Carry On Up The Matterhorn

Guete Morge Dear Reader,

And finally, the moment you have all been waiting for, my ascent up the Matterhorn - as British explorers, adventurers and mountaineers will tell you, the only reason for going to Zermatt. So having put on my ski jacket and hiking boots, ensured sufficient rations, I set out...

Ok, so I didn't go up the real Matterhorn - only the Klein Matterhorn, which in itself is 3820m high (enough for the air pressure to change and make my crisp packet explode) - and I didn't quite ascend in the same manner as in legends gone by - the Swiss have rather lovingly put in a nice cable car series for skiers, snowboarders and tourists like myself.

The view from the top was absolutely incredible! From so far up it was possible to see Mont Blanc and the back of the Matterhorn itself (which was distinctly lacking in snow). On this photo, the Matterhorn is the peak on the right and Mont Blanc is the flatter looking peak on the left hand side(if memory serves me right):

According to the tourist website, it is sometimes possible to spot the Mediterranean peaking out amid the Alps - I'm not sure it was clear enough to do given all the snow, but have a look at these photos and tell me if you think you can! Note, I cannot remember which direction many of these photos were taken in, so consider this more of a panorama series...

Having been outside long enough for my eyes to start to hurt from the glare (don't worry, no snow blindness here), I decided it was time to venture inside the mountain and into the glacier - 15m below the surface - in order to visit the Glacier Palace, which has been carved out of the ice itself. Once inside, there were a number of ice sculptures (here are a few of my favourites):

Including a slide made of ice, where you come out of a bear's mouth (I've got a few bruises now...)!