Summer 2007 - Day 27

Day 27


We are gradually getting to the end of our holiday. Today's challenge will be to see the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn (4,478 m) lies on the border between Switzerland and Italy.



The Matterhorn was first conquered 140 years ago on 14th July 1865. Four of the seven men - lead by Englishman Edward Whymper - attempting the ascent lost their lives. Even today, rumours surrounding the climb are rife. Was it an accident or was it murder?



On the descent, one of the climbers slipped, knocking another off his feet, and dragging the others with him. The rope connecting them to the other three men broke (or was cut); the four fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn Glacier 1,400 metres below. The bodies of all but one were later found, and are buried in the Zermatt churchyard.



An estimated 3,000 mountain climbers try their luck on the Matterhorn each year. Many give up because they are not fit enough.



Today, all ridges and faces of the Matterhorn have been ascended in all seasons. The usual route is to take the Schwarzsee cable car up from Zermatt, hike up to the Hörnli-hütte (elev. 3,260 m), a large stone building at the base of the main ridge, and spend the night. The next day the climber rises at 3:30 am, so as to reach the summit and descend before the regular afternoon clouds and storms come in.

Having finally seen the Matterhorn we then set off for Geneva. On the way we drove past Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Western Europe. Its 4,807-meter-high peak lies in the ridge line of the Pennine Alps and the peak defines the border between France and Italy. Its name means "White Mountain".

Last stop for the day - Geneva. We had a walk around the city and visited St Pierre.






















We also visited CERN which is located along the French-Swiss border (part of the centre is in France and part in Switzerland). It is the world's largest particle-physics laboratory with a 27 km long particle accelerator. (The acronym stands for Conseil Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire).


Over 7,000 scientists work at CERN and it was there that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. We saw the science exhibit and usually managed to understand the first sentence on each display. After a respectable amount of time had passed we skulked out with our tail between our legs and headed for something more on our level - McDonalds.