Poster: A snowHead
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X2 also let’s you get from Theodulpass to Ventina glacier to access Valtounanche and CielAlto
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wildsmith wrote: |
X2 also let’s you get from Theodulpass to Ventina glacier to access Valtounanche and CielAlto |
I had never thought about that. I am always based on the Swiss side so that is not a switch I am likely to want to do. There are of course other ways you can get from the Italian area under the Theodulpass to those areas but if you were up near the top I can see that lift X2 would be quicker. There are pass-checking gates at X2. X2 is a Swiss lift so Italy based skiers (the ones more likely to want to make the switch I think) would need an international pass.
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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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I think the picture has the final word on the X1 / Gandegg lift!
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Wildsmith wrote: |
I think the picture has the final word on the X1 / Gandegg lift! |
Ha! That is that gone. I can’t say I am disappointed. If you are heading to Trockener Steg, whether from Klein Matterhorn, Testa Grigia, Theodulpass or Furggsattel, you have to head for a narrow track with a long upward section. So you have to really get your speed up. Just as you were doing that you crossed the track of people being pulled up on X1. It could be hairy!
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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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@JohnMo, I'm surprised they haven't put a simple drag or magic carpet up the dip below Trockener Steg to make it easier to get back up to the big complex there, as you say you have to get your speed up to get close to the little magic carpet that they do have
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Thanks lads.
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Ooh, just seen on the Cervinia Facebook page that this season they are building a new piste (34) to connect the Cieloalto area to the ski lifts up to Plan Maison. Don’t be fooled by “bis 16” on the map - up until now if you skied into Cieloalto you had to walk through town to get back to the Plan Maison area. For that reason I hardly ever went there, which was a pity as on a good snow day those blacks are lovely.
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@JohnMo, yes the piste map was very misleading. Did the run down there last year to do the blacks. It was warm and I did not enjoy my walk uphill through part of the town to the lift. I was cooked!
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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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ha ha, last time I was in Cervina I fell for that too. The walk wasn't fun either. We were only there for a weekend which is why I don't know the area well , and you couldn't get over to Zermatt due to weather.
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Thank you @JohnMo.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Advice needed:
I've booked into the Schwarzee Hotel, up the mountain. I've got to get to the lift (wherever it is) by 3pm. What are SHs recommended travel itineraries? I've looked at driving, train and flying, and they all seem to require an overnight stay. I'd like to do Eurostar to Paris, then overnight and then Paris to Zermatt, but I'm not sure that's going to be possible. Maybe London/Paris/somewhere else then Zermatt. But where's that somewhere else. Lausanne? Geneva? Germany? France?
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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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joffy69 wrote: |
Advice needed:
I've booked into the Schwarzee Hotel, up the mountain. I've got to get to the lift (wherever it is) by 3pm. What are SHs recommended travel itineraries? I've looked at driving, train and flying, and they all seem to require an overnight stay. I'd like to do Eurostar to Paris, then overnight and then Paris to Zermatt, but I'm not sure that's going to be possible. Maybe London/Paris/somewhere else then Zermatt. But where's that somewhere else. Lausanne? Geneva? Germany? France? |
If you fly you can get to the lift by 3 pm no problem. The early morning flights to Geneva have you at Geneva by 9 or shortly after. There are two trains per hour from Geneva airport to Zermatt (change at Visp). These take under 4 hours.
They are righty being a bit cautious telling you to get to the lift by 3. The last lift to Schwarzsee leaves about 4 - later as the season progresses. The lift they are taking about is the Matterhorn Express which is at the south end of town. The train station is at the north. When you reach Zermatt train station there is a bus (the green line not the red line) which takes you down there. If you have luggage you might prefer to splash out CHF15 and get a taxi down. Either way it doesn’t take long.
We tend to drive in a day. But there are two of us driving. The once I drove by myself I stopped at Dijon.
The train is lovely. But it is really hard to get a ticket at an even vaguely sensible price. The website below describes the journey best. If I was breaking the journey I would probably do so at Lausanne. It is a nice place on Lake Geneva.
https://www.seat61.com/Switzerland.htm#london-to-zermatt-by-train
One word of caution re the Schwarzsee Hotel. I say this just because there was a poster on here who didn’t realise this. As you say the Schwarzsee is a mountain hotel. Unlike the other mountain hotels (which are reached by the Gornegrat train which almost never doesn’t run) the Schwarzsee is reached by a gondola lift (the Matterhorn Express). This is an excellent modern lift. However in extremely high winds it can be taken out of service. That leaves residents of the Schwarzsee hotel stranded - even if there is skiing going on in other parts of the resort.
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@JohnMo, thanks for that! Just the info I was looking for. A bit of a relief about the last lift time. I did think it seemed a bit early, but I'm going to stick to my plan of aiming to arrive 1pm.
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You know it makes sense.
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I just received an automated email response. Online winter tickets are available from today.
5 days for 411CHF if including Cervinia
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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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Just paid for mine - knew it was going to be expensive, but wow! Acually this is bombus' dad, must remember to log out of his account!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Don’t know if it makes you feel any better, but I just booked zermatt for Xmas, and then for giggles looked at comparable dates for deer valley/park city where we skied last year at Xmas. 570 CHF for zermatt for 8 days per adult vs 1700 per adult USD/CHF in Utah. My kids ski free in zermatt. My kids cost me $100 per day per kid in Utah.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Dontskitheeastskithealps, wow, put's it in a bit of perspective.
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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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Quote: |
Wow, put's it in a bit of perspective.
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It does indeed. The US is rapidly becoming unaffordable for UK visitors. Accommodation that we booked four years ago in Colorado is now more than double the price...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It pretty much forces your arm to do the Ikon or Epic pass. But resorts on those passes are so unbelievably crowded now it’s a no-win. We tried skiing in vermont last year on the Ikon and I was waiting in lift lines for 50 minutes in subzero temps. it’s sort of incredible that we can go to Zermatt for less than going out west (we live in NYC). But the entire experience skiing in Europe is far superior so it’s a no-brainer. The food in the US resorts is mediocre at best.
Places we’ve stayed in Jackson Hole are now 50% more expensive than in past years. It’s nuts.
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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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@Dontskitheeastskithealps, why is that? What is behind the rise? I have the feeling things are just getting more and more elitist as the market dicates?
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Admittedly, the places I reference in the US (jackson hole, DV/PC) are higher end resorts. So I’m sure they know they can pretty much charge whatever they want. I wanted to throw up when I saw the price of a daily lift ticket at deer valley during Xmas/NYE week. It was $280 USD. So there is a bit of selection bias here; there are less expensive places to ski without a doubt. And the ikon and epic passes (barring upfront costs) have really allowed people to ski more days, at more places, for less money. But in the US at least, a lot of conglomerates have bought up resorts and have applied their pricing models across all of them; I’m they all have expensive consultants modeling their pricing strategies to maximize profits. Some infrastructure has been upgraded, but the actual cost to the skier has increased. Big names are Vail, Peak, Boyne, Intrawest.
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BobinCH wrote: |
1st World Cup race on the new circuit less than a month away. Cervinia section looks a bit tame to me but let’s see…
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I think the best section is just as you cross the border coming off Plateau Rosa past Testa Grigia. It is certainly the steepest. But yes after that (just where the glacier ends) it moderates significantly. Not that I know much about this but I guess you aim to get your speed up sufficiently at the top section to get you through to the finish line.
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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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End of October on latest run , ( I know it’s too far out but this is what the thread is all about) is looking a good possibility in Zermatt for Riffleberg and above
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I think the organisers of the World Cup race at the end of the month will be hoping for some stuff before then. Obviously the course itself will be fine as it is mainly on the glacier and then can run from the end of the glacier to the finish at Laghi Cime Bianche on manufactured snow. However it would be nicer to be surrounded by white rather than brown. This is the view looking down the mountain from Laghi Cime Bianche at present (the marquee has been put up for the race).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Looking at flights to Malpensa on Jan 1st to go to Cervinia. Looked for transfer prices - got a very good quote from https://www.skiholidaytransfers.com/ of €450 for four of us in a Private transfer. Has anyone here used that company? Thanks in advance
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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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@ado, no but used airport taxi transfers last year for Cervinia from Milan. They were decent. 6 of us then. Worth getting a quote
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Last night’s precipitation passed north of the area, barely leaving a mark. Looks like we have another week to wait before there might be something more interesting.
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You know it makes sense.
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thats a pity. looking back to last year it was early November before there was anything meaningful at Trockner.
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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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Looking fairly uncertain still for the WC Speed Race Opening: - Work on the spectacular descent path in the shadow of the Matterhorn was completed up to 300 meters from the finish. Snow is missing only in the last stretch of the track. Two / three cold nights will still be needed for the “Gran Becca” to be ready from the start to the finish.
"The Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening will take place for the first time and is a unique project. In addition, large investments have been made in connection with this premiere. We do not want to leave any stone unturned to be able to kick off the Matterhorn Speed Opening as scheduled, on 29 and 30 October, with the men's races. We believe that these six extra days* can make a difference for the organizers, so that the races can run successfully, ”says FIS General Secretary Michel Vion.
https://www.cervinia.it/en/news/mattherhorn-cervino-speed-opening-sabato-22-ottobre-controllo-finale-della-neve
*They've move the official "snow test" back 6 days to 22 October - finish is at 2850m
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Poster: A snowHead
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They could take their skis off and then run the last few hundred metres. Make it a more interesting multi-sport event.
But there seems to be a bit of snow forecast for later this week?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ster wrote: |
They could take their skis off and then run the last few hundred metres. Make it a more interesting multi-sport event.
But there seems to be a bit of snow forecast for later this week? |
Hmm, snow. There is certainly precipitation in the forecast. But look at those temperatures. That is going to be rain quite a long way up.
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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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Yep - I don't think it will get much below below ~ +4C at 2850 even at night according to Bfex forecast
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Final snow inspection today for next weekend’s racing. It will be artificial snow from the end of the glacier on the Ventina down to Laghi Cime Bianche but hopefully it will all have held up well enough. There was some snow overnight which only dusted the rocky areas but should have improved the glacier runs. It will be interesting to see if that is enough to get the Furggsattel lift running. This is what Trockener Steg is looking like this morning.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Bugg*r
But I wonder if they’ll still head there, as travel will all arranged, to train?
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Question folks, but you know the cervina /zermatt app, does it use up all your Data? I know that once you hit switzerland the Roaming fees hit in, so would the app be a real drain on our phone data? don't want to be cool with the app and come home to a huge bill? should I just stick to paper maps?
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That is so sad. They have been so unlucky. Any other last weekend in October these last ten years (probably longer) and it would have been fine.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yes huge disappointment on both sides of the mountain I think.
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These high temperatures are really annoying. Lots of precipitation overnight (still coming down now). But even up at 3,000m it was mainly rain! In the last week of October! Overnight! I demand winter. Or, failing that, at least autumn.
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