Going to Zermatt

[m2711c]

also, the sun goes down pretty early in january... expect the light to go flat by 3 or so, and that's if the top isn't already socked in the clouds. makes that valley run even more challenging what with the crowds schrapling the fuck out of the last runout that everybody gets funneled down into.

[subtle plague]

Hotälli is basically the only place with decent easy access terrain in Zermatt. Guide might give you roped access to some fun stuff on the Matterhorn side, but crevasses and rapelling spots limit the DIY experience there.

That being said, the hotälli lift probably has more fun terrain than most American resorts, except mammoth of course.
It accesses a 1000m vertical triangle with a 2km base so the freeride acreage (you all love your acreage in the US) is pretty decent.

If they have snow. Which they rarely do because Zermatt is cut of from nearly all major precip flows by high mountain Ranges. And if there is a south eastern flow (where they DO get snow)alagna gets twice as much.

[jerlane]

We're not going until January so plenty of time to maybe change what we are doing. Personally I'm at the age where I'm more into the trip and the experience these days. Looking forward to just being there and soaking in the views.

You mention heli skiing.... That throws a wrench in what skis to bring. I was planning on 88 and 100's under foot but if we are gonna maybe do heli then I'd bring by powder skis. So many variables its exhausting.

The wife and I went to Zermatt several years ago and enjoyed it. She's not an aggressive skier by any means, so we were more there for the experience than hardcore skiing.

Some of our highlights were skiing over to Italy for lunch. Lunch in Blatten was amazing (the best mushroom soup). Taking the gondola up and "sledging" down was a blast. We typically did après ski at the Brown Cow.

You asked about bringing your own gear... my ski bag didn't make it and it was a bit stressful trying to sort it all out. American express was very helpful in tracking it down and keeping me up to date on it's progress. It arrived a day later and Delta paid for me to rent gear. Luckily I was able to find a shop that rented everything.

As others have said, Zermatt is expensive and there might be better skiing elsewhere, but we enjoyed the trip.

[bmg97]

there are almost no "people of zermatt", they are all from somewhere else... 90% of the buildings in town are hotels. itsa tourist trap and is priced accordingly. any of the half dozens ski areas that you will pass on the train on the way up the valley to zermatt will give you a better value for your money...

I'm sure you're right but we're just going to roll with it.

[bmg97]

The wife and I went to Zermatt several years ago and enjoyed it. She's not an aggressive skier by any means, so we were more there for the experience than hardcore skiing.

Some of our highlights were skiing over to Italy for lunch. Lunch in Blatten was amazing (the best mushroom soup). Taking the gondola up and "sledging" down was a blast. We typically did après ski at the Brown Cow.

You asked about bringing your own gear... my ski bag didn't make it and it was a bit stressful trying to sort it all out. American express was very helpful in tracking it down and keeping me up to date on it's progress. It arrived a day later and Delta paid for me to rent gear. Luckily I was able to find a shop that rented everything.

As others have said, Zermatt is expensive and there might be better skiing elsewhere, but we enjoyed the trip.

Good advise.

Glad I'm flying delta too...... At least I know my boots will make it since I always carry on.

I'm getting old, just looking to ski in cool places now and enjoy the moment. Maybe the next trip will be to all the other cool places people have mentioned. Will give me something to look forward to.

[LegoSkier]

Chiming in to add when I went to Zermatt, we actually stayed down in Grachen which is a cute little town on the hillside down the canyon from Zermatt. Way cheaper than staying in Zermatt but we had a car so could go either to Zermatt or Saas Fee. And Grachen even had its own little ski area (which we didn't go to). We stayed at this place which was pretty awesome https://www.graecherhof.ch/?lang=en

[Mr. Mike]

Good advise.

Glad I'm flying delta too...... At least I know my boots will make it since I always carry on.

I'm getting old, just looking to ski in cool places now and enjoy the moment. Maybe the next trip will be to all the other cool places people have mentioned. Will give me something to look forward to.

Look into shipping skis. I shipped 2 pair last year for about 250. You get tracking etc. very reassuring to know your stuff has arrived before you even get there. I’ve schlepped my stuff plenty of times and it’s not that difficult but not schlepping was nice too.

[bmg97]

Look into shipping skis. I shipped 2 pair last year for about 250. You get tracking etc. very reassuring to know your stuff has arrived before you even get there. I’ve schlepped my stuff plenty of times and it’s not that difficult but not schlepping was nice too.

Was that there and back ? What company ?

[m2711c]

You stayed in Grachen but you didn’t ski there? hmm… we had a great day there on our last Zermatt trip. Much cheaper than zermatt, and way less crowded.




I wouldn’t call it a small place compared to what I ski here at home, but it is smaller than zermatt.



The food was good, the beer was good, and the locals were quite friendly.








fact.

[subtle plague]

Feldschlösschen? Quöllfrisch is the breakfast of champions [emoji6]

[bobinch]

I love Zermatt although possibly more in Summer than Winter. It’s a huge area and there is a lot of terrain to explore but as above, some of the best off piste areas, like under Hohtälli are very rocky and so need a good base, and Zermatt doesn’t always get that, particularly early season. The classic off piste runs like the Schwarztor are in heavily glaciated terrain, and not usually skiable early season, so if you get good conditions it’d be worth booking a guide. The scenery, dominated by the Matterhorn, is stunning and the mountain restaurants are also exceptional. A fabulous hotel in town is the Cœur des Alpes.

[bobinch]

One of the glacier routes


There’s a lot of ice!


And fabulous views


Nice ski tour up to Findeln


And the reward at Chez Vrony


And this is from a ski tour coming down from the Tête Blanche behind the Matterhorn

[bobinch]

This vid starts with the terrain under the Stockhorn / Hohtälli and pans around over the Findeln glacier to Rothorn

[bobinch]

This what you’re skiing over!


The views are stupendous


There’s tons of amazing hiking/biking terrain




It’s worth getting up early


Highly recommend the Cœur des Alpes


Although no pooches in the tub!


High tech Swiss engineering


Superb restaurants in Findeln


And Blatten (and Furi)


And Chalet Étoile over on the Cervinia side


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[bobinch]

Searched but couldn't find.

So I am going to Zermatt in January. Is traveling with skis a bitch or what ? Demo skis / rent ?

And to answer your question it’s pretty easy to travel with skis on Swiss trains. You will also get a good range of rental skis in Zermatt although they won’t be cheap
https://www.matterhornsport.ch/en/prices

[Mr. Mike]

Was that there and back ? What company ?

I think it was shipskis.com but just google it. As I recall from doing just that there seemed to be 2 primary players in the market of shipping skis and golf clubs. Yes the approximate number I provided was round trip which is not 2 x one way. There’s a pretty significant discount for round trip as compared to 2 x. Other pricing variables are how far in advance you have your stuff shipped and whether you take it to a shipping location (e.g. ups store) or have it picked up from your door.

[m2711c]

Feldschlösschen? Quöllfrisch is the breakfast of champions [emoji6]

duly noted.

[skuff]

After reading all this info I'm ready to head over to CH. Eons ago we visited family in Zug in September and thought about how cool it would be to ski in yurp

Feldschlösschen? Quöllfrisch is the breakfast of champions [emoji6]

Loves me some Hell beer

[LegoSkier]

You stayed in Grachen but you didn’t ski there? hmm… we had a great day there on our last Zermatt trip. Much cheaper than zermatt, and way less crowded.

It was late April 2011 during an epic drought year in the Alps. I don't think Grachen was even open for skiing and there was no snow in town. Skiing down from the top of Zermatt into the village required a couple miles on a white ribbon of death surrounded by dirt and rocks on the bottom section. In Saas-Fee the bottom run ended in a soccer field with people actually playing soccer. So not ideal conditions.

[subtle plague]

After reading all this info I'm ready to head over to CH. Eons ago we visited family in Zug in September and thought about how cool it would be to ski in yurp




Loves me some Hell beer

Head over to the mountain lodge thread. Buster has passed the torch of organizing it, but it should take place.

And m27numbers: I just recommended quöllfrisch to make you as Swiss as you are upstate.

Feldschlösschen is the equivalent of a big okish brewery, but they and calanda have been bought by big International brewery conglomerates.
Appenzeller is super Swiss. And quöllfrisch the utica Club equivalent.

Quöllfrisch's brewery Appenzeller is not super small, but more utica vibish. I thought you'd appreciate it [emoji6]

Edit: They even use ads from 2007 on their current Website. That is upstate as fuck!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_con...ature=emb_logo

[smartyiak]

Zermatt is my only Yurp ski experience to date so I don’t know how it stacks up against other mountains but I recall being unimpressed by the variety of terrain. Snow was shitty, and it was a good snow year. Town is pretty cool and felt less touristy than the big US resorts but I imagine this doesn’t reign true when compared to other Yurpean mountains. As said, to and from couldn’t be easier. Fly into Zurich, board train to Zermatt. The ride is obviously stunning once you get up high.

Curling in the square looks like a good time. The locals get kinda raucous. Good food spots. I remember a really good but kinda upscale Italian place up the hill from the victorinox store.
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Yep. I went for a couple of days as part of a bigger trip; it wasn't great...I actually spent most of the ski time in Italy. There was no new snow; the Zermatt side was crunchy and icy; Cervinia was in the sun. I brought my boots, but not my skis (b/c I didn't want to lug them around for the limited ski days I had). It was very easy to rent and not terribly spendy...I made up for it in drink and lodging.

there are almost no "people of zermatt", they are all from somewhere else... 90% of the buildings in town are hotels. itsa tourist trap and is priced accordingly. any of the half dozens ski areas that you will pass on the train on the way up the valley to zermatt will give you a better value for your money...

I was gonna say: they're mostly British and Australian.

[gedmeyer]

OK.
There's just lots of better places to go for snow and terrain for the $. Like the Andermatt/Disentis SkiArena or Davos/Klosters or St. Anton/Lech/Zurs/Warth.

In any case, it's all pretty easy, the transportation systems are so well done in Switzerland. Pack light, carry on your boots and basic necessities, get a roller bag for your skis, but you can generally rent decent equipment there (again it will be expensive in Zermatt) if you don't want to bring your own.

How do these destinations stack up for skiers w/out backcountry experience?

The wife and I have anniversary trip planned for Feb. Currently only committed to airplane tickets into Zurich. The plan is to use train from there.

We can ski just about anything but have no avalanche training. We've talked this yurp trip for many years -- it's mostly about a european ski experience, however we don't want to compromise to much on good skiing.

[2nd mate]

Wifee and I honeymooned in Saas Fe and Zermatt in 2009. Our one regret was not hiring a guide for at least one day.
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...A-HONEYMOON-TR


I would recommend against Zermatt. We plan a family trip back to Saas Fe now that the boys can keep up. Way too much disneyland in Zermatt for us. You could still have a blast but the adjacent valley was more our vibe

[Buster Highmen]

How do these destinations stack up for skiers w/out backcountry experience?

There's a good spectrum of options at the SkiArena.

You want steep groomers? The Andermatt-Disentis Ski Arena has them.

You want avie controlled off-piste? They have that. there's a bunch of easy and relatively safe sidecountry there too.

There's boundless mindblowing tours there too,

The only thing the SkiArena doesn't have is a lot of glaciated terrain that requires crevasse awareness. Plus, Michele and Serena at https://www.mt-lodge.com/ have such a great place, warm, comfortable, great food. Great train access from ZRH, just walk down the lanes from the Rueras train stop. Michele can arrange guiding for you if you want to sample some of the couloirs and bowls in safety.

The wife and I have anniversary trip planned for prez week. Currently only committed to airplane tickets into Zurich. The plan is to use train from there.

We can ski just about anything but have no avalanche training. We've talked this yurp trip for many years -- it's mostly about a european ski experience, however we don't want to compromise to much on good skiing.

Lots of Tgnaristas can vouch for mt-lodge. It's a great deal.

If you want to party and hang out in crowds, there's better places like Verbier or St. Anton. But for a variety of just good solid skiing with lots of good snow and comfortable lodging do mt-lodge.

I like Andermatt-Disentis because there's so much great skiing that doesn't require a guide or harnesses or ropes and it's lots lower key, less expensive and fewer obnoxious people than more major destinations. I've been to a few places in the Alps and for my money and time, it's one of the best.

Read this: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-com-Rueras-CH . I enumerate some other options in there towards the end:

In order of favorites after the Andermatt-Disentis SkiArena

Klosters (Hotel Wynegg) (2:45 to 3:15 time via trains from Rueras with 1 to 3 changes)
St. Moritz (Hotel Laudinella) (3:52 time via trains from Rueras with 2 changes) 45chf lift ticket for anyone staying in local hotels.
Schruns/Montafon or St. Anton Am Arlberg (Das Elizabeth) (3:45-4:30 train time from Rueras )
Engelberg (4:22 train time from Rueras).


Train resource: https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html

[BCR]

I think he is just infatuated with it. None of us ever skied in Europe before either. I don't think there is any talking him out of it since he also wants to do tourist shit. My other friend wants to go too so I am overruled.

Seconding the Italy opinion. Ski in Zermatt if you must, but stay in Cervinia and day trip there via the lifts. Stay at the White Angel hotel and avoid the prices and crowds. It can be an amazing place. Especially with snow. Got 7 feet overnight last time I was there. You'd always rather be on the Italian side for the food and coffee, whether it's Cham or Zermatt. Can pop over for your fill of Sausage and rosti and experience Zermatt by day. Just don't miss the lift back or it's an overnight or a many hour expensive drive back.