 Poster: A snowHead
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Winds still making life difficult. Nothing open at the south end (including the Italian link) but one of the home runs from Patrularve down to the bottom of the Sunnegga funicular is now open. Somewhat crazily it is the one with the ludicrous steep section that from about three o’clock onward is littered with beginners and early intermediates who didn’t realise how tricky it was going to be.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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not sure if todays, but Eurosport showing snowboard cross from Cervinia. Superb looking snow cover!
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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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| twoodwar wrote: |
| not sure if todays, but Eurosport showing snowboard cross from Cervinia. Superb looking snow cover! |
Certainly is.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Absolutely phenomenal conditions today. Blue skies and comfortable temperatures. And the side piste had fluffy fresh snow about 40-50cm deep.
Connection to Cervinia was shut most of the day due to a technical issue with one of the lifts. But that meant we spent the whole day in Valtournenche, where it was quite quiet and still fresh snow to be found on the last runs of the day, which was probably the best possible result.
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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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Hopefully that’s the worst of the weather done for a while. The long range forecast looks reasonably good though the wind will always be a concern.
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Happy Xmas Zermatt and Cervinia people. Only 10 more weeks till I’m back. Obertauern in 5 weeks to warm up.
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Another day of exceptional powder in Cervinia. We spent the day skiing in knee deep on piste in some places with lots of great side piste action all over the pace. Wind picked up in the afternoon after the snow stopped and the sun came out, but the side benefit was that it created the opportunity for new fresh tracks as it blew the snow around and covered a lot of the morning activity.
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Reckon I’ve touched something lucky with the weather. Looks like clear with the winds subsiding for the next 5 days. Lovely stuff. Got a nice pic from the plane too, can’t seem to find attachment options on here to post though.
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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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@Raptor23, You certainly have. We arrived yesterday. I got excited when I opened my eyes on the train around Sierre/Siders (some way down the Rhône valley from Visp, where you change for the Zermatt train) and realised everything was white! By the time we got up to Täsch, one stop before Zermatt, and walked to the apartment everything was thick and crisp underfoot.
We went walking today. A lot of the walks had only just opened after the storms of the past few days. The snow was amazing. We had microspikes on, which helped in the more well trodden stuff. But if we had carried our snowshoes there were several places we would have been better off with them on (and this is hiking trails not designated snowshoe trails).
Every piste was open today on the Swiss side (including the link over to the Italian side) with the exception of the black run down from Furgg to Furi. But that run has a very steep slope to skiers’ left and so is often closed for a day or so after heavy snow. It has been open this season and should be open again soon.
The itineraries are also opening up. Stockhorn is not scheduled to open until third week of January. But 18 at the far northern end at Kumme and 49 which bypasses Furi were opened today. 10 from Blauherd to Findeln has been open for a while now. Hopefully the itineraries from Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee will open soon. There certainly is no shortage of snow. It is just a matter of making them safe. As I am off skiing tomorrow I would be jolly grateful if they would open them.
Those who chose to ski Xmas week have probably had a tricky time with the storms and the wind and the consequent lift closures. Those who have chosen to ski New Year’s week have really hit pay dirt. Snow conditions are superb. It looks like blue skies and sun the whole way through and nothing significant in terms of wind. Although temperatures are forecast to rise in a couple of days time, it looks like it will be enough to make things pleasant but not enough to cause and snow deterioration.
Finally to give you an idea of what has come down here is a picture from the Ski Club’s Zermatt Facebook page from Friday morning towards the end of the last of the storms.
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| JohnMo wrote: |
Hopefully the itineraries from Trockener Steg and Schwarzsee will open soon. There certainly is no shortage of snow. It is just a matter of making them safe. As I am off skiing tomorrow I would be jolly grateful if they would open them.
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Well indeed I am jolly grateful as they did open up. I have had a great day out on the itineraries.
I did 10 from Blauherd to Findlen this morning. It is relatively low and is exposed to a lot of sun. So it was quite crusty. But I popped back there last thing and it was a very pleasant run in the afternoon sunshine.
67 and 68 down from Furggsattel to Furgg opened for the first time this season and were in superb condition. Deep, crispy snow. A few sharks in places but nothing to spoil matters. 67 was very nice but 68 was out of this world. I think what happens is that those who are not very familiar with the place come off red 70 onto itinerary 67 and head straight down it. It is not obvious that if you branch way over to your left there is itinerary 68. Great news for those of us in the know because even today it was fresh tracks almost all the way down.
Itinerary 59 was open on Schwarzsee for the first time today. Being mainly north facing and quite a lot of it in the trees the snow was in excellent condition. It is a bit of a trap for the unwary. When you are coming down piste 51, itinerary 59 looks very inviting: lots of crisp, fresh, ungroomed snow and fairly wide and not at all steep. However, by the time it is too late to turn round it suddenly turns rather narrow, steep and lots of trees to restrict your options. If you like that sort of thing (I do) it is wonderful but you could tell there were several skiers with the "what have I got myself into" looks on their faces. I got took out fairly spectacularly by a (very polite and very apologetic) Englishman. He got me with a sliding tackle from behind which when I was young would have been regarded as a great piece of football but would now probably be a red card. He somehow managed to come underneath me, send me into the air so that I landed with head still up hill from feet and skis still on and with him amazingly lower down the hill than me. I'd love to see a video of it because it seemed impossible. I didn't hear him coming which was probably a good thing as it meant I was still relaxed.
Itinerary 18 up in the north of the resort was open. It is fairly similar to itinerary 59 but quieter. I waited until the sun had got high enough to be on it to do it and again it was in excellent condition.
Finally itinerary 49 which bypasses Furi was open. It is much underrated this one and is certainly worth doing. You can tell how good the snow has been that this not only is open but in good nick. Some years it would not be open at this time and can even struggle to get opened at all.
Up to Gorgnegrat for snowshoe walking tomorrow. Looks like another cracker. At some stage we might want to see some more snow come down but at present one can simply enjoy the snow that has fallen and the sun and blue skies.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We also had a tremendous day. Not one for the serious off piste stuff we concentrated on putting some distance into the legs. Managed to get to Plateau Rosa for 9am and have an almost isolated cruise down to Furi on freshly groomed pistes then spent most of the day in the Riffelberg area.
Conditions almost perfect all day, could’ve sat down sunbathing at Klein Matterhorn on the way back though the piste down to Plateau Rosa was properly mashed up by 2pm due to sheer volume of traffic in the good conditions.
Off to Valtournenche tomorrow, the rising temperatures pose a serious risk to the home run there and want to make sure we do it early tomorrow in case it gets too slushy later tomorrow and later this week.
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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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Heading to Zermatt in a few days time. We’ve never been to a resort with itineraries before. Are they suitable for competent piste skiers, who have never skied off piste?
Thank you all for the updates so far!
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| SilksworthSkier wrote: |
Heading to Zermatt in a few days time. We’ve never been to a resort with itineraries before. Are they suitable for competent piste skiers, who have never skied off piste?
Thank you all for the updates so far! |
Marra, if you can ski Silksworth you can ski anywhere man. Having said that I haven’t skied it but cycle past it frequently (usually very quickly for safety reasons - I am from Seaham and I don’t think the locals like us much).
If you can ski them, the itineraries in Zermatt (there are none in Cervinia) expand the skiing experience enormously. I take my daughter, two sons and son in law on them (the two daughters in law wave goodbye and head for hot chocolate). They are good but not great skiers and only ski once or twice a year. Having said that, a mate of mine is a much better piste skier than me but hates and is rubbish on itineraries (which is chickens and which is egg is hard to say).
You can get a taste of itineraries just by skiing side piste in many areas around the resort. If you like and are competent at that, you will probably be fine on itineraries.
The easiest itinerary is number 10 from Blauherd down to Findeln. However it is easiest in good snow. It is completely south facing so unless there is fresh snow it is liable to thaw, freeze and can become almost unskiable.
The best option to get yourself out is number 67 down to Furgg. The piste map is a bit misleading as it looks like you can reach it from Trockener Steg. You can’t. You need to go up to Furggsattel and stay left to go down piste 70 (not 69 - although that is not open at present. You will find itinerary 67 (and 68 ) marked on your left (it is quite a way down so keep your eyes open).
Remember that on an itinerary you are following a single yellow pole (not poles either side like on a piste). It is up to your judgement as to how wide to go from the pole.
Unfortunately the steepest part of 67 is at the beginning. You can cheat if you want to test out an easier and shorter part. This you can do from either Trockener Steg or Furggsattel. Where the pistes down from Trockener Steg (you need to stay left the whole time) meet piste 70 coming down from Furggsattel there is a sign on the left saying “no marked runs” here. You will see that a lot of people have skied straight across. 50 metres over this off piste section joins the easier part of itinerary 67. Of course for 50 metres you are skiing off piste so it is your judgement as to whether you want to do that.
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You know it makes sense.
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With the new cable car to Klein Matterhorn it seems to be bau for them to turn the t bars off from TS. This is having a downside I’d hoped was a one off yesterday. Red 85 is just getting churned up and turned into a giant mogul field which is very disconcerting for the lower intermediate skiers and si causing bottle necks, traffic jams and more than a few frayed nerves. In the condition it was in this afternoon it should be marked as black on the piste map. At least if the t bars were still running those heading back to Italy would have the option to avoid that stretch.
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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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@JohnMo
Thanks a lot, we will certainly put this advice to good use. Looking forward to trying a different type of run.
Hopefully the south facing runs you mention will still be in a decent condition towards the latter end of the week when we arrive. Shame there’ll be no fresh now but it looks like it’ll be blue sky conditions, so I’m certainly not complaining.
As for Silksworth, I think the worst winds I’ve ever skied in have been at the top of that hill!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Raptor23 wrote: |
| With the new cable car to Klein Matterhorn it seems to be bau for them to turn the t bars off from TS. This is having a downside I’d hoped was a one off yesterday. Red 85 is just getting churned up and turned into a giant mogul field which is very disconcerting for the lower intermediate skiers and si causing bottle necks, traffic jams and more than a few frayed nerves. In the condition it was in this afternoon it should be marked as black on the piste map. At least if the t bars were still running those heading back to Italy would have the option to avoid that stretch. |
I saw that the T bars from Trockener Steg up to Testa Grigia weren’t running yesterday. If that is a policy because of the new lift up to Klein Matterhorn it is daft. A lot of people find that run down from Klein Matterhorn tricky. They should at least have the option of using the T bars.
Things will change a lot from the season after next (I.e. 2021/22) because then the new Alpine Crossing lift between Klein Matterhorn and Testa Grigia will be open. Then skiers of any ability can spend a day or more in the “other” country. However, if they are stopping the T bars that is two whole seasons of telling skiers they have to be able to ski from Klein Matterhorn if they want to transfer between the countries.
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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’s a viscous circle, intermediates early in the day are forced to use it as the t bars are shut, they then take it slow and create the moguls for those following who do the same and make it worse, utter lunacy.
Aside from that, had another good day, the 67 and 68 itineries were great this afternoon. We headed to Valtournenche this morning and won’t be returning. Piste 1 isn’t great low down and the queues to come back were awful with a 15 minute wait at both the chairs and easily 20+ at the drag lift.
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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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Anyone who booked New Year’s week on either the Swiss or Italian side has struck lucky. The snow is still great and the weather it just gorgeous. For those coming out next week the snow might be getting a bit tired but of course the crowds will be a lot smaller. There doesn’t look to be any fresh snow until next Tuesday- and that is too far out to have much confidence.
I did a quick blast from Klein Matterhorn down to Plan Maison first thing just to warm the legs up. The lift queues seemed bigger on the Italian side but that is just a subjective view. In any case I came straight back over to Switzerland as my plan for the day was based on stuff here. First thing was meant to be the black 62 from Furgg down to Furi. This is a great run during the day but at the end of the afternoon becomes a home run and something of a shambles. Unfortunately it opened and then soon closed (before I could get on it!). Quite a few people were ducking under the rope and heading down it still. I find this baffling. I am happy to go off piste and know that when I do I am using my judgement as to what is safe. If the lifties close a piste that is completely prepared they do it for a reason. That reason is often avalanche risk. I realise the lifties will be very cautious but why on earth would anyone think their judgement could trump the lifties? As it happens I came back up the Furi to Schwarzsee lift and you could see the slabs that had broken free over piste 62. Not huge ones - but not something that would be pleasant to be hit by as you were casually piste skiing.
Sorry about that rant. In better news itinerary 58 from Aroleid (half way down from Schwarzsee) to Furi is now open and is lovely. Also open are itineraries 16 and 17 down from Rothorn. I was over there at the end of the day and had time to do them but didn’t spot that they were open until too late. So annoying.
Happy New Year everyone interested in Zermatt and Cervinia. May the weeks before your ski trips be perpetually snowing and your time in the mountains be blue sky and sun.
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Lift queues definitely noticeably bigger on Italian side. Was quite windy Italian side this morning too.
I was equally disappointed by the black from furg to furi being closed having not checked the real time map I arrived and had to go back up on the chair.
Looking forward to trekking right the way over to Rothorn tomorrow.
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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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And on the subject of the real time map today it showed the T bars from TS open yet we arrived and they were shut and another torturous trip with a lower intermediate down the moguls from Klein Matterhorn had to be done.
On the plus side we made it over to Rothorn which was worth it purely for the photo opportunities and my mother was most grateful for a WiFi FaceTime call from there. Skipped lunch as the boy wasn’t hungry and managed to ski loads of the runs that side without much difficulty and not worrying about time. When the weather is this good it makes things so much easier.
Bumped into a couple at theodulpass sharing our picnic spot on the way back who were raving about Cervinia, felt compelled to tell them this kind of weather isn’t the norm. Might go out in shorts and a t shirt tomorrow. 
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Looking a bit warm and dry over the next 10 days. Hope later GFS runs get a little cooler at least.
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| twoodwar wrote: |
| Looking a bit warm and dry over the next 10 days. Hope later GFS runs get a little cooler at least. |
Yep. There is not much in the way of snow on the horizon according to the GFS ensembles.
There are disadvantages to being high and (mainly) north facing (as Zermatt is but Cervinia is more inclined to the south/south west) but at times like this it is certainly an advantage. There has been plenty of snow and little of it has deteriorated or even less so melted. Anyone coming out next week mainly for piste skiing should have a very good time. Off piste will be trickier. The itineraries will be chopped up but the snow will be good to ski through (the exception will be no. 10 from Blauherd to Findelen which will have had multiple thaw/freeze cycles and will be awful). Personally I am happy skiing chopped snow, it makes you work harder. Some parts of the itineraries will have moguled by next week (again personally I like moguls). However, it is going to be hard to find decent side piste stuff to ski if that is what you like. If you have skins there are plenty of places you can go to and if you can afford a guide there is still a lot of good untouched snow that us mortals don’t reach.
Cervinia always impresses me with the quality of their piste preparation. So notwithstanding the sun I can see them keeping their pistes in good condition – maybe with the exception of the home runs. Similarly, in Valtournenche piste 1 down to the base will be horrible.
We walked down the valley (and back) from Täsch (at 1450m) to Randa (at 1400m) today. We did it mainly on snowshoes. One of the great benefits of being on snowshoes is that you can head off into untracked snow. The quality of the snow way down at this level gives me confidence about the staying power of the snow up high. Admittedly this part of the (north facing) valley is not getting many hours of sun at this time of year: but then as noted above, nor are large parts of the Swiss side of the resort. In more sheltered parts the untacked snow was absolutely perfect underfoot. It could have fallen yesterday. Even in more exposed parts where a crust sat on top of the snow, it was a very thin crust. It certainly would not hold the weight (and then release!) the weight of a skier. So all but the most nervous of off piste skiers would have a great time in it.
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Lovely photo from Summit Ski School Facebook page yesterday. This is the Rote Nase lift. It takes you from Hotälli over to Rote Nase from where you have access to the Rote Nase and Stockhorn itineraries. The photo is taken from Rote Nase station looking west back to Hohtälli. Down to the right is the top of the itineraries. You can see how great the snow is.
These itineraries do not open to the public for another three weeks. But authorised guides and instructors can use the lift to take their clients over there. Summit do off piste lessons, hence them being there.
This lift is due to be superseded by a new lift direct from Hohtälli over further to Stockhorn in the next couple of years (exact timing not announced).
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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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Black 62 from Furgg down to Furi finally reopened this morning. I appreciate it has the greatest avalanche risk in the resort but I am still surprised it took quite so long to reopen. The last snow was last Saturday. A bit of a pity for the New Year’s week skiers (although they had plenty to be pleased about) but good news for the work shirkers coming out for the coming week.
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Apologies if wrong thread. Planning to spend some time in valtournenche to combine early morning on the slopes and afternoon-evening remote work. How commutable is it to the Cervinia slopes and from the slopes in the afternoon to Valt? I would like to start as early as possible and get back to the village by 11:30-12:00
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Snow permitting, you can obviously ski to Valtournenche, and lift up to Cervinia, or have I missed your point?
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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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@twoodwar, thanks. It’s more of a combo factor question. Time wise, queues and weather.
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| EARNEST wrote: |
| Apologies if wrong thread. Planning to spend some time in valtournenche to combine early morning on the slopes and afternoon-evening remote work. How commutable is it to the Cervinia slopes and from the slopes in the afternoon to Valt? I would like to start as early as possible and get back to the village by 11:30-12:00 |
Yes. I think it is doable. However I ski Cervinia and Valtournenche coming over from the Swiss side so, while I am familiar with the slopes and lifts, I am not familiar with the villages.
There are three negatives: the road transport links between the two places are not as extensive as you might want; going by lift from Valtournenche takes quite a long time (it is better coming back); and the Valtournenche lift base is itself about 1km north of the village centre.
Here is a link to the bus timetable:
https://www.cervinia.it/file/11443
I would get the quarter to 8 Ski bus from Valtournenche to Cervinia. You can then spend some time on the slopes above Plan Maison and/or Plan Torrette. The trip back will take a little while but is pleasant skiing. Take the gondola T from Plan Maison over to Laghi Cime Bianche. From there you have two choices (personally I would do the first): take the cable car F up to Testa Grigia; or ski down to the bottom of chairlift Z and go up that. The former allows you to ski the top of the famous Ventina piste while the latter chairlift is an old, slow one. In either case ski to your left and head for the short chairlift g that will raise you up into the Valtournenche area. From there you can ski all the way down to the Valtournenche base lift. Not sure how you get from there the 1km or so to wherever you are staying (I imagine there is some sort of shuttle service?).
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You know it makes sense.
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Will try to keep this brief: fly to Geneva tomorrow, train to Täsch, staying there and then planning on getting train each day to Zermatt to go boarding.
Would usually sort lift pass in resort, but with the added train journey, wondering whether I should get the Zermatt Ski Pass including Shuttle from matterhornparadise.ch now?
Or whether I should even get the international one seeing as I was thinking of going over to Cervinia for at least 1 day and it still seems to work out cheaper to do that than paying a supplement on the standard pass.
Our survey says...? 
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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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@JohnMo, thanks a lot for such an informative answer 
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Poster: A snowHead
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| jebroni3_16 wrote: |
Will try to keep this brief: fly to Geneva tomorrow, train to Täsch, staying there and then planning on getting train each day to Zermatt to go boarding.
Would usually sort lift pass in resort, but with the added train journey, wondering whether I should get the Zermatt Ski Pass including Shuttle from matterhornparadise.ch now?
Or whether I should even get the international one seeing as I was thinking of going over to Cervinia for at least 1 day and it still seems to work out cheaper to do that than paying a supplement on the standard pass.
Our survey says...? |
I am not sure there is an advantage in buying online now (although there is certainly no disadvantage). There are times it is better to buy online but you need to be more in advance.
Definitely get the lift pass with the shuttle included. I have an annual lift pass so buy my multi day shuttle pass when I am out there but any friends and family who come out always get the pass with shuttle. You can pick it up (if bought online) or buy it at the ticket office in Täsch station.
You only need to go over to Cervinia twice for it to be worth having the international pass rather than paying the supplement on a domestic Swiss pass. The weather is looking really nice. Cervinia is gorgeous in the sunshine at this time of year (when a lot of Zermatt can be rather dark – all be it that is good for maintaining snow quality). I would be surprised if you did not end up on the Italian side at least twice during your visit. So I would definitely say: get an international pass with the shuttle included.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Another big thanks to @JohnMo for another informative answer!
Whilst I speak German, my gut instinct was to sort this in advance and be guaranteed the slight subsidy on the train ticket if nothing else.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Leider nicht! 
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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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GFS really is offering no hope of fresh snow in the forseeable future. Even the promise of something for the weekend has faded away. Great if you are out there, particularly if you mainly like piste skiing, as the pistes remain in good shape. But it would be nice if the blocking high sitting over the Alps would bug off.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm going to Cervina/Zermatt on the week of 21st January.
Can I expect some snow by then? Or at least the maintenance of the actual conditions... I don't know if a lot of freeze-thaw is happening at the moment.
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| nunex wrote: |
I'm going to Cervina/Zermatt on the week of 21st January.
Can I expect some snow by then? Or at least the maintenance of the actual conditions... I don't know if a lot of freeze-thaw is happening at the moment. |
I am back out on the 19th and so I would like to think so. But GFS is not holding out much hope at present. It does look like in a couple of days time temperatures will fall back to more normal levels.
Almost all skiing in Zermatt and Cervinia is above 2000m. So those pistes should still be in good shape. Plus a lot of Zermatt is north facing which helps.
The itineraries (with the exception of number 10 from Blauherd to Findeln) all look in good condition. The side piste will probably be poor by now though. Also the home runs in all three areas (Zermatt, Cervinia and Valtournenche) will have seen freeze thaw and so will not be great.
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Hi Guys,
I'm thinking of heading to Cervinia late(ish) in the season.
Approx dates are April 22nd to the 26th or 27th.
I'll be bring a bunch of friends, Maybe 10 or 12 of us.
Can anyone recommend accommodation options close to whatever lift(s) will be open to access that time of season please?
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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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| JohnMo wrote: |
| nunex wrote: |
I'm going to Cervina/Zermatt on the week of 21st January.
Can I expect some snow by then? Or at least the maintenance of the actual conditions... I don't know if a lot of freeze-thaw is happening at the moment. |
I am back out on the 19th and so I would like to think so. But GFS is not holding out much hope at present. It does look like in a couple of days time temperatures will fall back to more normal levels.
Almost all skiing in Zermatt and Cervinia is above 2000m. So those pistes should still be in good shape. Plus a lot of Zermatt is north facing which helps.
The itineraries (with the exception of number 10 from Blauherd to Findeln) all look in good condition. The side piste will probably be poor by now though. Also the home runs in all three areas (Zermatt, Cervinia and Valtournenche) will have seen freeze thaw and so will not be great. |
Thanks a lot for the insight JohnMo. I have no experience reading GFS charts, but I'm always eager to learn. Like, this one seems to suggest that it will snow between 10 and 11 Jan and again some more between 14 and 21 Jan.
As far as it concerns "home runs", I don't really mind to ride spring snow... it makes me improve my technique even more.
So all "off piste" skiing/snowoarding is out of question, with the present conditions? My group was eager to try some of it out... but it's ok if we can't, as there is a lot to explore already "on piste".
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@nunex, Yes it is looking like there will be some snow Friday. Even though every flake is welcome, it is not very much. You can see it already on the BBC weather radar projection. It is a fairly small band of rain passing below the British Isles and heading east across Europe to give the western alps some snow Friday. Zermatt is on the eastern side of the Western alps so little of it will make it to us.
As for next week, that is just too fair out to have any confidence. You can see that from how widespread the runs are. On average they are not showing much but some outliers are showing quite large amounts. It will be the beginning of next week before you can start having any confidence that snow will come before you (and I) arrive. The weather outlook thread on this forum is great for discussions on this.
As for off piste you can still have a good time. The itineraries are effectively off piste (I.e ungroomed) and will still be holding up. The photo below is from the Ski Club of Great Britain’s Zermatt Facebook page. It was taken yesterday morning on itinerary 16. The snow looks lovely. As I said itinerary 10 will be the only one not to have held up as it is lower and south facing. But if you went down that later afternoon even that might be good.
Of course if you can afford a guide there is a lot of last month’s snow still sitting there in good condition waiting to be explored.
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