 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi - I have booked a trip to Zermatt for the week commencing 08/12/2013.
Could anyone advise if generally the snow will be good as it is so early in the season?
Also, does anyone know how early it will be getting dark? I was there in January 2013 and it was starting to get dark around 16:30.
Many thanks in advance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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BlanchePoppy, Zermatt has one of the biggest snow-making systems in the Alps, because it doesn't get as much precipitation as other areas. They take 'guest experience' very seriously, so I daresay they will have extensive artificial groomed cover if nature hasn't done the trick by then. My only experience of skiing Zermatt in early Dec was absolutely brilliant - there had been major blizzards.
I think the daylight will be fairly dusky by 4pm
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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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Thank you for your reply!
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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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BlanchePoppy, the length of day round mid-winter (21 December) is, roughly speaking, symmetrical so the chances are it will be very similar to your experience in January. But a lot depends on weather - if the sky is covered in dark clouds (the sort that produce lots of snow  ) it will be more gloomy than it would on a bright sunny day.
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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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We go at the mid to end of November for a couple of days on a ski testing deal through the tourist office. The glacier is always open (weather permitting), and by the end of November you can usually ski far more. In my experience over the last 5 years of trips we have always been able to ski over into Cervinia to midstation on one or both sides of the ski area, save on one occasion (but I think that was mid November). The snow making on both sides will be going great guns, and I think you will be very surprised how extensive the skiing is. The snow on the glacier has always been gorgeous and on a couple of occasions the lifts below Trockener Steg to Schwartzee and up to Gornergart. I can't speak beyond the end of November, so am not sure whether you will be able to ski to the bottom in Zermatt. The resort is probably much more lively even that week after we leave, and we always get the impression that they are on a big push to open far more by a week later.
My recollection is that it's still pretty bright at 4pm (the Alps are always lighter later than the UK in the winter).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Zermatt's full lift system (with the exception of a few lifts) starts on 30 November for the season ... but obviously the runs are snow-dependant. That said, as above, I should think they will have run the snow-making quite extensively by then ... timetables for the 3 sectors of the lift network ...
http://www.zermatt.ch/en/page.cfm/lifts_and_pistes/timetables
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