Photos by Phillip N. Wheat, Intro by Everett Potter

A few times a year, I head off to Switzerland and Italy for National Geographic Expeditions and lecture on an amazing trip called Swiss Trains & the Italian Lake District. We start in Zurich, and then head to Zermatt, St. Moritz, Pochiavo and Lake Como. Most of the travel is by train, and there’s plenty of time for hiking.

In the five years that I’ve done this trip, I’ve had some great amateur photographers along. Phil Wheat, I must say, is one of the best. A retired surgeon, his passion is now photography. I learned a lot from Phil during the course of the trip. Here are a selection of his photos of Zermatt. I’ll run his images of Lake Como in a few weeks.

Phillip N Wheat, DDS, MS, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, was in private practice and an associate professor at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois for 38 years.  He now resides in Naples Florida with his wife, Pat, and enjoys nature photography, travel and sports.