 Poster: A snowHead
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From 1 July, guests from Zermatt will be able to take the cable car directly to Italy.
Valais is on the verge of a milestone: the direct cable car connection from Zermatt to Italy will be inaugurated in a month's time
An adult pays 240 francs from Zermatt to Cervinia in the summer season round trip. By way of comparison, you can fly from Zurich to Ibiza and back at short notice. A one-way ticket costs 156 francs and takes an hour and a half. "The Matterhorn Alpine Crossing experience is a premium offer and fits into the existing pricing strategy of Zermatt Bergbahnen," explains a spokeswoman. It is cheaper in autumn (200 francs) and in the winter season (172 francs).
https://www.blick.ch/wirtschaft/ausflugsbahnen-im-preisvergleich-zermatt-bergbahnen-verlangen-fuer-retour-fahrt-nach-italien-240-franken-id18622067.html
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Typical pricing, and spookily close to the price for a return trip to the Jungfraujoch, which is CHF239.20 return from Interlaken Ost in summer.
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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 hate replying on a stantnon thread, but @telford_mike, how does that work for skiing do we think? I.e. The Jungfraujoch isn't a ski lift but I guess the Zermatt-Italy one is?
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That's a lot of money. Years ago we did the Jungfraujoch but had a card for local rail etc and there was a supplement I think to cover the last section, but I can't believe they can get away with charging that amount of money for either!
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| I hate replying on a stantnon thread, but @telford_mike, how does that work for skiing do we think? I.e. The Jungfraujoch isn't a ski lift but I guess the Zermatt-Italy one is? |
Skiers benefit greatly from these investments. In recent years the Jungfraubahn have purchased bigger, faster, more comfortable trains, and have built huge new gondolas. The business case for all of this is getting more visitors to the Jungfraujoch, as this brings in huge amounts of revenue for the company. Of course, skiers get to use all this new infrastructure in winter for the relatively paltry price of a ski pass. It is estimated that a family of 4 visiting the Jungfraujoch for the day will spend in excess of CHF1000 once they’ve bought lunch and some souvenirs. Multiply that by a million visitors a year, and the new lifts and trains suddenly begin to look like a very good investment.
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does that include a weeks half board in Cervinia ?
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| under a new name wrote: |
| I hate replying on a stantnon thread, but @telford_mike, how does that work for skiing do we think? I.e. The Jungfraujoch isn't a ski lift but I guess the Zermatt-Italy one is? |
The normal ski pass covers you for lifts up to Eigergletscher (including the new Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal). From there if you want to go up to the Jungfraujoch and you're a ski pass holder then there's a supplemental ticket you can buy, last season it was CHF63.
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Those prices are nuts? Do people really pay that?
Aiguille du midi is higher, more spectacular and costs €55!
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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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| BobinCH wrote: |
Those prices are nuts? Do people really pay that?
Aiguille du midi is higher, more spectacular and costs €55! |
I was just trying to remember what we paid for the Aiguille du Midi, certainly wouldnt be paying that money for a family of four for the Zermatt lift to Cervinia as a tourist if that was per person!
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Summer pricing is for the bus loads of wealthy Asian customers visiting for the day
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
| Summer pricing is for the bus loads of wealthy Asian customers visiting for the day |
Exactly. Very definition of a tourist trap. I always used to wonder what Engelberg used to charge the many Indian tourists taking a trip to the top of Titlis in their jeans and non winter coats (apparently because it was very prominently featured in a famous Bollywood movie/soap opera).
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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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@Alastair Pink, I assumed JFJ would work that way - I presume it’ll be similar for Zermatt-Cervinia in winter??
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@Dave of the Marmottes, according to one of the trainers on my exam in April, a days ski pass is less than the round trip the Indian tourists make up there!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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@mountainaddict, “ It would be great if it stood completely unused as a result, but of course that will never happen.”
Then, patently, the price reflects the market.
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Poster: A snowHead
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We went up to Jungfrau during Summer 2000. I cannot remember what we paid, but absolutely nothing even remotely close to the prices mentioned here. We were living on AUD200 per day, and that 200 covered everything: food, accomm, etc, so the cost for the day up there must have been very low.
Today’s prices are nuts, but evidently enough people are prepared to pay.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| under a new name wrote: |
Then, patently, the price reflects the market. |
I think around the ski and tourist industry there's rather too much of the charge what the market will bear pricing going on and a bit too little of the "how do we give people great experiences that they'll want to come back for and not feel buyer's remorse/ ripped off". The Swiss prices quoted are obscene but there are ski resorts in the US who would happily charge walk up schlubs that plus parking and then shrug at them when they stand in queues all day.
Strikes me as a way to shrink the size of your market ultimately unless the market for those same view gram selfies and tik toks is inexhaustible.
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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 suspect Air Zermatt in helicopter wouldn’t be much more if 4 going and @Mike Pow, is spot on I haven’t forgotten being ushered out the way for a coach load of Chinese tourists to jump the cable car Q in March 18
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@Dave of the Marmottes, it's (from what I see) purely summer tourist pricing, and given the numbers of asian sourced tour buses feeding the monster, I presume the feed stock is considered effectively endless.
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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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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Dave of the Marmottes, it's (from what I see) purely summer tourist pricing, and given the numbers of asian sourced tour buses feeding the monster, I presume the feed stock is considered effectively endless. |
Much like lift pass prices, the bus groups of Asian and N American tourists won't be paying rack rate but a group rate
They'll feel like they're getting a reduction; the lift company will get volume; and the unsuspecting will get fleeced
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Talking to a Zermatt hotelier he said he expects lots of Asian tourists on 5-day-see-everthing tours will arrive in Zermatt in the morning from a night in Zurich/Geneva or even further, walk around town, take the new lift to Cervinia then a bus to Milan for the next night.
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| rdk wrote: |
| Talking to a Zermatt hotelier he said he expects lots of Asian tourists on 5-day-see-everthing tours will arrive in Zermatt in the morning from a night in Zurich/Geneva or even further, walk around town, take the new lift to Cervinia then a bus to Milan for the next night. |
Makes sense for all concerned
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
I think around the ski and tourist industry there's rather too much of the charge what the market will bear pricing going on and a bit too little of the "how do we give people great experiences that they'll want to come back for and not feel buyer's remorse/ ripped off". |
The reality in most corporates, at least in my experience, is that your performance review, and hence remuneration, is based on what you achieved in the preceding year. Same for investor funds. Long term performance carries less weight than immediate results. It promotes a culture of “milk the (cash) cow while you can, and move on when it dies”.
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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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I am wondering whether the package tour companies pay these prices for their customer or they pay substantially less as bulk buyers.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
| rdk wrote: |
| Talking to a Zermatt hotelier he said he expects lots of Asian tourists on 5-day-see-everthing tours will arrive in Zermatt in the morning from a night in Zurich/Geneva or even further, walk around town, take the new lift to Cervinia then a bus to Milan for the next night. |
Makes sense for all concerned |
Apart from the dragging luggage on the lift which would rather detract from the premium experience. Unless their bus is going to drop them in Tasch then take the long way round to Cervinia which I guess is possible.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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240 chf to transit the alpine ridge is equivalent to 212 of our UK pounds!
You can transit the Pennine ridge and have the whole place to yourself, for free 
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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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| BobinCH wrote: |
Those prices are nuts? Do people really pay that?
Aiguille du midi is higher, more spectacular and costs €55! |
Of course not. Nobody of sound mind would pay that! It's scandalous!
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You know it makes sense.
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Incredible. By comparison, I paid €39 for a return journey on the new, rotating Skyway Monte Bianco last year.
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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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| Bergmeister wrote: |
| BobinCH wrote: |
Those prices are nuts? Do people really pay that?
Aiguille du midi is higher, more spectacular and costs €55! |
Of course not. Nobody of sound mind would pay that! It's scandalous! |
If that CHF240 is return Zermatt-Cervinia, as the article suggests, then the fair comparison would be Chamonix-Courmayeur return.
Including the Panoramic and the Skyway Monte Bianco that would be about €170. The discount table is also a lot smaller in chamonix vs Zermatt where there's a lot of 50% discounts available - e.g. children, swiss travel pass holders etc.
I believe the top station at Zermatt is also about 40m higher than at Chamonix...
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Poster: A snowHead
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Faulty cable keeps new Matterhornbahn closed
The brand new Matterhorn Glacier Ride II gondola, between Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia, has been closed since January due to a faulty carrier cable. At the end of March, it is hoped that the lift will be able to reopen after repair work.
Damage already detected upon delivery
At the time of the closure in January, the elevator company made the statement that "the Lift is closed for in-depth overhaul and additional adjustments". However, the manufacturer of this lift, the Italian Leitner, announced that one of the carrier cables had to be replaced. This so-called 3S nacelle has a system of two support cables and one pull cable. The damage to the carrier cable was already known when the lift was opened, although with intensive checks and monitoring the lift could still be safely operated. Leitner has now come back to this. A new cable will be supplied from the Italian side of Testa Grigia.
Prestige project
Both Matterhorn Glacier Ride I and II are part of the Matterhorn Alpine Crossing project, the first section of which opened in 2018. The project cost 150 million Swiss francs and is unique in the world. For example, there are special cabins equipped with a glass floor inlaid with Swarowski. The highest point of these two lifts is at an impressive 3883 meters and offers stunning views of the Matterhorn.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| I hate replying on a stantnon thread, but @telford_mike, how does that work for skiing do we think? I.e. The Jungfraujoch isn't a ski lift but I guess the Zermatt-Italy one is? |
The normal ski pass covers you for lifts up to Eigergletscher (including the new Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal). From there if you want to go up to the Jungfraujoch and you're a ski pass holder then there's a supplemental ticket you can buy, last season it was CHF63. |
Does it always has a supplemental charge?
It’s been so long I forgot if it’s there when I last skied there. (No, I didn’t go up because it was a complete white out)
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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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conversation in Commune committee:
'How much shall we charge for a normal round trip?'
'How many swiss people will use it and make the journey?'
'A few'
'Oh well, maybe 25chf then'
'Sorry, when I said 'A few' I meant 'None'.
'Ah...250chf each in that case'
'Agreed?'
'Agreed'.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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And it’s completely pointless for skiers; you ski down to Cervinia from Klein Matterhorn and when you come back to Zermatt from Cervinia you arrive at Testa Grigia and, from there, you can ski down to Zermatt with no need whatsoever to go up to the Klein Matterhorn again.
So it’s not aimed at skiers at all and none of the locals will take it either.
That said, I’m all in favour of more people to spread the costs whilst not using the pistes …
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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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| abc wrote: |
| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| under a new name wrote: |
| I hate replying on a stantnon thread, but @telford_mike, how does that work for skiing do we think? I.e. The Jungfraujoch isn't a ski lift but I guess the Zermatt-Italy one is? |
The normal ski pass covers you for lifts up to Eigergletscher (including the new Eiger Express from Grindelwald Terminal). From there if you want to go up to the Jungfraujoch and you're a ski pass holder then there's a supplemental ticket you can buy, last season it was CHF63. |
Does it always has a supplemental charge?
It’s been so long I forgot if it’s there when I last skied there. (No, I didn’t go up because it was a complete white out) |
Yes it does in winter, this season it’s CHF63 again. Summer is another story. Our summer passes (they last 7 months!) cost CHF399 last year, and we could visit the Jungfraujoch as often as we wanted with no additional charge. In winter you'd never want to go up there on a nice skiing day, and there's no point going on a bad visibility day. It doesn’t make sense (but clearly, it does make money).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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The new Gondola does seem squarely aimed at the SE Asian market. It doesn’t seem to offer anything substantial to skiers?
Unfortunately building it also coincided with the loss of the Gobba di Rollin and the Grenzlift up to 3900m which were Europe’s highest ski lifts for 40 years (Tbars). I’m pleased to have ridden that in about January 1986 or 1988 but I believe it had lately become unusable because of the shrinking glacier.
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| Peter S wrote: |
The new Gondola does seem squarely aimed at the SE Asian market. It doesn’t seem to offer anything substantial to skiers?
Unfortunately building it also coincided with the loss of the Gobba di Rollin and the Grenzlift up to 3900m which were Europe’s highest ski lifts for 40 years (Tbars). I’m pleased to have ridden that in about January 1986 or 1988 but I believe it had lately become unusable because of the shrinking glacier. |
The new lift is not included in the ski pass so it certainly has no benefit in skiers.
As you say, one of the conditions of the building of the new lift was taking down the Gobba di Rollin lift. It is certainly still there at present and was working last summer and autumn
This will be the first summer with the new lift in place. For Swiss side skiers in early summer you can still ski down to Trockener Steg at the end of the day. However later on that is impossible. If the Gobba di Rollin lift is decommissioned they will have to let Swiss side skiers use the new lift. Otherwise there will be no way for them to get back down!
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The whole Asian tourists travel experience is strange?
We have been in Wengen in the summer.
They would arrive fairly late in the evening and were away to the next destination by the time we were down for breakfast in the morning.
Jungfrau must be in the top ten of tacky tourist traps of the world? you go up in a train you cant see out and arrive into a shopping mall at the top.
Every country has it tourist "must visit" places 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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@Garfield, right on …
…Oliver and I arrive in Zermatt in June, 7:45 in the morning, no one in the streets, rain hanging in the air, after a delay the lifts open and we get a hectic morning skiing laps on the glacier. By 2pm we get back to town - burnt to bugg..ry on our faces - and the town is RAMMED with Asian tourists who shout ‘skiers!!!’ And we have a thousand pictures taken as we walk from the lift to the train station…bonkers
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FAQ
It would be great if it stood completely unused as a result, but of course that will never happen.
