REP RESORT REPORT
Zermatt, Switzerland
Vital statistics
1,562-3,899m, 360km of pistes, 53 lifts, six-day international lift pass from CHF380 (£318)
Zermatt is all about the Matterhorn: the resort is overlooked by this world-famous rocky Toblerone. It is both breathtakingly beautiful AND expensive, which is definitely value for money IF you like skiing in awesome, unforgettable scenery, and reward yourself by skiing between gourmet mountain restaurants.
The first time I fell in love with Zermatt I was on a Monte Rosa safari with famous Italian mountaineer/ski guide Abele Blanc (he has climbed all all of the world's 8,000m peaks). It took us so long to get down the glacier from the Monte Rosa helidrop that we missed the lifts back to Cervinia, so we had an unplanned night in Zermatt. The following morning, when I was still mesmerised by the Matterhorn, Blanc asked if I would like to climb it with him one day, as if it were a walk in the park. I finally got around to it four years ago with Swiss guide Andre Imboden, who often takes Ski Club groups out – here’s a video of Andre leading a small group of us down to Zermatt after a helidrop on Tête de Valpelline (3,798m).
There is skiing for all levels here: from heliskiing with a guide on the glaciers of the Monte Rosa massif and a huge acreage of varied terrain to intermediate skiing and the Wolli Park beginners area. Family members who don’t appreciate our wonderful sport are also well catered for, whether they like culture or expensive shops!
I believe that the lift ticket is the most expensive in the Alps [editor’s note: judging by 2019/20 lift prices for the top Alpine resorts, Anna is correct!], providing access to a mountain cog railway up to Gornergrat (3,089m), Europe’s highest cable car up to Klein Matterhorn (3,883m) and access to Cervinia in Italy (where cheaper mountain food can be bought with euros). The Matterhorn Ski Paradise area is well served with a network of fast chairlifts, bubbles and cable cars.
There are three main ski areas – the slopes below Rothorn, Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn. It’s possible to traverse all three in a day. Nothing beats a non-stop descent from the top of Gornergrat to Zermatt, once you’ve stopped gawping at the glacial panorama of the Monte Rosa massif, or the top-to-bottom run down from the Klein Matterhorn, once you’ve stopped gasping for breath after taking the lift up to the panoramic deck.
Hiring a mountain guide from the Mountain House, or joining the Ski Club Rep and guide on a Thursday, will enable you to explore glaciers like the Theodul Glacier on the Klein Matterhorn. Don’t forget skins and ski touring skis (rentals possible) if you seek even more spectacular adventure high above Zermatt.
Tourism took off in Zermatt following the exploits of a Brit, Edward Whymper, who bagged the first ascent of the mountain in 1865. Tragedy and notoriety followed. On the way down, four in his party tumbled to their deaths when the rope snapped. I always visit the wonderful subterranean Matterhorn Museum in the historic town centre, where you can travel back in time to the original village and see mountaineering antiquities, including THE ROPE.
Be warned: Zermatt is addictive. You will want to go back in summer to hike the trails you know as ski runs. When you have visited Zermatt 20 times, you will be rewarded with a medal presented by the town’s director of tourism at the glitzy Hotel Zermatterhof!
“Be warned: Zermatt is addictive”
MEET THE REP…with Anna Henly
I learned to ski in Bulgaria in 1979 with Schools Abroad and have been a Ski Club Rep since 2008, repping in Verbier, Vail and Zermatt and recently leading a Freshtracks holiday in La Grave. I am a professional photographer and appreciate spectacular landscapes and love skiing up as well as skiing down, on thin skis as well as fat skis!
Ski Club Reps host a very busy social hour at the popular Hotel Pollux on Zermatt’s main street. There are many luxury hotels here, from the sumptuous Mont Cervin Palace to the traditional Romantik Hotel Julen. If you’re a fan of ‘The Night Manager’, you might like to stay in the Riffelalp resort where some of the filming took place. Budget travellers stay at the Hotel Bahnhof. Ski Club Reps stay in the tiny and cosy Hotel Tannenhof, which is dwarfed by the glittering Zermatterhof next door, where guests can be collected from the railway station by the hotel’s smart coach and horses.
While Reps eat cheaply every night at the Hotel Derby, with a daily menu and à la carte, my first choices for fine dining include Chez Vrony and Chez Heini. Wonderful food at affordable prices (by Zermatt standards) can be enjoyed at dozens of top-quality restaurants, including Restaurant Julen. For fans of Johanna von Spyri’s “Heidi”, the traditional mountain food and a walk up or ski down to Bergrestaurant Blatten and Restaurant Zum See will prove irresistible. If your pockets are not so deep, try Sparky’s for a green curry, the Brown Cow Pub for a burger and Ristorante Pizzeria Grampi’s for Italian fare, all in the town centre.
For après-ski, you can’t beat the antique Swiss chalet charm of Bergrestaurant Blatten, where I order an apple strudel and a “Gilli-gilli” every time: the home-made pink liqueur is served hot and topped with cream, enjoyed on the sun terrace or in the attic, accessed by a narrow ladder. For younger Members the Hennu Stall, further down the Furi –Zermatt run, packs a very lively atmosphere, sometimes with live music. Revellers booze on the terrace, skis abandoned on the slopes outside, before an icy ride back home. As for après-ski out of ski boots, Ski Club Reps and Members get so ensconced in the cosy Ski Club corner at the Pollux that they rarely move further, unless it’s to the Papperla Pub for live music and a boogie.
Every two years the Swiss Armed Forces organise the notorious ski mountaineering race “Patrouille des Glaciers,” which attracts military and civilian teams from across the world to Zermatt. The racers both ascend and descend over 4,000 vertical metres as they race from Zermatt to Verbier, so expect to see plenty of skiers skiing up as you ski down! I had a place in the PDG this year but it was cancelled due to Covid-19. Unfinished business - I hope my teammates and I will be able to try again!