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Today we hiked from the Gornergrat to Riffelsee Lake and on to Riffelberg. There are

so many ways to do this hike. We picked what we thought were the most scenic routes,

which twisted and turned away from the more touristy areas near the cogtrain.

As it turned out, the trails were a little more challenging than the reviews we read.

First, we rode the Gornergrat Bahn Cog Railway to the Gornergrat - 10,134 feet above sea level.

Next we hiked down to Rifflesee Lake, then chose another trail which led to Riffleberg.

ABOVE LEFT -For 125 years, the cog railway has been taking guests from the village

at 1600 metres up to 3100 metres above sea level. Even the journey

is a great experience with a constant view of the Matterhorn.

ABOVE MIDDLE - The views from the 360 degree loop at the Gornergrat are extremely memorable.

We walked the short high-altitude hiking trail that starts and ends

at the Gornergrat viewing platform and runs behind the Gornergrat peak.

ABOVE RIGHT - Great views of the many glaciers. The biggest one is the Gornergletscher.

ABOVE LEFT - It was about 48 degrees at the top, so it gave us a chance

to wear the cold weather clothing we packed.

ABOVE MIDDLE - Breathtaking views. Several 4000 meter peaks in this area.

ABOVE RIGHT - Of course I had to touch the glacial snow.

ABOVE LEFT - Early morning temperatures were in the forties (Fahrenheit). After a short

loop hike and then experiencing how the Matterhorn looks in every season and in different

weather conditions in the 3D cinema in the "Zoom the Matterhorn" experience world,

we shed our heavy clothes and readied ourselves for the hike down the mountain.

ABOVE MIDDLE - We're now headed down on the trail to Riffelsee Lake.

ABOVE RIGHT - The farther down the trail you go, the more the views open up.

ABOVE LEFT - The main reason for hiking down instead of up is the endless views of the Matterhorn.

ABOVE MIDDLE - We encountered numerous cairns that resemble the Matterhorn.

ABOVE RIGHT - The trails went up and down (mostly down) and were varied terrain.

ABOVE LEFT - This was a cairn with Nepalese prayer flags.

ABOVE MIDDLE - As you descend, the landscape gets a little greener and the views open up.

ABOVE RIGHT - Headed down to Riffelsee Lake now.

ABOVE LEFT - That's the lake down there (mid-picture). It's a favorite for great Matterhorn reflections

ABOVE MIDDLE - Judith's photo of Fred approaching the lake to find the perfect photo spot.

ABOVE RIGHT - And here is Fred's photo of Lake Riffelsee with the Matterhorn reflection.

ABOVE LEFT - This trail is actually a bit scarier than it looks.

There are places where you don't want to trip on a rock!

ABOVE MIDDLE - You're probably tiring of all of these Matterhorn shots, but we're only posting a few!

ABOVE RIGHT - Approaching Riffelberg now. The rocky descent to Riffleberg required

all of our attention, so we didn;t take a lot of photos.

ABOVE - The Valais Blacknose (German: Walliser Schwarznasenschaf)

is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Valais region of Switzerland.

We visited the Blacknose sheep at Riffelberg.