Ski Resort: Zermatt

Well, what can you say about Zermatt? It's probably one of the most famous ski resorts in the Alps, if not the world. Surrounded by 29 peaks over 4000m, the most famous of which is the Toblerone inspiring Matterhorn, one cannot help but be impressed with the setting, but is it a good ski resort?


The Village

View from above Turften

Zermatt is a long, thin village that sits at the foot of the Matterhorn. Indeed from nearly everywhere in the village the mountain is as imposing as one might expect. One of the curious things about Zermatt is the "car free" tag, which really ought to be amended to petrol free. Little electric cars whizz around the place ferrying skiers from hotels to lift stations, as do the electric buses on the bus network.

In the centre of the village, is the charming Hinterdorfstrasse, with it's traditional Walser houses that perch precariously on stilts and stone discs. But out side of this idyllic centre, Zermatt has turned into something of a tourist monster, and new builds are springing up all over the place.


Whilst pubs and restaurants are in abundance, the price is eyewateringly expensive for the average skier, with only a couple of bars on the outskirts, like Sparky's offering anything for the budget conscious. That said, if money is no problem, then there are some very high quality restaurants to choose from. The Stockhorn Grill and Swiss Chalet are highly recommended.


The Ski area

The Breithorn

The ski area offered by Zermatt and it's Italian neighbour, Cervinia, is vast and there is easily enough to keep even the most committed of skiers occupied for a week.


Zermatt has three areas, Rothorn, Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn. All of which have good snow making facilities, a variety of blues, reds and black runs, as well as the yellow off piste runs. Each area is above 3100m so snow conditions stay good for a long time, even towards the end of the season.


The Zermatt ski area is not going to be to everyones liking though, lots of the runs are very long, steep and offer good vertical drop but, many are also very narrow and can get very overcrowded, especially during peak season.


The lift system is fast and modern, but it can take an extraordinary amount of time to get from the village to the slopes, but once you are up, you have a long way to go before you have to use the lift again.


For me, I found the best skiing to be in the Sunnegga / Rothorn area as well as the top of the Gornergrat. The Klein Matterhorn whilst offering impressive scenery became use of use only when a trip to Cervinia was on the cards.


I enjoyed skiing in Cervinia immensely, the run from the Kein Matterhorn to Val toTournenche is possibly the greatest cruising ski run I have ever done, with only a very short chair lift interrupting the 22km run. The runs into Cervinia from the Testa Grigia and the chair at the foot of the Matterhorn are also fantastic cruise fests.


Cervinia also boasts a vastly superior Snowboard park to the one found in Zermatt, and a great deal more off piste for the advanced, but not ski touring / heli skiing skiers and boarders.

Mountain food 

By the Matterhorn express lift

On the mountain catering is something that Zermatt does extremely well. The Stafelalp, Zum Zee and Findelerhof offer fantastic food, as does the cheaper Fluhalp. On the Cervina side, things are a bit more rustic and much more Italian, not to mention cheaper as well.

Summary

Zermatt probably is a place you should ski once, but not for the skiing. It's best offerings are the fabulous setting and high standard of hotels. For those used to the ski in, ski out convenience of France, the Lively Apres of Austria and the quietness of some of Switzerland's other resorts, you might be left a little cold by the ski area. I always felt that Zermatt is a place where they have forced a ski area onto the resort, it doesn't have the flow and feel of many ski areas I've been to.


Glad I went, but wouldn't go back.

Pros

1. Good lift system
2. Vast ski area - when linked to Cervinia
3. Big vertical drop
4. High standard of hotel and restaurant
5. Extensive snow making, guarantees skiing

Cons

1. Very expensive
2. Limited range of skiing in Zermatt itself
3. It takes along time to get onto the mountain
4. Awful transport system in resort.
5. Can be very cold and windy, leading to closure of Cervinia link