Hornli Hut Day Hike

Weather was good today. We woke up for breakfast at the Hotel Ambience at the alpine village of Zermatt. The morning rays of the sunrise has yet to land on the faces of the Matterhorn. We had our breakfast at a table next to the window with the view of the iconic Matterhorn.

View from our breakfast table

The Matterhorn

Breakfast was good with a wide spread of breads and hot cooked food coming out of the kitchen just in time for our breakfast. After breakfast, we took to the streets making our way along the canal path leading to the cable car or gondola station to get our tickets. Zermatt has no privileged pass for the cable cars, but the usual discount for folks with some annual traveller pass will get some discounts. We were pondering which ticket to buy at that time, to take the one just to get to Schwarzee and back which served us for the hike or to include the ticket to go all the way to the Glacier Museum at the top of the Switzerland side of the alps. We took the all in one ticket which is cheaper compared to later purchasing the ticket at Schwarzsee. Sad to say in the end, we spent of of our time hiking and back to the Schewarzsee station with only 2 hrs left at the Glacier palace. But in the end we did tour the place after rushing back from Horni hut. The place was the same place that we visited some 14 years ago which was called back then as Klein Matterhorn. So now they have renamed it and we thought it was something new. There was a ice place museum and some ice tunnels with sculptures and it was like we spent 30mins up there and was ready to head back to Zermatt.  Maybe the place is good for casual tourists those who wanted o experience snow, walk around the snow fields. Of course the place is a heaven for snow sports and snow trekking adventures.

On the cable car going up to Schwarzsee station

Reaching the Schwarzsee station for our day hike

Back on the hike itself. And so we took the cable car to the Schwarzsee station at 2552m. A simple mid point station with just a gantry and a station control kiosk. This location is quite an attraction on its own with the lake and the little chapel that stood at the edge of the lake for many many years. It did bring back some memories but back then it was in June period 14 years ago and the weather was much colder and didn’t see much hikers. Now is totally different, the landscape was like autumn and trails were clearly seen. Out from the station, we saw quite a handful of small group hikers making there way to the Hornli hut. Some may just be doing a day hike to the hut and back like us, while others may be doing the main Matterhorn climb which requires a stay and preparation work at the Hornli hut. At the station there wasn’t any trail sign boards that say clear where the trail to Hornli hut is. We saw hikers making their way to the left side of the lake going uphill and so we supposed that was the right way and follow on.  At Schwarzee, there is a building which seemed to house a restaurant and some accommodations. We didn’t go to see if it was opened or if the restaurant was opened for that season.

View of the majestic Matterhorn and me. (just outside the cable car gantry

All ready for the day hike

Schwarzsee restaurant and lodge in the near distance

Right at the junction with the path leading to the building and a downhill hiking trail , we took the right turn and down the trail that ran on the left side of the lake. There was a public toilet small building which was also at the junction.

The trail went downhill for small distance before running up the hill over to the other side of the lake. IT was a good day for hiking and we could see hikers in the distance and the path they are taking which gave us more confidence that it was the right path. Come to think of it, there wasn’t any junction or different trails to lead you to the wrong path. Maybe there were no directional signs and so at times new hikers may feel a little insecure if they are on the right path. In our case as it was end summer period and hiking was a popular activity many people came here to do.

That is the way. To the left, to the left.

The distinct hiking trail to the Hornli Hut. (Lake is on the right)

At the starting trail (junction of the public toilet next to the station)

Nice wide trail to the Hornli Hut (just below the part where Matterhorn joins the ridge)

The Schwarzsee (Lake Schwarz) and the little chapel at the lake

At the trailhead

Left path for the hike, not the right path that goes round the right side of lake

Starting on the left side of the lake with the cable car lines behind you and the public toilet behind is the right start. The trail slowly climbed slowly in a zig-zag manner up the face a steep hill. At the top, the trail flattened out and then again started to climbed slowly. There was a part of the trail that ran downhill to some rocky wide path, a path similar to that of a river of rocks. Maybe during the spring season the snow and ice will flow down this wide rock path. The trail cut across this rock and the climb began again.

Besides the lake just after the trail head

Looking back how much we climb for a start.

Staring the gradual zig-zag trail

Path is wide and good. Weather was great for us too.

After clearing the 1st steep hill from the lake

Us

Another spot, another view. (the rocky runoffs that cuts across the trail)

Continuing from where we left off 12 years ago

By now we saw a chairlift station which served skiers in the winter months for skiing over here. Heading in the direction of the man made structure is the marker for those wanting to continue on to the Hornli hut. As we got closer to the Matterhorn, the view changes and at certain part of the trail we were seeing the other faces that other would not get to see from the town of Zermatt.

The chairlift station was closed for the season and maybe opens during the skiing season, but we could hear maintenance staff doing some work inside. This area offered a wide open and unblock view of the Matterhorn, and at this location, we finally saw the directional trail signs indicating that we were on track heading to the hornli hut. The sign also showed the estimated time to get back to the Schwarzsee cable car station.

1st directional marker for the hike from the Schwarzsee station

The wide open area at the chairlift station

Closer view of the Matterhorn (trail continues on the right along the mountain wall.

Picture of us with the Matterhorn  (pic at the chairlift station)

We took some pictures here and continued on the trail. The trail ran along the foot of the mountain wall towards the direction of the Matterhorn. This is the part of the trail that we saw the first metal walkway mounted to the side of the mountain wall. It wasn’t much of a height from the ground below but the sides were steep enough to make the trail without this steel mounted walkway difficult and dangerous to walk. Some of the metal stairs we could see damages from falling boulders created huge dents in the past.

And so we hike on up the mountain wall path

Approaching the 1st metal boardwalk

Thank you for the convenience of this structure

Climbing up

Nature and human structure combined

Me and Matterhorn 

Another bend to the unknown

One of my favourite shot (taken by my wife)

More zig-zag path as we climbed up the mountain wall section

We passed a few metal stairway and at the end, it was a steep zig zag that slowly brought us up to a clear opening, something like the stone entrance to the majestic Matterhorn. Here we were on the top of the long mountain wall that runs like a aqueduct towards the Matterhorn. The entrance seemed to be created or chosen to pass through two towers like guardian overlooking this pass. This was a photo taking hot spots and everyone paused here to enjoy the view and made lots of photo shots.

Entering the twin tower rock 'guarding' the entrance.

Back view where Zermatt lies below

So majestic and grand at this spot

From here onwards was a easy walk on level ground, just like an expressway having very minimal gradient and most of the time levelled ground. The trail runs along the lower right side of the mountain wall seen from Schwarzsee station. During the morning hike, the sun was blocked off and the trail was under the shadow of the mountain ridge to our left. On the right side is an open vast space offering a panorama view of the opposite mountain range. The ground far below was a vast open flat land and someone just wrote some love messages on the ground the size of maybe a football field or more. From where we were, the wordings were cleared and simple. Kudos to the person who made that message as it was required some real foot work.

Crossing the stone gate.

Beautiful view of the Matterhorn from different angle

Can you see the words written on the sandy ground?

The long straight trail to the base of the spine route.

Snack and drink time

Reaching the spine route of the mountain

The level trail leads to the foot of a steep huge rock hill that seemed like the spine of the mountain and at the top stood the Hornli hut. We took a snack break before the ascend with some bread and water. From here onwards, the trail gets rocks and most of the time was climbing the huge rock. The spine path I called it was narrow and steep, and at certain section there are metal stairways. The path was quite narrow as well but safe enough though but at certain corners might seemed scary for those with a feat of heights. Taking a daring peek beyond these corners showed a long long way drop below. Stay on the trail and watch your footsteps and all is safe and good.

Halo over the mountain

At the foot of the spine climbing up to the Hornli Hut

Climbing up the rocky path.

How thoughtful to have these metal stairs 

Even 2 way for the going up and coming down human traffic

A flat surface on the metal stairs to stand on finally

Taking a break under the shade to admire the view 

Need to get over the mountain slope here.

How thoughtful of them to have a ladder here.

The trail ran in short zig zag manner going through some tight bends. The local authority responsible for the maintenance and building of these trails did a good job making it safe for access. We saw some climbers were wearing sneakers and some in city attire making the climb as well. As long one has certain level of witness, they would be able to reach the Hornli hut but the weather is good just like the one we were having.  Again would recommend the right gear for such an activity and always bring extra gear in case weather changes suddenly.

Pointing to where we came from in the morning

Up and Up

A little intimidating for those afraid of heights (narrow path)

Me after clearing the steep rock path

Can you see the small trail below?

Approaching the Hornli Hut 

 It took us a while to reach the Hornli Hut. On some official websites, its stated the climb to take about 2.5hrs to reach. Maybe this was the timing that you did not take any rest break and photo break. IN our case, we had both breaks and long breaks as well to enjoy the climb, and it took us about 3hrs to get to the Hornli Hut which stands at 3260m.  It was an ascent of about 700m from the cable car station to the hut.

The Hornli Hut in sight, just a few 20m in height

Arrived at the Hornli Hut

Reached the levelled area of the mountain spine

Matterhorn and the new extension of the Hornli hut (modern)

The Matterhorn, different look. Cant really tell it is it

Me and the Matterhorn

Me enjoying my ice cold Coke. Nice fee

As it was still climbing season, when we reached the Hornli hut, out on the sun deck were already many climbers enjoying their drinks and having their meals while enjoying the sunshine. It felt very welcoming  after seeing a sizable flat area to stand on. The trail from the foot of the mountain spine path was sloped and narrow, and finding a flat spot to stand and rest wasn’t that easy. And here we have a big open sun deck with benches and tables for climbers to rest their feet and fill their tummies.
We found ourselves a bench on the sun deck and ordered tea and coke. The prices here for the food and beverages were on a higher side as expected due to its environmental location and extra logistical cost, but not that overly inflated. I would say the prices were still reasonable. After a while we moved indoor and ordered a pesto pasta which was surprisingly taste good. There was a fully functional kitchen running and a drinks counter, nothing short of from a cafe down in the Zermatt village below.

Last shot of the Hornlihutte before descending

The sigh points to the way to the Matterhorn

After the meal and drink, we were ready to begin our descend with all the calories from the food to power our legs and body. This was the closest location that we thought we would get to see the Matterhorn, and any closer would mean that we would be actually making the final climb to the top of the Matterhorn.  Making the descend even though taking the same path that we used to climb up, a different perspective of the view gave difference experiences. The path would seemed much steeper and risky than climbing up and injuries usually occur during the descend. We took our time slowly down the mountain spine path to the foothill. Getting down was much much faster than gong up.

View from different perspective (descending)

Descending the steep rock spine, narrow but safe.

Back on the more levelled dirt trail. Wide and easy to walk with speed.

After the foothill of the spine path, it was speed mode down the mountain wall path back to the non operating chairlift station. Without stopping we pushed straight back to the cable car station with some jelly legged feeling.  It was 3pm when we reached the Schwarzsee lake and immediately we just went to the station gantry and hop on the next cable car and up we climb all the way to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise which is where the ice museum was at 3883m. The ride and some waiting took all in all 30mins to reach the top and it was near the closing time of the ice exhibits at 4:30pm.

On the cable car making the climb up to the Glacier Paradise via Trockener Steg

Approaching the Trockener Steg

Continuing the climb to the Matterhirn Glacier Paradise station

Glacier fields

Huge glacier on the left, gondola station on the right. Extreme left is the peak Breithorn (4164m)

Almost reaching the station, built on a steep mountain rock tower.

Permafrost snow at the top of the 

Once we reached the station, we headed straight to the end of the tunnel which has a restaurant and a lift that brought us down several floor below inside the permanent glacier ice. It was said to be 15meter below the surface. We walked around the tunnels and along the tunnels there were ice sculptures of animals and some artwork in ice. It was cold and we saw some people wearing very thick warming clothing. For us it took a while for us to feel cold as out body was still warm after the rigorous descend from Hornli hut.

Ice sculptures within the ice caves

Cloudy skies, almost closing time, all the snow hikers were back hanging around the entrance.

Maybe today the ski field is not opened.

As it was approaching time, there were only like 2 couples that we saw in the ice tunnels.  One Korean pair asked us what was the last cable car timing. I guessed nobody wanted to be stranded here at 3883 m and so in the end we saw the bulk of visitors taking the 2nd last gondola ride down even before closing time. But some parts of the tunnel complex were already closed and we missed them. They were still opened when we passed them before heading to the ice sculpture.

Leaving the highest cable car station at at Zermatt and heading back to town

Even the workers from the complex also took the same gondola back to the town of Zermatt. SO it was from warm to cold , to freeze ice cold and then back to warm and back to the touristy town of Zermatt.  For dinner we settled for some Thai food that we saw in the morning while making our way to the cable car station, hoping to get some familiar flavour to our taste buds.

Back at the hotel for a good rest before dinner

Yes, asian tastes, Keropok

Thai Phat Tha

All in all, it was an adventure filled day for us. Finally completing one of my hiking to-do which is to hike to the Hornli Hut. Maybe some day in future we would be back again and maybe taking on the summit of the Matterhorn.