Many people don't know that in addition to my work with computers, I'm very passionate about exercise and fitness. I enjoy circuit training, running, soccer, and, the focus of this post, skiing. I've actually only been skiing seriously for a few years, but I like to ski challenging terrain. Sadly, the "mountains" where I live, in central Pennsylvania, leave much to be desired. So usually we go on at least one substantial ski trip per year. This year, for various reasons, my wife gave me the green light to go anywhere I wanted. After a fair amount of research, I chose Zermatt, Switzerland. We visited in early January 2019, for 6 days. (We also spent several days in Lucerne, which was quite nice too!) The point of this post is to share some of my thoughts and experiences. I find that ski resorts vary greatly (and especially so between continents!), so I find it helpful when people describe their experiences at different resorts.

The Resort

The ski resort in Zermatt is called Matterhorn Paradise. Matterhorn Paradise is huge, and is split into three different regions: Sunnega/Rothorn, Gornergrat, and Schwarzee/Klein Matterhorn. Each region is named after the major mountains it comprises. For instance, the main peaks in the Sunnega/Rothorn are Sunnega and Rothorn. Each region also has its own base station in Zermatt. Sunnega/Rothorn is accessed by a funicular train; Gornergrat is accessed via a cog train; and Schwarzee/Klein Matterhorn is accessed by a combination of gondolas and cable cars.

Terrain

Matterhorn Paradise is quite large. When fully open, they have 53 lifts and 143 marked runs.

Before I go further, it's time for a brief aside. Ski runs are classified as on piste or off piste, which is usually synonymous with groomed and ungroomed runs. Groomed runs are usually flattened each day by grooming machines and so they are relatively flat and easy to ski. Off piste runs generally "bump up" with large moguls, and can have a wide variety of snow conditions. In Zermatt, almost all runs are on piste, and are well groomed. The off piste runs are called itineraries. Although there is a lot of great skiable areas in the resort besides the itineraries, these are usually accompanied by signs saying there is no marked run, and the snow is not avalance controlled. Since rescue services are only available on marked runs, and I was skiing by myself, I didn't tempt fate! In large US resorts, off piste areas are quite different. They are truly areas. There are typically measured in acres, and are all controlled by the ski patrol. This is great for me, since I typically ski alone.

I really enjoyed the itineraries in Zermatt. The problem was that there weren't enough of them. On the best day, there were 11 itineraries open. And some of them shouldn't have been open -- you know the snow is bad when you find yourself heading towards the ice because you know how it's going to behave. But most of the itineraries were a lot of fun. For the most part, they were empty. I would get off a crowded cable car of skiers, take a turn at the entrance to an itinerary, and would watch as 20 skiers went past without even slowing down. More snow for me! I also had some close encounters with some type of mountain goats, too, which was neat. On other days, though, due to wind and lift closures, there were sometimes only one or two itineraries open. And it's pretty boring to ski the same thing over and over again.

Zermatt is well known for its free skiing, and I tried to book a guide while I was there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one because the snow conditions were so bad. Bummer!

Finally, there's the on piste runs. There were a few steep, wide runs that I found enjoyable. But they didn't have very much sustained pitch, which is weird considering the resort is in the alps! Also, a lot of the runs are cat tracks that really aren't that enjoyable at all.

One of the cool things about Zermatt is that it's linked to Cervinia (when it's not too windy). Cervinia's terrain was (almost?) all on piste, but had softer snow and more sustained steep runs, so I actually preferred the on piste skiing there to Zermatt's. Also, it's cool to ski to Italy for lunch.

Although this isn't really the terrain, the view of the mountains adds a lot to the overall experience of Zermatt (and Cervinia). I kept stopping to appreciate the view at various points on runs. It's really a magical setting. Even though it wasn't the best skiing I've experienced, it was still quite an experience.

Lift Infrastructure

When the resort was mostly open, the quality of the lift infrastructure really shined. There were never any lines, and you could usually get a lift or gondola to yourself if you were willing to wait a minute or two. All lifts that I saw were high speed detachables. Going straight up or down the mountain is fairly easily. However, navigating laterally is a lot more challenging. I found the signage to be lacking, and even when you knew where to go, it took quite a long time. If you want to go from opposite ends of the resort, such as from Sunnega/Rothorn to Schwarzee/Klein Matterhorn, it can easily take an hour. In some cases, it’s easier to descend to Zermatt, take a (free) bus to the other valley station, and take the lift up.

However, this is a tale of two resorts. When Zermatt was mostly open, the lift infrastructure was outstanding. The majority of the days I was there, at least one major lift was not functioning. The most common reason for this is high winds, which shut down lifts to Rothorn, Schwarzee, and Klein Matterhorn. Especially when the Schwarzee lift is shut down, which is the primary way to access the majority of the Klein Matterhorn terrain, the resort shrinks dramatically, and the lifts on the other part of the mountain develop significant lift lines. In addition to longer lift lines, some terrain becomes inaccessible, which can reduce the variety of the terrain available.

Another frustrating aspect about Matterhorn Paradise is that it's fairly hard to tell what terrain is actually going to be open that day. On two days, parts of the mountain initially showed as open, but when I got there I discovered that they were closed. Since my second choice of terrain was all the way on the other side of the resort, this wasted more than an hour of ski time!

Tips

• Don't start first thing in the morning. The mountains are so tall that visibility isn't good until 9:30 or 10AM anyway, so there's no point being on first chair unless you like skiing by feel only. Plus the runs won't be accurately marked as open until around that time anyway.

• Food in Switzerland is expensive. Really, really expensive. Burgers cost about $30, pizzas about$20. Get to know the grocery stores, which are expensive but at least affordable! Or, you know, ski to Italy!

Conclusion

It's probably evident that I was a little disappointed in Zermatt. For me, and the conditions that were present, it just wasn't the best fit. That being said, if you're an intermediate skier and really like skiing on piste, it might be the place for you. Or if you're a more advanced skier and are present during conditions that permit more backcountry skiing, you also might have a better time than I did. In either case, the atmosphere of being in the Alps is great, even if the skiing wasn't the greatest (for me). But for my next trip, I'm probably going to stay closer to home.. maybe Whistler or Alta. We'll see!