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That brings us to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Zermatt, one of the busiest resorts in all the Alps, lies at the foot of the most distinctive of mountains. Once seen, never forgotten. The town has been a focus of attention for mountaineers since the mid-19th century. Nowadays most of the climbs involve long routes on snow and ice, and there are, of course, difficult test-pieces such as the North Face of the Matterhorn. Easier ascents exist for competent alpinists on the Monte Rosa massif, which boasts no fewer than ten 4000m summits, and on other peaks that wall the Swiss/Italian frontier: Liskamm, Castor, Pollux and Breithorn. All these mountains are on display to walkers tackling routes described in this guide without the need to set foot on ice or snow, and when viewed in their full spectacular spread above the Gorner glacier, the scale is almost Himalayan.

Turtmanntal

The Weisshorn is one of the most conspicuous peaks in the Mattertal, standing tall and proud west of Randa. It’s a massive peak whose icy West Face plunges into the Val de Zinal (the upper reaches of Val d’Anniviers), and whose northern aspect overlooks the little Turtmanntal, one of the shortest of the Rhône’s tributary valleys draining the Pennine Alps. It’s an undeveloped valley with a summer-only village, Gruben-Meiden, nestling among the pastures between two walkers’ passes used by trekkers on the classic Chamonix to Zermatt Walker’s Haute Route.