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KLEIN MATTERHORN
Aerial Cable Top of the World and Glacier Paradise
It’s named
the “Little Matterhorn”, not that it’s
especially small, but it the next peak over and its shape rather mirrors
its more famous sister Alps peak, and has the added advantage that you
don’t need a rope to get to the top. The aerial cable car to the
top of the Klein Matterhorn, takes you to the highest viewpoint in the
Alps, at 12,740 feet (3883 meters) actually the world’s highest
aerial cable tram, with steps which take you to the very top of the peak,
unlike others which only go to summits. The ride to the top of the Klein
Matterhorn takes three cable car legs, changing gondolas at the Furi
and Trocker Steg tram stations, with the final cable suspension seeming
to touch the sky before arriving at the tunnel straight into the mountain
rock.
The air is thin on the platform with 360 degree views of the mountains
and glaciers which stretch from the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland
to Mont Blanc on the bor5eedr with France to the Italian Alps. Below
the two Matterhorns the Theodul Glacier forms an eternal blanket of snow
between the two sharp crags and surrounding peaks. The Klein Matterhorn
is the jewel of the ski area marketed as the “Glacier Paradise” with
skiing all year round on the glacial snows, making it one of the largest
ski areas in Europe. The trails and lifts reach out over the Zermatt-Cervina
ski range, between Swtizerland and Italy. But you don’t have to
ski to make a visit to the top of the Klein Matterhorn an unforgettable
experience.
Beyond the sensation of standing at the very top of the world,
an Ice Cave offers a trip down into the glacier’s ice crevasses.
Beautifully lit by colors of the rainbow, with light sparkling off the
delicate ice
crystals which hang overhead and festooned with ice sculptures, the caves
cut in the imperceptibly slowly moving ice must be re-carved by hand
every season. The station at the top of the Klein Matterhorn is the smallest
of the mountain top tourist stops of Switzerland. There is a skiers service
area for those thrill seekers venturing out for high altitude snow sport
and for the less athletic, a new restaurant or the Ice Buffet snack bar
for a quick bite before returning to the charms of Zermatt below.
Tickets for the aerial cable car to the
top of the Klein Matterhorn cost from CHF 63 to CHF 98 for adults
and CHF 31 to CHF 49 for children 9-16,
depending on time of year (prices are lower in summer), and less to
the interim mountain stations. With a Swiss Pass tickets are half-price.
A range of day and multi-day passes are available including other area
ski lifts. For skiers, a pass to the Glacier Paradise ski area includes
the cable tramways as well as Zermatt bus transportation. For
a special romantic experience, a VIP Gondola Package is offered including
a ride, chamagne and other treats. In summer
months you can take guided hikes across the glacier to climb the Breithorn
or the Matterhorn. The lower slopes are cross-cut by hiking trails.
Walk
down the Matterhorn Trail from the Furi Station through the green meadows,
past mountain villages only reached by foot. Have a lunch or a snack
at one of the restaurants perched on the mountainsides below the peaks.
The
Glacier Paradise cable tram station is a ten minute walk through the
Zermatt Village. At any time of year, the top of the Klein Matterhorn
can be obscured by stormy weather or fog and not worth the full trip.
The valley station you’ll find an electronic board with current
conditions of the gondolas and ski lifts of the Zermatt-Matterhorn area.
Mornings are generally better than afternoons for beginning the trip.
If the sun is out the photo op may end up as one of your favourite memories
of Switzerland.
Rail Europe
More on Switzerland By Rail:
Scenic Trains
Glacier
Express
Bernina
Express
Golden
Pass Line
Wilhelm
Tell Express
Mont
Blanc - St Bernard
Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
Lauvaux Wine Train
Palm
Express
Excursion Trains
Jungfraujoch
Chocolate
Train
Gornergrat
Matterhorn
Mt
Pilatus Railway
Mt
Rigi Railway
Roches
De Naye
Lake Cruises
Lake
Geneva
Lake Lucerne
Lake Constance
Lake Thun & Brienz
Three Lakes
Aerial Cableways
Schilthorn Piz Gloria
Klein Matterhorn
Glacier 3000
Gemmi Pass
Mt Titlis Rotair
Stanserhorn
Hotels: Switzerland
Scenic Switzerland By Train
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