We climbed a huge staircase to view the Oberer (Upper) Glacier up close.  We were fortunate to see a group of climbers (slightly left of center) practicing on the ice.

That's Karen descending  the flight of over 800 steps. She put this picture in for the benefit of trainers, Sherry and Patt.  All that hard work paid off.

On Monday, we took our first hike in Zermatt.  The weather was magnificent.  Here the Matterhorn is reflected in the Stellisee.

Insects were everywhere, multiplying in the warm, sunny weather.  We were surprised there weren't many birds trying to gobble them up.

From our hike we had a wonderful view of the peaks to the West, including the Mettelhorn, which Dave climbed the next day via the route shown in red.

Looking back the next day from the top of the Mettelhorn, you can see where we hiked Monday, again shown in red.  Karen's friends, Andrea and Brenda would LOVE hiking here.

From the Mettelhorn, there was also a spectacular view of the Matterhorn, about 1000 meters (3300 feet) higher.  I hoped to climb the Matterhorn Friday, weather permitting.

Here I am atop the Mettelhorn.

On Wednesday, I met my friend, Bill Larson, for a hike which began at Col Grand St. Bernard, the monastery (in the picture above) where the famous dogs are bred.

I had a great time hiking with Bill.  Here he is at the beginning of the hike.  We started by climbing the peak behind him and traversing the skyline to the left.

The weather continued to be beautiful, and Bill and I competed to get the best pictures of flowers and mountains. 

Here's Bill taking pictures of the Mt. Blanc massif.  It was the first time he'd seen it from this angle.  He sees the other side every day from his home near Geneva.

Another entry for our "flowers and mountains" photo contest.

Anybody know the name of this flower?

Toward the end of the day, the climbing got rougher.  We got lost and blamed it on each other.  It was a long day, but we really enjoyed it.