An easy summit - the OberRothorn 3415m

This is easy because you can take the tube train to Sunnegga, the gondelbahn to Blauherd & the cable car to the UnterRothorn, shown in the Findeln walk. Then, walk down the south side of the UnterRothorn to the obvious saddle between the two peaks & up the ridge of the OberRothorn. Take a summit photo to show your friends! This is straightforward but, if you have children, rope them together to you, as a fall could hurt! The OberRothorn obscures the views from the UnterRothorn, so this is well worth doing. Going down, you can bear right at the saddle & walk on a well-marked path round the UnterRothorn to Tuftern village (food!) & a choice of routes back down to Zermatt. (I did this in 1971, walking all the way from Sunnegga & under the cliff with Blauherd on it (to look at the goats) so this is not a hard day).

The Rimpfishhorn 4198m & Strahlhorn 4190 from the OberRothorn

The Mischabel range from the OberRothorn. The Dom 4545m (marked) is the highest hill entirely within Switzerland

To the Schönbiel Hut 2684m This looks a long way & plenty of height but the gradient is gentle & the walk takes you into wild, glacier country on a safe path. Head out of Zermatt on the path (straight South through the town) to Zmutt. Cross the dam & folow the signs carefully for 7 km & on to the moraine of the Zmutt Glacier. (the old route on the North side of the dammed lake is closed because of rock fall). Look up the North Face of the Matterhorn with awe & you should see the regular 11am ice avalanche off it. You get to the hut for lunch but before you start, check at the Guides Bureau in town if they are serving food. An alternative start, a bit tougher, is to go up to Alterhaupt on this link.

Schönbiel Hut, Zmutt Glacier & Tete de Valpelline

North Wall of the Matterhorn from near Zmutt

The path with the hut on the spur on the right

The Zmutt Ridge of the Matterhorn from the hut on a nicer day

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