Gornergrat — Visibility in Intervals
A mountain is not always revealed at once. Clouds move across the ridgeline while visitors wait for brief openings in the weather.
Setting
Gornergrat Railway
Valais,Switzerland
Spring afternoon
45.9831ºN, 7.7845°E
Observation
The bright red Gornergrat cogwheel bahn departs from the Zermatt station. When the train doors open, people rush to get situated by a window. Those who already know move intentionally toward the right side of the train. Of course the landscape has substance no matter where a person is seated. Even being the first person waiting for the train does not guarantee the desired seat as the doors open to all simultaneously. The train prepares for a timely departure..
There is an immediate incline.
The village of Zermatt slowly comes into view and grows smaller with each peek through the weathered forest that passes by during the initial ascent. The snow covered Matterhorn appears intermittently between openings of the larch forest. The sun is bright and the sky is clear.
The first scheduled stop is expected. The next stop is not.
Moment
The train car was suddenly still on the tracks. The train car sounded as though it was trying to move forward but remained motionless on the tracks.
While the train remains still it becomes clear that there is a problem and on this incline, the steepness becomes harder to ignore. Gazing out the window at the Matterhorn that is now fully visible and the village of Zermatt behind, it is not hard to imagine where the inspiration began for the rollercoaster of the same name.
Slowly, the train begins to descend back to the station in Zermatt where another train is already waiting on the opposite tracks. The rush to fill the opposing train made the initial rush seem insignificant because now everyone was armed with the knowledge of the location of preferred seating.
From the right side of the train, the Matterhorn remains intermittently visible through much of the ascent, appearing between ridgelines and structures before slipping out of view again around the next bend.
Before long, the landscape begins to change. The larch and pines begin to thin out. The only remaining forestry are trees that have been ravaged by the wind.
The humming sound of the electric motor echoes throughout the open alpine pastures. The jagged gray rockface of the surrounding mountains contrasts with the stark white snow covered caps.
As the approach to the summit draws closer, the landscape shifts to a winter palette of snow and ice. It is noticeably colder. The air is suddenly thinner.
Upon arrival, the Matterhorn settles into prominence above the surrounding landscape. Even the nearby glacier, impressive in its own right, struggles to hold attention. Its bright turquoise colored pools of meltwater decorate the frozen landscape but still pales by comparison.
That is, until the clouds begin to roll in.
The weather can change quickly here reminding us of the fleeting nature of the surrounding landscape.
Reflection
The clearest views are sometimes the least permanent.