 Poster: A snowHead
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I am thinking of returning to Zermatt from New York for the week of February 12-18. Ski Monday-Sunday. I was there last year in early March and it was fantastic. From my understanding that week for the first 6 days of my trip would be UK half term and the last 2 days would be French zones A+C. Reading these forums there are many horror stories of skiing half term. Considering that week is presidents week in the US, it is not like the resorts here would be all that empty. I guess my question is, is Zermatt, as compared to say the french resorts or st anton which seem to be more popular with brits, that bad over half term or will it be a week from hell? I get the sense from forums and what not that maybe zermatt does not get as bad as other places. Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It certainly won’t be a week from hell. Zermatt is not exactly family-oriented; it is expensive and the skiing is spread out and often challenging. Not the sort of place you'd expect to find lots of families. It's probably one of the better resorts if you must go at half term.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@skiandgolfnut, Only been once at half term and it was a while ago but it wasn’t too busy.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Always funny, Anglosaxon ethnocentrism.
Would not worry too much about English half-term.
More about it being the Fasching/Carnaval week. Second busiest week of the season (after Christmas). All Catholic Europe and more will be on holiday.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 17-10-17 21:04; edited 3 times in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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There will be zero French. The issue is more Brits cramming the Saturday flights into Geneva in order to hit the French Savoyard resorts. If coming form NY look at routing through ZRH and pay up for a good train connection. Zurich/Geneva is about 15 mins in it if I recall correctly.
But if you liked Zermatt so much last time there are also plenty of other Euro / Swiss resorts that you fancy as well? Engelberg, Andermatt, Arlberg, Dolomites, Verbier?? What sort of skiing are you after? Zermatt is not top of the league other than for food, views and prices! (But you got to do the views once!)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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About 5 years ago I did Boston->LHR->Geneva then train Geneva Airport direct to Martigny and picked up by car from there. By that time it was about 9.30pm if I recall. So it'd be worth working backwards to make sure you depart NY in time to realistically get to your destination. If I recall, the transfer time in LHR T4 was longer than I expected but you have to leave enough margin for a delayed flight out of the US into London. And make sure you can check the baggage through to Switzerland (I could as it was all-BA). Use the Swiss train scheduler at https://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html to work out connections on the Swiss side.
I was a bit apprehensive, but as it turned out, everything went very smoothly and I wasn't as exhausted as I expected by the time I got to Martigny. Taking the train seemed to make the last leg more relaxing than the usual drive in the dark as well.
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@skiandgolfnut, If it has to be that week, Zermatt is probably one of the best choices as it's less exposed to the Brit invasion and of course none of the Euro countries want to change their money into CHF
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Oh dear. British arrogance and ignorance is also here in Snowheads.
There is no such thing as a 'Brit invasion' in skiing. You Brits are just too few compared to EU skiers!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Unfortunately that is the only week we can go. It seems like most of the responses suggest it is not so bad half term so that is good. As for why Zermatt, well I think it is just a spectacular place to ski and hang out. Am fortunate that the expensive side of Zermatt is not an issue, we had a great trip last year and felt comfortable with the cost. Expense aside, the food is incredible, the views are incredible, and the off piste is out of this world. We had a guide for 5 days last year that took us all over and it was some of the best skiing weve done anywhere. For 5 days we had untouched powder on nearly every run. I get the sense St Anton or Verbier or Val have more of an off piste culture than Zermatt does and perhaps gets skid off quicker. I will get to those places one day too. But for half term considering the crowds at those place Zermatt seems like a safer bet.
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For the record, not being an off piste guy, the piste skiing and the food in Zermatt is way ahead of Verbier. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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True, but indeed Zermatt is overrated as pisteparadise. The actual skiing in Zermatt is just not that great. Food, scenery and atmosphere are excellent though.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I am only a brit holiday skier, but have been skiing since 1972. It is simply the best I have been to, I do include Cervinia in this thought though!
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@skiandgolfnut, Great choice- Zermatt is amazing- as you say - food, views, off piste- and the vertical are all superlative (as are the prices). If I could afford it I'd ski in Zermatt over anywhere else - if the choice for one trip was ; either Zermatt or another European resort (with family- price irrelevant).
Have a wonderful time and post some photos! Think about a day's heliskiing as well. Can be quite technical.
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You know it makes sense.
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Regarding the pistes, Id have to agree that they werent the best, having said that I get the sense that as someone that skis in the western US most of the year, I will think piste skiing is bad nearly everywhere in Europe. Tough to beat perfect wide groomed runs. I was amazed in Zermatt that a week after a storm the off piste was untouched. Everyone just stuck to the pistes. I made fresh tracks every day for a week. I dont know if other resorts off piste gets tracked out faster, but Zermatt was superb in this regard. Also, the scale of the off piste blows away expert skiing in US. I ski snowbird, jackson hole, big sky all the time and I have no problem ranking Zermatt right up there with them for off piste terrain. Even better when you consider its almost always untracked. Those mountains get skid off in about 3 hours after a storm.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@skiandgolfnut, great choice! Consider a heli drop on the Italian side as mentioned above. And going on your off piste bias i’d also recommend trying to fit in a day in Verbier if you have the chance. If you’re flying into Geneva it’s on the route to Zermatt. Your guide would possibly also drive you there for a day. Enjoy!
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