 Poster: A snowHead
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I have booked a week in Cervinia for the end of January, was just looking for some feedback on anyone who has been as tio what it is like. We have booked a night in Zermatt for the middle of the week, so we can spend 2 days skiing there. It was only after I booked I noticed that wind can be an issue. I see the resort at Chamois is on the ski pass, but that looks like a fair trek away. Cheers 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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Cervinia has a good sized ski area( 72 runs) and considering its height you'll have good snow even if the lower French resorts are struggling. If you mix it with Zermatt you have a large ski area and lots of choice. You need to plan your trip to Zermatt as wind can be a problem and they close the lift system if needs be...you dont want to be getting the bus back around...its long.
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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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Cervinia is high and easy. Lots of wide motorway cruising pistes, but no tree cover. Zermatt is more interesting as a ski area, but the better (and significantly cheaper) eateries are on the Italian side.
The town itself is a bit spread out. Some of the accommodation is up by the Plan Maison lift which is a 10-min walk (uphill and up stairs) from the town centre. The centre is more lively and has a more Italian feel although there's a fair bit of ugly architecture about which lets it down.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Agree with Run28 links links can often be closed, especially early season. First week on Jan 2016 they had the best snow but awful wind/whiteout conditions.
You don't need to stay in Zermatt to ski there but obviously helps to cover more area. If you can, be flexible as you need 2 wind free days.
Both are great areas for skiing.
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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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P.S. I was there in February (can't remember the year, maybe 2011?) and the snow was awful. It was really warm (18º) so we had slush and grass. But no problems with wind... 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Interesting to see you booked a night in Zermatt part way through your stay. How will you be getting luggage across?
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Been over ten years, since we went, but we did really enjoy it at the time. Some details may have changed since then.
Generally agree with all the above. Biggest drawbacks to Cervinia itselfwere the steps up to the cable car and the slight bottleneck getting up - once up first thing though, the lift system works well.
It also hosts my favourite ever piste, Ventino (#7 I think), which goes top to bottom of the resort. The pistes on the rhs (as you look down) are quite good from a scenic point of view, running down the lower slopes of Monte Cervinia, and amongst some very large boulders. Often seemed quieter at the time, too.
While we were there the lifts were never closed to Zermatt, but it its a lottery.
If there's any boarders in your party, pick your route down into Zermatt as we ended up on a long flat track the first time we did it, and at the time, it seemed an obvious route in, from the map. Was quite popular too.
In town, we made the Yeti our evening base, but there was a reasonable choice of places.
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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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IMPORTANT
What are you doing re passes? You can not start the day from Zermatt with a Cervinia international pass. So your second day will be a problem unless you buy a new pass in Zermatt for that day
They do that because Cervinia is cheaper than Zermatt. They don't want Zermatt holidaymakers getting cheaper Cervinia passes.
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| DCG wrote: |
| Interesting to see you booked a night in Zermatt part way through your stay. How will you be getting luggage across? |
Leave our luggage at the Hotel we have booked for a week and take a few things in a back pack.
| JohnMo wrote: |
IMPORTANT
What are you doing re passes? You can not start the day from Zermatt with a Cervinia international pass. So your second day will be a problem unless you buy a new pass in Zermatt for that day
They do that because Cervinia is cheaper than Zermatt. They don't want Zermatt holidaymakers getting cheaper Cervinia passes. |
Hmmmmm. That is an issue.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Very good point - the day passes from Zermatt are also very expensive (made more expensive by the awful GBP - CHF rate).
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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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Crikey, £65 quid for a day pass, on top of £100 for the room. Think the night in Zermatt might be getting cancelled.......
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I've been to Zermatt about 10 times and often had lift closures due to wind. My guess is that it's more vulnerable if staying in Zermatt than Cervinia. You can get enough height to get back to Cervinia by using the T-bars which should stay open in higher winds than the cable car to KM or the chairs or cable cars on the Cervinia side. So as long as the gondola to Trockener Steg is still open you should be ok.
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You know it makes sense.
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Keep your eye on the weather and you should be fine - its well well well worth popping over if you have a clear day to ski Zermatt - head to Restaurant Zum Zee for lunch and go for the lamb...world class. Not sure if you really need to spend a night - as long as you get up early enough in Cervinia you can ski most of Zermatt now - its very well connected.
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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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I did the opposite way round a for a weekend about 20 years ago.
We arrived at Zermatt station at about noon in the rain, then took the big gondola up to the Mt Rosa glacier, all in bad weather.
Then went down on the Cervinia side and the weather turned great and sunny.
Had a really good afternoon ski and then found some accommodation in Cervinia.
The ski service lent us some boots to walk in and I had packed spare socks, nickers and toothpaste & brush in my pockets.
At that time the queue to get for the lift on Sunday morning to get us back over to Zermatt was terrible. At least one hour .. but it was still a great weekend. Just catching the last train back to Zurich with just minutes to spare.
On the train back down to Brig, my mate owned up to having a pilots licence ...
So we planned a trip from Duxford to Nice by light aircraft .. but that's another story!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Run28 wrote: |
| head to Restaurant Zum Zee for lunch and go for the lamb...world class. |
Have to agree totally but book ahead as it gets very busy. My all time favourite restaurant in the mountains. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Talking about wind in Zermatt, I took my misses there for her 50th and that was a long time ago.
We managed a trip to Cervinia one of the days .. and planned to do it again.
We went up in that big gondola again and it was noisy and crowded ... till we got near the top and the wind got up.
The gondola stopped for a few moments and the crowd went quite as we all prayed silently.
We eventually got to the end of the ride with trepidation.
We walked to the end of the tunnel that takes you out onto the glacier and tried to ski down.
The wind was really bad and the ice was rolling up the glacier making bullets to pierce us with, of course we had only kitted up for sunny day skiing as conditions were perfectly blue when we left about an hour before. (no goggles just cool sun shades)
I kid you not it was the most scared I've been when skiing, trying to ski down but the wind pushing me back up.
My dear misses didn't seem to mind .. she was no more scared than she usually is when she skis with me.
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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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@geepee, Emm .. mountain restaurants!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Can't add much to what has already been said except to say that having been to Cervinia on two occasions we lost a day to strong winds on both occasions. A group in our hotel managed, on a good day, to get over as far as Gornergrat and spend a fair amount of time skiing there. On the day we aimed to do this the forecast was for the winds to pick up. You don't want to get stuck on the Swiss side! Cervinia itself is a cruising paradise as are many of the runs immediately over the border. Eating on the Italian side was decidedly cheaper. Scared to think what eating in Switzerland will soon cost!
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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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Definitely +1 on Chalet Etoile. Wonderful food and interesting atmosphere. You do have to book.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Don't forget the run from Plateau Rosa to Valtournesche. 20 km + with some stunning views. Lots of lunch options but Willy's Bar is a favorite. Intermediate level skiing.
I am not sure if there is a free ski bus back to Cervinia anymore so make sure you no the time of the last lifts back to Cervinia.
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Given the geography, I don't think windiness is any more of a problem than you should expect!
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| scotspikey wrote: |
| Crikey, £65 quid for a day pass, on top of £100 for the room. Think the night in Zermatt might be getting cancelled....... |
Aye. It is not the cheapest of things to do. Pity. We keep saying we'll do the opposite, stop in Cervinia and do some of the Aosta valley areas. Despite having an annual Zermatt international pass (so I can do Cervinia any time) I would need to buy an Aosta Valley pass.
Even just coming over you can get a lot of benefit of the ski area on this side. For example this is a post I made in reply to someone staying in Cervinia who wanted to do our itineraries which are at the north end of the Swiss area.
| Quote: |
the linkage is fine. It is also quite a nice ski over (less so returning).
When you cross over from Italy stay left (well don't ski back into Italy! But after that stay left). That will take you over to piste number 70 (Schusspiste). The good thing about that is that about two thirds of the way down you can branch off left onto the itinerary 67 (Garten Buckelpiste). That will give your group a warm up on a fairly easy and short itinerary.
As you come down to the bottom you will see two lift stations (with a restaurant in the middle). You need to get over to the right hand one. If you have come down the itinerary as I suggest you'll be on the "wrong" piste. But just ski over the off piste section to the right hand one. Go round the back of the lift staton and you'll see black piste number 62. That takes you down to Furi. At the lift station there you want the lift in the right hand side - the Riffelberg Express. At the top of that head left down the ramp and get the chairlift up to Gifthittli. At the top turn left and ski down always following the signs for Gant. If you want a nice diversion, just after the Grünsee restaurant turn left down the black piste 25 (Berter). That is a really nice run through the trees. At the bottom get the chairlift back up from where you came and this time continue down to Gant.
At Gant you want the big cable car on your left that will take you up to Hohtälli. If your group really are mixed you might want to try them out first. Turn left with everyone else and head down the piste 28 (White Hare). Follow the signs to Gant again. However about a third of the way down on your right you will see itinerary 30 (Mittelritz). That is a really good itinerary to try your group out. It is good fun in its own right. It is the same mountain as Stockhorn so is broadly similar skiing. But it is quite a bit shorter and not so remote. That takes you back down to Gant.
When you are going to go the Stockhorn sector at the top of the Gant-Hohtälli lift turn right when most are turning left down the piste. That will take you to the Rote Nase lift where the itineraries are.
When ready to come back you need to get the cable car up to Hohtälli again. This time follow the signs to Riffelberg. Unfortunately this is the worst piste in the whole area - it is basically just a horizontal track for a long way. It is like that track that takes you over from Cervinia to Valtournenche. Once you get to Riffelberg ski straight on heading for Furi. At Furi you need to take a short lift from the lower lift station to the upper station. There you can get the Matterhorn Express lift back up to Trockemer Steg from where you can get back over to Italy. |
If you are here last week of January you'd need a lot of snow for the itineraries. They are not due to open until 22 Jan but for example last year it was the end of Feb - there just wasn't enough snow to cover the many sharp large rocks.
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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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@scotspikey, stayed in Cervinia last year and managed to ski to Zermatt and the Swiss side runs no trouble with wind, snow a bit sparse but very good from the Matterhorn cable car. The worst part is the return to Cervinia with 2 interminably long T-bars which get as cold as they do tedious!
Definitely way cheaper Italian side
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You might be OK with the lift pass from Cervinia. We did exactly what you are thinking of - i.e. staying in Zermatt for a night while in Cervinia. The lift pass allowed us to start from Zermatt side but only once in a week, which was great for us:) So you may want to check whether that's still the case - we were there in Dec 14. We had the standard international lift pass though it was off peak as early Dec, though I doubt that makes any difference.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Snowsartre wrote: |
@scotspikey, stayed in Cervinia last year and managed to ski to Zermatt and the Swiss side runs no trouble with wind, snow a bit sparse but very good from the Matterhorn cable car. The worst part is the return to Cervinia with 2 interminably long T-bars which get as cold as they do tedious!
Definitely way cheaper Italian side |
You don't have to use those T bars. You can get the cable car up from Klein Matterhorn and ski back down into Italy from there. But then of course there can be queues to do that (hence them building the new lift up to there). I am sure it is no consolation but it is much easier for us Zermatters returning from Cervinia at the end of the day.
The Cervinia snow was rubbish last Xmas and New Year (and Valtournence was a joke). There was not a single storm that came up from the south before new year. Last week's storm was from the south and Cervinia is already looking better than it did last Xmas.
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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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| snowflow wrote: |
| You might be OK with the lift pass from Cervinia. We did exactly what you are thinking of - i.e. staying in Zermatt for a night while in Cervinia. The lift pass allowed us to start from Zermatt side but only once in a week, which was great for us:) So you may want to check whether that's still the case - we were there in Dec 14. We had the standard international lift pass though it was off peak as early Dec, though I doubt that makes any difference. |
Interesting. They don't mention anything like that in the rules (see rule 13 in the link). As you say, it is worth checking.
http://www.cervinia.it/pages/Giornalieri_e_plurigiornalieri_internazionali_i_en/466
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Another vote for chalet etoile. And the restaurant immediately above it in the piste is good too for a less formal meal.
Valtournence for best hit choc- thick and proper.
After all the money spent getting there staying and eating we just buy the full Cervinia/Zermatt lift pass which allows max flexibility and choice which matters given the unpredictability of the weather and - most importantly- means no valuable time wasted trying to upgrade/change passes etc. We've lost a few compadres for the rest of the day due to this. We don't wait 
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