and so in bailing out of climbing to hörnlihütte I found something so valuable - finding your own way in a place. I was too late for the cable car down so I either had to stay in the wack hotel by the cable car, or walk down to Zermatt - about 15km on top of the 15 I’d already done. I knew I’d be walking into the night but I decided it would be interesting, and it was - I saw a different side of the place. I went down the steeper trails I could find to get low before it got dark, which ended up being these strange dormant ski routes. As I got below the tree line the clouds came in below me and it was all just so quiet. And then I found I would be walking through a place called stelline! Same as my car and the first replicant child in blade runner! This was a hydroelectric plant with old cable cars and beautiful concrete. And in just following the map how it looked best, I found myself seeing a much more curious and fascinating side of the area. And I also bodied the walk and got back to Zermatt before the McDonald’s shut 🔫 I had been getting into grief with a few people walking the same route as me about how late I got in to hut each night, and I’d explained that I just want to experience the place, not “do xyz trek” or “summit xyz”. And this experience just solidified that so much. Not to berate any of the great walks like the TMB or anything, or people doing them, but I just realised it’s not for me.