Resurrection on Gornergrat

After two days break I had enough. The weather forecast was developing excellently - a stable high pressure system was spreading across the entire Valais. So I absolutely had to get back on my bike. Especially since the second tour in Zermatt was waiting to be carried out on my to-do list. The big question, however, was whether my still swollen hand would agree.

First short test rides in Zermatt went at least positively. The tendons and muscles needed to hold the handlebars had calmed down again, and for the most part the hand was doing what it should when biking. Although unplanned movements could still be very painful. But there's no other way, things have to keep going.

Naturally, I didn't use the Gornergrat Railway for the ascent. Instead, I put together a nice ascent route that first took me over the Findelalp with beautiful views of the glacier of the same name towards Riffelberg and then to Gornergrat. At the end station of the train, streams of tourists poured into the landscape. I really don't know if there is any sense of how high 3100 meters actually are when you're jetting up there in an express shuttle. But, however, the breathtaking views of Monte Rosa probably impressed everyone up here. For me, it was also exciting to see my highest ski peak reached so far in the Alps, the Signalkuppe, from a Swiss perspective. After all, it is number four and easily surpasses the Matterhorn.

The ascent wasn't so wild for the hand, everything went well. But now came the acid test, the descent. I hoped for an easy trail, approached the first steps hyper-cautiously, and bumped over them in slow motion. But everything held up, no pain. I cautiously continued, amidst crowds of hikers. Not without reason, the railway only takes bikers from 4 p.m. But as always in Switzerland, everyone was very friendly, and I still got some amazed looks, despite my handicap.

Unfortunately, the trail now became increasingly difficult, and I had to get off more often than usual. In the lower part, I also became an obstacle for other bikers. But so be it. I am more than glad that something is possible again, and I can continue my tour the next day. Two days ago, that was not foreseeable. So the test passed successfully.