Zermatt: Best views of Matterhorn

here are some pictures i took last week.
http://picasaweb.google.com/GlennCz/Zermatt#
you can see the Matterhorn from everywhere basically.

snowbirddevotee wrote:here are some pictures i took last week.
http://picasaweb.google.com/GlennCz/Zermatt#
you can see the Matterhorn from everywhere basically.

Nice place to ski for the first time in Europe....what did you think of it all?

Did you really have to ask? <g>
http://www.epicski.com/forum/thread/89239/zermatt-not-my-kind-of-skiing
I had a terrific trip. I loved the town, the people, the food and the scenery. But it was shocking that even though most of the lifts and most of the mountain was open, there were literally NO mogul fields or no steep pitches that I could find(that weren't groomed). I live in Pennsylvania (East US) but ski mostly in Utah. We don't even use the word off-piste, because in Western resorts a good portion of the mountain is open to skiing and never groomed. In the East more is groomed and off trail skiing terrain is much less.

Most of the problem is that Zermatt seems to be glacial terrain, full of rocks which need good coverage to be skiable. Also, much of the off-piste area dead ends or cliffs out. So, I really enjoyed being there, extremely beautiful and I loved all the cable cars and gondolas, but I enjoy more challenging terrain. Even though their was 100 km of trail opened there was nothing challenging for this experienced skier. I know if i was there later season, more would have been open, but still, i was quite surprised. Utah has tons of challenging terrain open right now, even though they are also a bit behind on their snowfall this year.

Next time I'll try Verbier or Chamonix. This was my 4th Mid-December trip, two prior in Utah and one in Aspen, I had terrific, challenging conditions both times.

I'm sorry that you were disappointed in some aspects of Zermatt, snowbirdd. Your compatriots on epic ski did point out the difference that a month makes to the snow conditions.

With regard to the degree of difficulty, by and large Zermatt is a cruisers area. Indeed, on the Sunnega/Rothorn, there is only a "pretend black", (allegedly, and that is a personal view, please don't try this run without your parents' knowledge!)

People go to Zermatt for many reasons, but I would suggest that the dominant reason is the imposing Matterhorn. Also, Zermatt has retained many elements of it's history and charachter.

It does look as though you could find what you are looking for elsewhere in Europe.

But, I bow in respect, that you went to Zermatt for a long weekend!

snowbirddevotee wrote:Did you really have to ask?

Next time I'll try Verbier or Chamonix.

Having done Verbier, I can say what a good choice that would be. Its got some fantastic skiing, and whilst I have not yet been to Zermatt and intend to, I know the skiing in Verbier is more technical.

You really should give it a go.

Thanks guys. I have two more free flights to Europe in my quiver. I really enjoyed the cultural change of pace. I was very excited the entire time and didn't sleep well, and it has taken almost a week to get back to normal. I originally wanted to go to Verbier, the plane arrives at 7:30am and I should have been able to get a 1/2 day the first day. But Verbier is off to a slow start. I found the snow quite good at Zermatt and I will never forget the beauty of the Matterhorn!

so cool, I just wrote my last post, and I'm watching History Channel, special on how the earth was made, and they are talking right now about the Matterhorn, it was created by plate tetonics of Europe colliding with Africa and the top of it is actually part of Africa.

Zermatt is a mountain area, not a theme park. There is no resort management to mark out places you should not go and sanitise your experience. If you go beyond the markers you assume responsibility for your actions. I'm assuming you were equipped for going off piste, usual kit, harness, beacon, probe, shovel, rope, Duct Tape, phone,1st aid kit?

Zermatt is on the Haute Route, how far off piste would you like to get?

You skied 2 days in Zermatt, without insurance (unless I'm very much mistaken). It's probably just as well you stayed on the "groomers". Mind you, it would still have been pretty pricey for you if you'd canned it on one of those easy slopes :mrgreen:

That Epic thread is a hoot, I only managed the 1st page though. I see Fuxup is still around :lol:

I've only been to Zermatt twice, both times I skied powder just off piste in the summer, and autumn.

I'm typing this post from Valais, 2 valleys across from the Mattertal, it's been snowing hard, and it's whiteout conditions currently.