I just got back from a whirlwind six-day trip through Switzerland and I thought I'd do a little trip report on my first day on the slopes. Hope you guys enjoy!
-Charlie
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Three friends and I went to Zermatt, Switzerland (Trail Map) on Friday to spend the night and ski all day Saturday. We chose Zermatt because of its ease of access and consistent good conditions. Be warned though; from the Geneva airport a round-trip train ticket costs $176 in second class and $292 in first class!
We ended up staying in the Matterhorn Hostel on Friday night. It is your average youth hostel. Think 6-8 person dorm rooms and towel rental, but y at 34 franc per person, it can't be beat. It is a little walk from the train station, but it passes by all the main sites and there is a beautiful view of the Matterhorn from the bridge along the way. Also, you get a 10% discount on rentals if you stay here.
That night we ate at a place called Restaurant Walliserkanne. It was very authentic, but don't expect that they will definitely speak english. I had the a cup of goulash and Rösti Walliserkanne, which is hashbrowns, ham, gruyère cheese, and a fried egg. They also had pretty cheap beer (4 fr for 300ml) and it was really good and local from the Valais region. We also split some Apfelstrudel which was very good. The food was very good and well-priced, compared to other places. My meal cost about 40 franc with two beers.
We rented from the rental place just across from the train station called Bayard Sport. My skis, boots, poles, and helmet cost 51 fr with the discount, which isn't bad at all for Zermatt. If you rent more than one day it gets progressively cheaper and you can also try out different skis every day. Lift tickets were between 70 and 80 fr.
While we were there, the weather was pretty terrible. Think 40 or 50 mph winds and temperatures in the single digits plus visibility measured in feet. Because of this the Klein Matterhorn lift was on wind hold, but there was still plenty of terrain open, especially on the Cervinia side, which is included in the ticket. Two days before we got there, they got about a two foot dump overnight, so snow conditions were pretty ridiculous. An instructor on the lift ride up told me about a great stash just off one of the trails and I hit snow up to my waist in places.
I got to ride my first t-bar over to the Italian side, and over there the snow conditions were even better, because there were much less skiers. On one trail there was boot-top pow and it was light, fluffy, and completely untouched...two days after the storm. Make sure you know when the lifts cut off though, because my friend and I almost got caught on the Cervinia side and it was very nerve-wracking making it to the last tram back to Zermatt.
All in all it was an absolutely incredible way to start my ski season, even with the terrible weather. If you have any questions about Zermatt or Switzerland, just drop me a PM and I'll try to help you out. I really think that everyone should make it to Switzerland at least once in there life. It is totally unbelievable.
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The six-pack with it's wind bubbles that kept us from absolutely dying on the lift rides.
It had snowed just a little bit before we got there. This is the terrace of the main on-mountain restaurant.
This is coming down one of the main trails towards Trockener Steg, where the restauran was and where all the lifts came together.
Waiting between the two t-bars because one was having wind troubles. You can see how little visibility there was at times.
Plateau Rosa from the t-bar. You can already see signs of Italy ("ristorante"). This was the highest point open while I was there (~11,500').
The lake in the middle of Cervinia on the Italian side. This place had much more terrain open than Zermatt and the winds were much less. Also, the terrain open seemed steeper and more interesting to me.
This is me straddling the Italy/Switzerland border holding the t-shirt of my local coffeehouse. I wanted to actually wear it, but with the temperature without windchill hovering around 5ºF, it was a little too chilly for short sleeves
Downloading with the town of Zermatt tucked into the valley. It's also worthwhile to note that Zermatt has no cars, which makes it really nice to wander through the city and it is also very clean because of this.
Sorry the pictures turned out so dark and grainy, but the lighting was pretty terrible and my camera is attached to a phone, so you'll just have to deal
-Charlie
