 Poster: A snowHead
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I’m writing a quick review of our Zermatt ski experience as it may prove helpful especially from the standpoint of other skiers from the western USA.
We spent four days this January at Zermatt on a probably once-in-a-lifetime ski holiday, when the stars had seemingly aligned to make this possible. There was more than skiing involved—we visited a friend in Neuchåtel, checked out Chillon Castle in Montreaux, shopped in quaint Old Town Zurich and took in the gothic architecture of provincial Bern. All in a week—this is very easy to do in a country where the punctuality of transportation is almost an obsession. Switzerland of course has never been a bargain, and the currency exchange really hit us hard, but there are some good deals to be found and much of this experience would prove to be well worth the cost.
Let’s start with the skiing. At the time of our arrival in Switzerland (1/10) there was a claimed 180 cm on the runs; half that in the village. But it had been ripening for several weeks, depleted by warm temperatures, and skier reviews were turning sour. Fortunately, another dump on 1/11 set the stage for our arrival, although reports varied on how much snow actually fell.
Having checked into the La Couronne hotel (more on that later) we moved on to rent skis at the adjoining Slalom Sport ski shop, a professional and helpful store who quickly fitted us out with top-quality gear well suited the conditions. “You like to go fast?” the technician asked me. “Or more turning?” he inquired diplomatically. I suggested I was in the “more turning” category, although I don’t mind picking up a little speed when the slopes inspire my confidence. The equipment we received was excellent and well-tuned to the conditions.
I found the skiing to be pretty much what I’d expected from the useful information on Snowheads, the piste guide at www.telegraph.co.uk and the many YouTube videos. We began our first day from the Gornergrat train, skiing from Rotenboden down to the Gifthittli chair and working the easy blues on that side. Quickly becoming overconfident, we transferred to the red run #29 and hit a few tough spots. Piste conditions varied greatly, but much was hardpack and ice and unfortunately some of the worst spots were on the steepest sections. This didn’t seem to bother the Swiss, who skied every run the exact same way: point both skis downhill and go, not stopping to turn or brake until consumed with the need for mid-mountain refreshment.
Returning to the train, we decided to make the run all the way from Gornergrat. We didn’t find the top section of Gornergrat too bad despite its reputation. However, I split off and took the harder red run #35, quickly experiencing a spectacular wipeout in which I just kept going, wondering if I’d be able to pick myself up before reaching Tasch. Time for a soup break at the Gornergrat self-service cafeteria.
Our first conclusions:
1) Conditions on-piste were pretty tough and slick.
2) The alpine scenery was spellbinding.
3) The average skier there is really, really good. We were not going to be able to impress anybody. Which is OK.
Returning to the slopes, my wife was getting tired and elected to take the train back, so I headed down the Gornergrat sector one last time and continued on the red runs #39 and #41—easy cruising runs with spectacular views. I turned off on run #42 down through the canyon to Furi, which featured hairpin turns and much ice. Not too bad, but I’ll admit to sideslipping a couple of spots simply because I was getting too exhausted to ski them properly. The shame!
The next day, we boarded the gondola for the trip up to the Kleine Matterhorn and over into Italy. Unfortunately this would not prove to be a largely positive experience. My wife wasn’t feeling well and decided to download at Furi, so I continued the gondola ascent alone to Trockener Steg. There I caught the cable car to the Kleine, an experience that pretty much sucked. There was a long wait for the cable car, with skiers packed like sardines into the unheated waiting area. It was a bitter, miserable cold day. I’d braced myself for a somewhat scary ride, but what I hadn’t been prepared for was the sheer number of skiers packed into the car—it was like the worst crowded elevator you could imagine. During the ascent, I felt myself getting lightheaded. Another skier fainted and some panic ensued as there was not adequate room to lay him down. Not fun!
Outside on the glacier, though, the views were beautiful, but the -23 C temps and thin air made me wish to quickly descend a bit. The glacier runs were super easy, although the snow felt weird and sludgy. I decided against heading into Italy and stuck with the long cruising reds down to and below Trockener Steg: these were my favorites, with the best conditions I’d experienced so far. Quickly tiring from the altitude and long runs, though, I decided to descend from Schwarzsee back to the village to check on my wife, have lunch and explore the Rothorn sector.
After a quick lunch in the village, I rode the Sunegga funicular up and took a quick run down into the quaint Findeln area: easy skiing, but absolutely terrible ice, so I took the chair up to Blauherd and did the surprisingly challenging blue run #7. There were a few interesting and easier variants of this run, and it seems to me I took portions of the black run #8 and still made it back to the Blauhard chair. However, this doesn’t look possible on the piste map, so who knows. Finished out the day in this area.
This would conclude our skiing experiences: we’d hoped to ski a third day, but it dawned even colder, with low-visibility conditions one of the Swiss hotel guests described as a “ski-one-run-hang-out-in-restaurant” kind of day. We decided to sightsee and shop in the village instead.
Looking back, it felt like we’d become an alpine Goldilocks in a world where some runs were too easy and others a bit too hard. At any new place, though, it can take a while to find your magic runs, and we did experience some near-perfect descents. What really made the trip special, though, was not the quality of skiing but the consummate ski holiday experience. The quaint car-free village with its bakeries and chocolate shops was a huge hit with my wife, and I was awed by the quality of the food: simple, well-executed dishes made as they have been for centuries from traditional recipes. We did a few supermarket meals to save money, but really enjoyed some stellar meals at the Stockhorn (grilled venison, ratatouille) and the Whymper-Stube (fondues).
The Hotel Couronne’s small rooms were fairly spartan and dorm-like, but what it lacked in amenities, it made up in convenience. Centrally located in the village right by the shuttle bus stop, the hotel’s excellent sport shop and street-level ski room made our days on the slopes easy.
To quickly sum up:
1) Zermatt skiing overall: huge variety of conditions, but much hardpack and ice. Swiss skiers don’t seem to mind. Somewhat narrower pistes than USA. More surprises: sharp turns, tunnels, sudden drops. Definitely kept us awake.
2) Really liked: The Gornergrat experience (yeah, the train is slow, but skiing off a train is awesome). Also the runs around Trockener Steg. The wonderful food and culture. The ease of getting around. The miles and miles of runs. The beautiful village.
3) Didn’t like: The crowded Kleine Matterhorn cable car.
4) Didn’t try/want to go back for: Skiing to Italy (Cervinia). The trendy nightlife spots like Snowboat or the fine-dining rooms.
5) Wish we had: Taken a lesson. MIght have done better on the tougher runs.
A couple of myths corrected:
1) European skiers don’t queue. Our experience is that they don’t form organized lines, but neither do they push and shove others out of the way. They tend to proceed to the destination with a tacit understanding of whatever order they got there and not make a big deal out of it.
2) Switzerland is horribly, insanely expensive. Some things are. Restaurant meals in particular hit hard. However, we found portion sizes pretty generous—even for a couple of Americans who know their way around a buffet. Most entrees were large and came with side dishes, so in several cases we spent less than we expected. Prices also usually include tax and tip. Take-away places and bakery sandwiches were usually good and cheaper alternatives to sit-down dining. McDonalds, at the equivalent of $15 for a Big Mac, was not an option, but we wouldn’t have eaten that anyway.
Supermarket food, however, was a bargain compared to here—especially local specialties. The actual skiing costs—lift tickets, rentals—were cheaper than the USA, especially the larger resorts.
Thanks to the Snowheads who gave such helpful and useful information in planning this trip of a lifetime.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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OldCaliSkiDude, great review, thanks. Heading to Zermatt soon for a short trip. For comparative purposes what level do you usually ski in the US - intermediate, advanced etc. ?
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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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OCSD, We were in Zermatt for Xmas. Thought we might find large crowds but it seems that time period is really not so bad. Well, at least the week prior. We also stayed at La Couronne, and like you thought the location was good. We actually walked back from the Sunnegga Funicular one afternoon, after not being able to get on a bus that wasn't stuffed full.
I don't think 4 days in Zermatt is enough time but if you are there for the overall experience of doing a bit of sightseeing and skiing, then you get just a taste of Zermatt. I got my credit card statement last week, and it reconfirms just how expensive Switzerland is these days.
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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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OldCaliSkiDude, great review.
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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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OldCaliSkiDude, brilliant review, thanks!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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What a *superb* review! I'm considering Zermatt in April, and this is really really helpful. Thank you OldCaliSkiDude!
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Thanks guys! Glad this is proving useful. SRED, in the USA/Canada we usually ski intermediate runs with the occasional easier black. I'm a faster more aggressive skier, but my wife has better form and technique. Of course the resorts here too vary in rating and I would say for comparison purposes that a typical red run at Zermatt would be a blue (intermediate) run at some of the tougher American resorts, but at most areas might be graded blue or black, depending.
Toadman, you raise a good point in that 4 days really isn't enough time. We hit it hard and barely scratched the surface. But I too am dreading the credit card statement 
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OldCaliSkiDude, great review, thanks for sharing. Interested in what you said about the room sizes in La Couronne. Did you have a room at the front of the hotel (balcony / Matterhorn view) ?
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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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Another compliment for a really insightful report following a relatively short visit. It sounds as though the snow conditions were not optimum at the time of your visit, which is a pity, some of our best memories involve skiing in knee high powder ON piste up above Trockener Steg. Only one solution, better start saving for your next trip!
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I've never been to Zermatt, and probably never will go (not in winter, anyway) as I have my own place in France, but still found that a really interesting read. What you say about the skiing echoes other reports I've heard, particularly about the iciness of runs. Maybe Switzerland had much worse/less snow than the northern French Alps but there's very little ice around here and most reports of January trips have been ecstatic about snow quality, on and off piste.
Fascinating to hear from a US point of view. Glad you enjoyed the trip. Next time the Dolomites, perhaps? 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, I reckon 95% of the Zermatt/Cervinia domain is higher than the highest peaks in the Espace Diamant, mostly considerably so. I suspect that is the main cause of the greater iciness.
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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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I was in Zermatt this week just passed (13-19th Jan) and I have to say it was some of the best piste snow I've ever skied. It was painfully cold (-25C up the Matterhorn Glacier) but this kept the snow perfect on piste. Only a few icy patches in what we skied, but otherwise perfect. Off piste was reasonable too, Powder arrived the Friday before we did and I was still finding plenty a week later, probably because it's low season.
Would have to agree that the piste grading is quite inconsistent. A lot of reds that were not that hard. Nothing I'd consider a black run really. A ton of flat sections make it a snowboarders worst nightmare. Luckily I'm not that way inclined!
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, I suspect few recreational skiers really have statistically significant experience across domains and time of year. Certainly not me. But one fact about Zermatt that may, partially, account for any deviation in surface snow quality from the Alpine norm is that the runs really are very high on average.
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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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OldCaliSkiDude, very good review, did you actually go to the Snowboat, or not actually go there? Not been yet and considering giving up one night of Apres in the Papperla, but may not. if you had a bad experience
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Poster: A snowHead
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Snowboat is good fun, nothing too different to anywhere else though. Grampi's for marco's apres ski is a must. On snow quality and ice - I suspect the original report is mis reporting hardpack as ice - I was in zermatt at exactly the same time and ski'd on no ice at all. In terms of difficulty, zermatt has lots of really technical itinerary routes, while on piste the ferg-furi black is graded as such because it gets challenging late in the afternoon.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In regards to icy slopes, we didn't experience much of that at Zermatt during our stay in late December. (Dec 20th-Dec 28th). Only on the lower slope runs to the base areas did we encounter icy slopes. However, we did experience a large amount of wind scouring on several days. One day the winds came out of the Southwest, and messed up the offpiste on west facing slopes. Then the following day, the winds came out of the North, and messed up pretty much all aspects! But we had two great days on Dec, 21st and 22nd where they had a few inches of fresh on top of the groomers, and no crowds. For the most part the slopes were in good condition, with good coverage and very little ice except at days end on heavy used lower runs or on the run outs back to the lifts.
In terms of piste runs, I think the reds are probably a bit more difficult than how they grade the blues in Colorado. Certainly not any different than the blues I'm used to skiing in the PNW. Personally, as an advanced skier, I didn't think any pisted run in Zermatt other than the one from Riffelberg to Gant would get a single balck diamond designation. Although, they did not groom the Blauherd run off of Rothorn our last day, in which I would have given it a black but not due to steep terrain. Could just have been there poor visibility that made it a challenge though! IMO Zermatt is a solid intermediates dream. And I can only dream about what might have been if the off-piste conditions had been better. Just so much off-piste terrain to explore!
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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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Checking back in here...
jonnybroome, I was there same dates you were (1/12-1/16) and yet it appears you found much better snow! I suspect Zermatt can be like this. On the android app I have, Zermatt user reports are often entirely contradictory, for the same day.
coddlesangers, yes you are correct in that we encountered mostly hardpack as opposed to ice. And there were many runs with nice snow, too, particularly in that sweet spot between the lower slopes and the glaciers. The Findeln area, though...sure felt like ice to me.
Toadman, where is this run from Riffleberg to Gant? Doesn't look possible on the map.
I think part of where we all seem to disagree on the classification of runs is how conditions affect them. I found Zermatt pretty tough due to the hardpack piste conditions although I do occasionally ski steeper slopes in California. The difference is I've gotten spoiled for the soft powder here in the West. I think European skiers, as well as skiers from the USA east coast get more used to skiing hardpack/ice and are better at it. And yeah, meeting that challenge makes them all-around better skiers. I just can't decide whether to go on more hardpack days and develop that ability, or enjoy the soft fluffy powder we have here that opens the black-diamond runs to us hackers  When we were in Zurich on Friday, anxiously glued to the weather reports, I told my wife I was never again going to take a ski trip that wasn't planned the night before! 
Oh, and we never made it to Snowboat. Did do a meal at Grampi's though. Salmon pasta was uninspiring, but their fish soup rocked. The pizzas looked excellent too—would probably go that route next time.
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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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OCSD, you are correct that there is not a piste from Riffelberg to Gant. I think Toadman must be referring to the run from the top of the gifthittli chair (which you get onto at Riffelberg) . Turn left as you get off the chair and you come on to a red piste (Kelle) that has one short black section and leads ultimately all the way down to Gant. Not sure if you managed it in the short time available but a nice varied run down. Bookmark it for next time!
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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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OldCaliSkiDude, Great stuff, brings it all back  (Though the "sardine cable car" experience isn't uncommon, and you can "feel" the altitude, especially as you walk through that tunnel at the top)
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FAQ
When stuff gets icy round here, it's usually the low areas that suffer most; the worst ice I've encountered has been in Crest Voland, which is low. After all, they do conventionally say that the best skiing is on the upper slopes. 
