Hungry for adventure and longing for that sense of novelty, me and Petter Restorp headed to Zermatt without any real plan other than having a good time in the mountains.
We quickly ran up to Schönbielhütte ahead of the storm, which arrived at the hut only minutes after us. With time to kill we researched a few options for the following days.
After waking up to a stunning view of Matterhorn we decided to go up high and evaluate the conditions. It turned out to be windy and 15cm of fresh snow, but otherwise perfect. Naturally we pushed on and eventually found ourselves at Refugio Perucca Vuillermoz after moving for 9 hours straight over glaciers, down stunning single track, over passes and through seas of boulders.
On our final day there was nothing else to do but close the loop back at Zermatt. Not quite the variation as the previous day but still gorgeous trails down to Cervinia before heading up to the last pass and rolling down 1700d- back to where we started.
A 360 view of Matterhorn, 77k and some 6000d+ is something I’d definitely define as an adventure. Even though this type of movement in the mountains is not something I’m very used to, and definitely had moments where I had to fight, I’m incredibly grateful that my back managed to pull it off with only minor annoyance.
It’s a privilege to be moving in the mountains again.