Zermatt And Gornergrat By Train, Half Marathon Support Crew

Zagan the motorhome has enjoyed three days of rest at Camping Attermenzen in Randa ((N46.08571, E7.78168), just a little way down the valley from Zermatt, Switzerland. We were there so Jay could run the Zermatt Half Marathon, which he did amazingly in. He’a already written a report about the race, but I thought I”d give you a few details from a non-running perspective, in case you want to visit and enjoy some amazing views.

Dawn arrives much earlier on the mountains than down in the valley

With Jay’s race number he was given three day’s worth of travel for free on the railway lines that run the length of the valley, as well as the Gornergrat Bahn which runs from Zermatt up high to Gornergrat. Tickets for the trains around here aren’t not cheap. In July a return on the Gornergrat Bahn will set you back around 114CHF (£87), and that doesn’t include the train fare to get you to Zermatt. You need to get a train to Zermatt because it’s a traffic free resort; even coachloads of sightseers only get as far as Täsch station where they are dropped off to ride the rest of their trip on the little red shuttle trains. Luckily for me, the race organisers offered a supporter’s ticket for the day of the race only, which allowed me to hop on and off all the trains for 77CHF. That seemed expensive when I bought it, but now having looked up the prices seems like the bargain of the year!

No traffic in Zermatt, instead you need to ‘Kiss and Ride’!

The campsite we stayed on was between the villages of Randa and Täsch, both of which have train stations. The walk up to Täsch station is slightly longer at 2.3km (the runners cycled up as there are wide cycle paths alongside the roads) but Täsch also runs additional trains so they are more frequent than those from Randa, which go past around every half an hour. The campsite also offers a shuttle service to Täsch for 7CHF one way or 14CHF return. On the weekend we were there they were also running a shuttle to the marathon start in St Niklas down the valley, but we didn’t need that.

Catching the train to Zermatt with our friends Phil and Jules

Arriving in Täsch, bikes were locked in the bike racks next to the bus drop off and we headed into the station. The barriers won’t let you through if there isn’t a train due so beware or you may end up doing a silly dance trying to get the card reader to beep green for you. Also, another great idea, the train doors open on the other side of the train to let folks off before your doors open to let you on – genius if you ask me.

Arriving in Zermatt we’re bang in the middle of the town. Across the street is the station for the Gornergrat train, but first we had final loo stops (at the nice, clean, free loos under the station), then we navigated our way around some goats (we have no idea what is going on) before seeing the men off to their starting pens.

Jules and I watched the start of the race and cheered on Jay and Phil as they headed off through the streets on the start of their 13.1 mile uphill run. Once they had gone we walked down to the Gornergrat station, skipped the queue of people waiting to buy a ticket, swiped the same ticket we had used on the previous train and waited in an airport-style departure lounge. A large clock counted down when the next train was due, and as the room filled up we took up positions near the door to the platform. Posters inform you that the right hand side is the best for a view of the Matterhorn, and so we dived into two window seats on the right as soon as we were released, which of course was after all the passengers got off the train coming in.

So that’s where they got the idea from!

I would say that we sat back and enjoyed the views, but no, we stood up most of the way leaning out of the window to get a better view, even though the windows were spotlessly clean. The train trundled its way up and up, twisting around to give us views out of Zermatt and the valley below, then plunging us into darkness as we passed through tunnels carved into the rock. We passed the two stations that the marathon would run through, and knowing that we had about an hour until they reached the lowest one, we decided to plough on to the top.

The views on the way up were just stunning with lots of folks getting off at one station and walking down to the next

We knew we’d be cutting it fine on our runner support duties if we stayed at the top for a look around, so we ran out of the station grabbed a couple of photos and a selfie then ran back onto the train as it left for Zermatt.

Some of the view from Gornergrat – we needed a 360° camera!

Our tickets were great as they gave us unlimited travel, so we hopped off at Riffelalp station to grab a photo with the iconic Matterhorn as backdrop, before heading back up to Riffelberg for the finish. Between the two stations we watched the runners alongside the train track, many of them with their hands on their thighs willing their tired legs to make another step towards the finish.

Jay at Riffelalp

Jay and I headed back up to Gornergrat so he could see the views after he had finished running. Then we hit marathon rush hour getting back down the mountain. It took over an hour to reach Zermatt as they had so many trains on the line, and the trains themselves were so packed a few folks passed out with the heat. After a ‘pasta party’ bite to eat for the runner, and a quick nip around the supermarket for me, we caught the train back to Täsch and Jay gave me a croggie (also known as a ‘backie’) back to the campsite on his bike – well it was downhill.

Gornergrat station

It was worth nipping back up so we could have a proper look around.

We made it back to the campsite just in time for the second half of the England v Sweden world cup match, during which much beer was consumed. The following morning we had a very late start and did very little apart from a walk down the valley to Randa.

Randa – looking back up the valley to Zermatt and you can just make out the train line going up the hill to Riffleberg

It was baking hot, so we sat in the shade of the local church to escape the heat and looked over the beautiful graves. Standing in straight rows each wooden cross has a stone roof and is carved with the person’s name. As well as a photo of them, there were also very well kept flower beds at the foot of each was a candle and a little metal box containing a brush. It all looked so pristine, and with the mountains all around it wasn’t a bad place to be put to rest. As we sat in the shade we chatted about Charlie, he is never far from our minds, tears are now mingled with laughter as we remember the wonderful times we had with him.

As we headed back to the campsite we took our last look at the chocolate box chalets, window boxes trimmed with geraniums, sitting alongside farm buildings made of wood that looks like it has seen several lifetimes.

Before we made it back to Zagan, we popped across the road from the campsite to have a look at the local golf course. Yes, space may be at a premium in the valleys around here, but they managed to fit in all sorts of sports activities – I thought my Dad might particularly like this one.

Tomorrow the ACSI discount rate ends at the campsite and the price shoots up. So we’ll be leaving this little piece of paradise, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be back one day.

Ju x