HEADING DOWN

INSIDE A GLACIER

and as if that's not enough- on the top of this mountain they've also cut into a GLACIER- and have it lit so that you can walk into this longgggggggggggggggggggg longgggggggggggggggggg tunnel and then come out into this ice room- it was mind blowing to realize you're up 12000 feet, INSIDE a glacier- in Switzerland!

MORE SHOTS FROM THE TOP

The views up here were just incredible- and to go from 80 degrees in Zermatt to WINTER in a matter of an hour- pretty cool- especially when you know you're looking out at Switzerland- actually over these peaks if you ski'd them- you'd end up in Italy!

FLASH TO THE SUMMIT

and a very happy Carol Lee :)

FLASH TO CAROL ON THE CABLE CAR!

I think the face says it all.

WE'D BEST BE THERE!

So the whole ride took about 45-50 minutes- but as we were approaching the first snow covered station in the gondola Carol says to me, "All I can say is we had BEST be there at this point! We had better NOT have to go any further!"--- silence in the car- its just the two of us in there--- "Do you hear me????" she says quite emphatically! I look out and up at the mountain ahead of us and I say as calmly as I can muster, "Well, I guess it is, what it is..." Carol told me later- that's when she knew she was in trouble.... :)

And as it turns out we weren't there yet. In fact we were only at the bottom of the last stretch- which involved pretty much STRAIGHT UP this mountain side- honestly I still don't know how this cable car made it but it did! This is a shot of the group waiting to get on and another of the cable car coming to get us.

HEADING UP

So its pretty cool- you walk out of your hotel, and go along a rushing mountain stream- and pretty soon in the middle of town you are at the lift which goes up to Klein Matterhorn! There are actually three lift stations in Zermatt; 1) goes to Klein Matterhorn the highest lift station in Europe (of COURSE the place we went), 2) another is a cog railroad that goes to about 10,000 feet but never involves gondolas and 3) is one that involves underground elevators, gondolas and cable cars and goes to about 10,000 ft with classic matterhorn views. Since we already have one of those on our balcony we figured, GO FOR THE GUSTO and go for the snow capped mountain!!! Here's a shot of Carol on one of the first gondolas and a view from the gondola. The snow capped mountain in the back (Klein Matterhorn) is where we went!!