What is the most appropriate superlative for Zermatt and the Matterhorn -- peerless, penultimate, ne plus ulta? None of these superlatives capture the panoramic breath and majestic essence of this historic Alpine village and the iconic Matterhorn.
Exiting the Zermatt Bahnhof, I was instantly entranced, the sheer, immediate verticallity of the Alps juxtapose the narrow streets and low rise buildings of the village. I was fortunate to book a quality hotel room withing walking distance of the bahnhof for my 3 days of skiing. And thus the walk from the bahnhof to my hotel began a magical experience in Zermatt.
Gonergrat (Elevation: 10,134 ft). Up on the mountain at 9:30 and down at 3:30. It was a pure bluebird day with warming tempratures and softening hard pack. I skied with a guide/instructor, James Fielding of Evolution Ski School. James, a Brit and Level 4 guide, has been in Zermatt for 10 years and in addtion to guiding/instructing, he coaches 'free style' skiing. We shredded the blue and red pistes until my legs screamed 'no more'. It was the best day of my 2020 ski season.
I decided to ski upper Gonergrat again for my 2nd day, hoping to continue the mountain high from the previous day. The universe/weather conspired otherwise. It was overcast and windy, with significant sections of flat light. The pistes alternated from slick to super hard pack (grateful for my freshly tuned skis). I skied for about 2 1/2 hours before deciding to let my legs recover for the final day of skiing.
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise-Klein Matterhorn (Elevation: 12,740 ft.). The ride up took nearly 50 minutes from the base express lift in Zermatt and the change to the Trochkener-Steg cable car lift to reach the summit. James, my guide for the 1st day had recommended I take time to adjust to the altitude and super hydrate before commencing to ski. So I sat in the mountain top restaurant for a 1/2 hour, drinking a bottle of water while deciding on my piste routes down. I decide that I would essentially ski down as far as possible, without having to solo ski a black run.
I added another 'done that' at the beginning section of my run down -- skied the highest piste in Europe. Piste conditons were icy and wind blown at the top, moderating to medium hard pack on the descent. From the top, I skied 4,750 ft of vertical and then added another 1,000 ft via a loop lap on the Furgg lift. From the Fugg lift, the only direct route to continue down was a black piste. With tired legs, I made the decision to take the express lift down to Zermatt.
There are 3 main ski areas in Zermatt, plus another 2 on the Cervinia (Italian) side. With the Sunnegga/Rothron area and Cervinia yet to be skied, I now have a compelling reason to return to Zermatt
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