Zermatt – Get High

Why ? The famous Swiss resort does have a great ski area, extending to over 350km with runs down across the border into Italy. It also has Europe’s highest ski runs, its top lift touching 3900m, meaning that in quite severe periods of limited snowfall in the Alps it tends to still have plenty of terrain to offer even when areas of quite high elevation are struggling. It also means the lift-served vertical is one of the world’s biggest, and even the bottom of those 2200 vertical metres is at an altitude higher than the top lifts at some low-lying areas. Plus, thanks to its glacier, it’s one of only two resorts in the world that tries to open for snow sports 365 days a year, so it should be open today. And it is chock-full of comfortable accommodation, in an atmospheric car-free village, rich in skiing and climbing heritage and with a vibrant nightlife to boot.

All this definitely places Zermatt as a serious contender for that “best in the world” title, and it is the most highly rated ski area in the world if you count TripAdvisor reviews, up there with some of the world’s best capital cities for popularity.

But in case the picture is just too rosy, there is a downside to being very good, very popular and in Switzerland: high prices. Whilst holidays to Eurozone ski areas are cheaper for 2015–16, a 6-day adult pass for Zermatt and Cervinia is coming in at CHF435, or £295 as we went to press, the most expensive in Europe. There is a flipside for parents – children are completely free until age 9, then pay half price to age 16, amongst the most generous child pricing in Europe. Costs in resort aren’t cheap either, although there is a Co-op.

So what is it that pops Zermatt over the finish line, to claim that “best in the world” title ? The Matterhorn. Quite simply this mountain is truly awesome and leaves all other peaks in its shade (literally in a few cases). When you’re in Zermatt it is simply ”there”, always, dominating the skyline – somehow even managing to do so when it is obscured by cloud.

Your eyes are constantly drawn to it, to see how the light is playing on it, from the first time you look out of the window in the morning, to sunset in the evening.

I first skied in Zermatt in the summer of 1982 when I was still at school on a budget Interrail trip. A friend and I camped on the edge of the resort and hit the slopes in T-shirt and jeans at 7am on a July morning, quickly realising how cold it was despite the sunshine as the overnight freeze still had a hold. We dived into the mountain restaurant to warm up then clattered off on the frozen corduroy once again and repeated the process. By 10am the snow had softened enough for perfect conditions … which lasted about 90 minutes before the surface had melted too much and the snow was a sticky stodge.

I’ve been lucky enough to go back half a dozen times over the past three decades, most recently earlier this very summer. The resort has grown a lot over the years, and new plush chalets and apartments had appeared since I was last in town three years before that, but as usual, these were all dwarfed, made to feel insignificant somehow, by that eternal mountain presence towering above. No other ski resort can really compete with that although some – Niseko, Lake Louise and Murren for example – do come close.

Zermatt is just completing a summer of celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the first conquering of the Matterhorn, by Brit Edward Whymper. The mountain was officially ”closed” on the anniversary date in July, partly in recognition of his achievement but also in memory of those who died on the descent from the original successful conquering of the peak, and the hundreds who have died on the mountain in the 150 years since.

So if you’ve not made it to Zermatt yet, what should you expect ? Well, the first thing to know is that you’re almost certain to arrive by rail. THE way to arrive is by train from Geneva airport, with one change and you’re up on resort, but some package tour operators run a coach to the neighbouring village of Tasch from where a very plush shuttle train trundles you the five minutes on to Zermatt from a Eurostar-sized terminal (well, not quite, but it seems big for a small village).

Zermatt has grown into a big resort and, attracting more than two million visitors annually, it’s busy year round. Electric taxis (built in the resort) and a ski bus buzz around the streets, and there are also horse-drawn sleighs, so peaceful does not really sum it up, but it is perhaps ”quiet” compared to any place where vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine are allowed on the roads.

There are multiple access lifts from the valley to the slopes including cable cars, gondola and funicular railway, so you can normally walk from any property to a lift, but it can be quite a walk if you’re at a more distant outpost. The ski bus can get crowded, too, so it’s best to check your accommodation is truly close to the lift or organises electric transport to and from the base station.

Once up on the slopes you’ll know you are indeed on one of the planet’s best ski regions, modestly but fairly accurately named ”Matterhorn Paradise” by the lift company.

There really are endless runs through all kinds of terrain for all ability levels here, and one of my favourites is to get right to the top of the ski area on the Klein Matterhorn then ski down towards Cervinia in Italy on a glorious long descent of more than 11km and nearly 1800m of vertical.

Known as the Pista Ventina, it’s a very long, winding, rolling piste that just lasts forever with southwest exposure at high elevation, and it’s one of my all-time favourites.

Stopping for a proper espresso as you cross the border at the first mountain hut on the Italian side is just a bonus.