Summary
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Trail in numbers
- Distance: 35 km
- Total climb: 1200 m (including cablecar)
- High point: 2576 m
- Rideability: 100%
- Duration: 5 – 8 hours
Highlights
- The Matternhorn. This peak requires no introduction as it may well be the most popular in the world thanks to its spiky triangular shape. It sits at the border between Italy and Switzerland and is a staple destination for outdoor adventurers, especially climbers and advanced mountaineers. The Matternhorn area is also scattered with many mountain bike trails for all skill levels, featuring even a bike park on the Italian side.
- Zermatt: this village is surely very touristy and hence features lots of high-priced low-quality amenities, but it is popular for a good reason. Apart from the views of the Matternhorn, it still retains much of its original traditional architecture, with lovely wooden chalets and narrow stone-paved alleys that provide the ideal Instagram backdrop. Even more remarkably, no cars or motor vehicles are allowed in the village, that can be reached only by train or by shuttle taxi. Therefore, the only way to move around is either by walking , cycling, or by horse-carriages.
Useful info
- When to go: Zermatt is an all-year round destination but if you’re looking for mountain biking, then you should head there from June to September so that you avoid the snow.
- Directions: Zermatt is quite easy to pinpoint due to its popularity, but it cannot be reached by motor vehicles. If you drive, you will have to park your car in the nearby town of Täsch (of course, do not even think of finding a free parking area, you are in Switzerland) and continue by train, where you will be charged a separate ticket for your bike. If you are more than 2 people it can be convenient to go by shuttle taxi.
- Food and Water: You are in a mountain resort village. Trails are all marked (even if not exceptionally well for Swiss standards) and accessibility is easy thanks to the cablecar system. This means that you do not have to worry too much about food and water, just fill your bottle and have some power snacks on youy.
Table of contents:
Photostory
It’s July, midsummer, and finally the date has come: the previous Christmas Maria made me a beautiful present: a long weekend at high altitude in Zermatt, Switzerland, spending two nights at the cozy Monte Rosa Hutte and riding our mountain bikes during the day, what an amazing plan!
We took a Friday off from work, and I don’t bother to do any research on Zermatt, the Monte Rosa Hutte and the trails until the very last moment, after having packed and after Maria purchased her train tickets. Before going to sleep, I take out my phone and start reading…and after a few page scrolls I realise we need to rethink of our plan altogether: the Monte Rosa Hutte is situated at 3600 meters altitude, in the middle of a Glacier, and can be reached only by a 4-hour trek on ice (with crampons).
We don’t have crampons, we are not prepared for glacier hiking, and biking is completely out of the picture. Maria has her tickets booked though, so we decide to anyways meet at our rendevouz in Brig (Wallis canton) and then just improvise from there.
Monte Rosa Hutte is out of the game, but Zermatt is not: it is only a 45 minutes drive from Brig and the forecast looks great. We decide to head there, and after a while we find ourselves on the compulsory train ride taking us to the village. This is because Zermatt is a car-free village, so all motor vehicles are required to park at the last town connected by road and then hop on a train to reach Zermatt.
The weather is warm and sunny, perfect for a day out on our bikes. As we get to Zermatt village we are instantly charmed by its scenic beauty – maybe a little “fake” or at least domesticated for the many tourists swarming the narrow alleys, but still very pleasant to experience.
We are hungry so we have a quick and expensive bite by the train station, and off we go towards the cablecar station. As we exit the narrow stone-paved streets, there it is: the Matternhorn, with its spiky triangular shape and windblown ever-white peak.
As expected, the daily mountain bike pass does not come cheap, but the modern gondola takes us very close to the Matternhorn with no effort and in no time.
Another nice shot of Maria posing in front of the matternhorn 
Close-up of Maria, ready to go for our Matternhorn discovery ride!
And off we go for our ride! Our plan is rather relaxed for the day: we have virtually removed all climb thanks to our cablecar riding, and we’ll descend towards Zermatt village riding the longest, but most scenic trail.
The beginning is along a doubletrack road, where we stop frequently to take photos and to avoid pedestrian traffic.
We are now heading straight towards the North-Western side of the Matternhorn, covered in perennial ice. We are still well above the treeline, and the road descends gently and panoramically.
We reach a small river, fueled by the glaciers above. From here, we essentially have to follow it until it gets to Zermatt but there is no clearly signposted trail, strangely for Switzerland.
Undecided, I try the highest singletrack trail but I deem it too exposed and rocky for Maria – other than being marked as “verboten” (forbidden). Another option is to follow the doubletrack road, but honestly it looks too dull if there are singletracks available.
So I decide to follow the only remaining possibility, which is a single track tail following the river and entering the woods. There is no clear way of knowing that it will work and requires some trial and error – a highly unnerving process for Maria.
Unfortunately, we soon hit a dead end and need to backtrack. This means climbing, so Maria gets even more upset. I speed up and leave her behind: in my mind, this means that the sooner I can figure out the route home, the least useless climb she has to make. Unfortunately, this strategy proves not effective and makes Maria’s mood even worse.
Finally I spot the direction: I can see a “clean” single track but, in order to reach it, we need to improvise a little, as we are obviously off the beaten track.
We are finally on the right track, and gain speed towards Zermatt. The scenery is always stunning.
In no time we reach the Village. We still have a lot of time to enjoy the trails, so we hop on another gondola and changing side of the mountain.
We relax with a beer at the cablecar station, taking in the views. From here, I do not know how to descend (again, the trail marking system in Zermatt is definitely improvable, especially for Swiss standards). I propose the dull doubletrack road but Maria, sensing my disappointment, decide to improvise on a single track, with no guarantee of its destination, and we go for it.
Beautiful shot of Maria approaching a descent 
Maria negotiating some switchbacks
This trail is awesome to ride, Maria once again proves that she’s got good instincts! The views are always spectacular, this time more oriented towards Mount Rosa and its glaciers.
However, as the trail becomes steeper, its difficulty increases. The flow leaves space to rocky, technical sections, and we have to walk many of them.
Maria is now extremely tired and just wants to be home. However we cannot rush it in this dangerous section, which take an excruciating half hour to clear. Finally, however, the trail gets back to easy and flowy.
Almost home – Maria’s expression is easy to read. 
Maria literally pounded makes it though the very last bits of the trail.
And finally we’re back to Zermatt! What an incredible ride, scenery and adventure! Luckily July provides a lot of day time so we did not have to worry about being stranded in the dark…but we ended up riding for almost 8 hours and Maria is completely drained. Luckily Zermatt provides many options to replenish our energy, so we opt for an (allegedly) Italian pizzeria to unwind and recover (I won’t comment on the food quality/price ratio but hey, this is Switzerland!).
Maps and Stats
Max elevation: 2576 m
Total climbing: 1290 m
Trail video
Relive ‘Zermatt Discovery’