Snowshoe tour Pfulwe
Impressive panorama in the middle of the Zermatt mountain arena
A pink sky promises us a beautiful day as we board the train to Zermatt at half past six in Visp. In a good mood, we look forward to the hike from Blauherd to Pfulwe and back to Riffelalp.
In Zermatt, I am surprised by those present with the happy news that, as a newcomer, I am “obliged” to write the tour report. Yes, then I’ll just accept the fact 😊.
No, she can’t sell us a one-way ticket to Blauherd, explains the lady at the ticket counter. We would have to buy a return ticket and take the train back down from Blauherd, as the path to Riffelalp was closed. We also submit to this fact…
The Sahara dust that has shrouded the whole of Switzerland in a cloud of brown haze over the last few days has fortunately cleared. The sun is shining on our faces, so our jackets, caps and gloves disappear into our rucksacks soon after we set off towards Fluhalp.
The snow crunches under our snowshoes as the five of us girls march through the winter landscape behind Dominic. Winter wonderland is a bit of an exaggeration. The Sahara dust has put an end to the last of the snow on the sunny side and we have the feeling that the first marmots could crawl out of their holes at any moment. Instead, a few chamois stand on the heights and look down at us spellbound, as if they are thinking: “We could use snowshoes like these in winter too”.
We reach the summit of the Pfulwe at 3314 m at a leisurely pace. The panorama that presents itself to us is unbelievable: In addition to the Matterhorn, which has been with us all day, we enjoy the Rimpfischhorn, Täschhorn, Allalin, Monte Rosa massif, Weisshorn and Dent Blanche, to name but a few. It’s just a shame that we can’t see the Bietschhorn from here 😉.
After a short break, we set off on the descent via the same route. The sun that smiled on our faces in the morning has now also smiled on the snow. The ground is now so soft that, despite our snowshoes, we repeatedly sink deep into it or end up on our stomachs. I’ll leave the exact description of how we dig ourselves out again for now. In any case, there is a lot to laugh about on our way back.
A refreshing beer awaits us at the Fluhalp restaurant and, to be honest, we are all glad that the lady sold us a return ticket this morning so that we can take the train back to Zermatt from Blauherd instead of hiking to Riffelalp.
Dominic, Carla, Angela, Bettina and Gaby: Thank you for the wonderful day. It was my first time traveling with you, but certainly not the last.
Annemarie
