve anything with the right friends!
Thank you for checking out my blog :)
Stay happy, be peaceful!
Namaste
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